BOX SCORE (PDF)

GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Samford women's basketball team dropped its Southern Conference opener, falling at Furman by a score of 45-41 Thursday evening at Timmons Arena.
 
Hannah Nichols led Samford with 13 points and 12 rebounds, marking her fourth-straight double-double. Ta'Naisha Hill scored eight points, while Samantha Fitzgerald followed with seven points for the Bulldogs.
 
Cierra Carter led Furman with 19 points. Celena Taborn scored nine points, while DeAnneisha Jackson had eight points and 12 rebounds for the Paladins.
 
Both teams were cold in the first quarter. Samford scored the first four points of the game and held a 7-3 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
 
Furman opened the second quarter with a 7-0 run to take a 10-7 lead with 5:40 to go in the second period. With Furman leading, 12-9, Samford closed the quarter with a 9-2 run to take an 18-14 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
The Paladins opened the third quarter with a 12-1 run to take a 26-19 lead with 4:06 to go in the period. Samford fought back to cut the lead to four points at 28-24 at the end of the third quarter.
 
In the fourth quarter, Samford fought back to cut the lead to one point at 36-35 with 6:54 to go after a three-pointer by Hill. The Bulldogs tied the score at 39-39 with 2:26 left after a layup by Nichols. A three-pointer by Furman's Le'Jzae Davidson gave the Paladins a 42-39 lead with 2:08 to play.
 
Nichols followed with a jumper to cut the lead to 42-41 with 1:50 left in the contest. A pair of free throws by Carter and one by Kaitlyn Duncan for Furman made the final score 45-41.
 
As a team, Samford shot just 26.5 percent, while Furman made just 26.8 percent of its shots. Samford won the rebounding battle, 43-37.
 
With the loss, Samford falls to 8-8 overall and 0-1 in SoCon play. Furman improves to 10-5 overall and 1-0 in league games.
 
Samford will play at Wofford Saturday at 1 p.m. (CT). The game can be seen live on ESPN3.