BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford women's basketball team will host Western Carolina Thursday at 12 p.m. in the Pete Hanna Center. The game will be Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day. All Samford faculty and staff will receive a free hot dog, popcorn and drink from the concession stand with their Samford ID. Admission to all Samford women's basketball home games is FREE.
The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3 with Curt Bloom (play-by-play), Holly Berry (Color) and Hattie Breece (Sideline) calling the action. Links to follow the game are below.
ESPN3 | Live Stats | Samford Game Notes | WCU Game Notes | Game Day Central
SAMFORD WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRE-GAME CAPSULE
Western Carolina Catamounts at Samford Bulldogs | Thursday, Jan. 18
TIP: 12 p.m. (CT), at Pete Hanna Center, Birmingham, Ala.
WEBSTREAM: ESPN3
SAMFORD
1). The Samford women's basketball team comes into Thursday's game with a record of 8-10 overall and 0-3 in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs are coming off a 73-59 setback to Mercer last Saturday.
2). As a team, Samford is currently tied for the Southern Conference lead in three-pointers made per game (6.2) and the team ranks second in assists per game (14.6) and free throw percentage (.737).
3). Individually,
Charity Brown ranks second in the Southern Conference in both assists per game (6.3) and assist-turnover ratio (1.9).
Olivia Crozier ranks third in the league in field goal percentage (.549), while
Hannah Nichols ranks third in the SoCon in blocked shots per game (1.2) and rebounding (7.2), and fifth in three-pointers made per game (1.9), three-point percentage (.340) and scoring (14.4).
4). Samford is led in scoring and rebounding by senior guard
Hannah Nichols, averaging 14.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Sophomore
Olivia Crozier averages 10.1 points and 5.3 boards per contest.
5).
Hannah Nichols ranks second in school history in both 3-pointers made (229) and 3-pointers attempted (623). She ranks fourth in SU history in scoring (1,339), field goals made (475), field goals attempted (1,106) and blocks (75), and she ranks ninth in rebounding (489)
WESTERN CAROLINA
1). Western Carolina has a record of 3-15 overall and 0-4 in SoCon play. The Catamounts are coming off a 54-48 loss to Wofford Jan. 13.
2). WCU is led in scoring by Sherae Bonner, averaging 10.5 points per game. Lauren LaPlant averages 8.8 points per game for the Catamounts.
3). Bonner also leads the team in rebounding, grabbing 8.8 boards per contest. Emily Hatfield averages 4.0 rebounds per game.
4). JonTay Mitchem leads WCU in assists, dishing out 2.3 assists per game. Judith Martin Ruiz averages 1.7 assists per game.
5). Samford and Western Carolina will be meeting for the 21st time, with Samford holding a 16-4 advantage in the series. The teams met twice last season, with Samford winning both meetings. In the meeting in Cullowhee, N.C. Samford earned a 49-42 win, and the Bulldogs took the game in Birmingham by a score of 51-50.
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
| Category |
Samford |
WCU |
| Points Per Game |
58.5 |
54.8 |
| Field Goal Pct. |
.387 |
.383 |
| 3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. |
.307 |
.278 |
| Free Throw Pct. |
.737 |
.670 |
| Rebounds Per Game |
32.6 |
36.5 |
| Assists Per Game |
14.6 |
12.3 |
| Steals Per Game |
6.0 |
6.7 |
| Turnovers Per Game |
16.8 |
20.4 |
| Blocks Per Game |
3.1 |
3.3 |
| Pt. Allowed Per Game |
63.5 |
63.6 |
