BOX SCORE (PDF)

MACON, Ga. – The Samford women's basketball team secured the outright Southern Conference regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in next week's SoCon Tournament with a 74-65 win at Mercer Thursday night at Hawkins Arena.
 
This is Samford's second-straight SoCon regular-season title, but the first-ever outright regular-season championship in program history. Last season, Samford shared the title with Chattanooga and UNCG.
 
Samford ends its regular season with a mark of 14-8 overall and 11-2 in Southern Conference play. Mercer falls to 15-6 overall and 9-3 in SoCon play. The Bears still have one regular-season game left Saturday at ETSU.
 
FROM THE BOX SCORE

• Natalie Armstrong led Samford with 24 points and eight rebounds. She made 11-of-16 shots from the floor.
• Annie Ramil had 17 points and six rebounds for the Bulldogs. Ramil made 6-of-10 shots in the game.
• Raven Omar added 14 points and three assists.
• Andrea Cournoyer had 11 points and five rebounds for the Bulldogs.
• Mercer was led by Amoria Neal-Tysor with 22 points and five rebounds.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Mercer jumped out to an early 5-2 lead with 8:31 left in the first quarter after a jumper by Jada Lewis.
• Samford fought back to take a 13-11 lead with 1:16 left in the first period after a basket by Cournoyer.
• A late three-pointer by Mercer's Neal-Tysor gave the Bears a 14-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.
• Samford built a 19-14 lead with 7:38 to go in the second quarter following a three-pointer by Cournoyer.
• Mercer scored the next six points to take a 20-19 lead with 4:20 left in the second quarter after a three-pointer by Neal-Tysor.
• After Samford took a 21-20 lead, Mercer scored the next five points to take a 25-21 lead with 2:19 left in the second quarter after a layup by Lewis.
• Mercer took a 28-25 lead into the locker room at halftime.
• Samford came back to take a 31-30 lead on a layup by Ramil with 8:31 left in the third quarter.
• Mercer went on an 8-2 run to take a 38-33 lead with 6:04 left in the quarter after a three-pointer by Neal-Tysor.
• Samford fought back to take a 47-43 lead with 1:45 to go in the period on a layup off of a steal by Cournoyer.
• After Mercer came back to take a 48-47 lead, Ramil hit a three-pointer to give Samford a 50-48 lead with 19 seconds left in the third quarter.
• After a Mercer free throw cut the lead to 50-49, an Omar three-pointer at the buzzer gave Samford a 53-49 lead at the end of the third period.
• Samford pushed its lead to five points at 54-49 on a free throw by Omar with 9:41 left in the fourth quarter.
• After Mercer cut the lead to 54-53, Samford went on a 6-0 run to take a 60-53 lead with 4:05 left in the fourth quarter on a layup by Armstrong.
• Samford pushed its lead out to nine points at 64-55 with 1:14 to go in the fourth quarter after a pair of free throws by Omar.
• The Bulldogs took a 10-point lead at 69-59 with 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter after a layup by Audra Leipold.
• Late free throws by Omar, Armstrong and Ramil helped put the game away as Samford came away with the 74-65 win.

 
UP NEXT

• Samford will open the Southern Conference Tournament next Thursday, March 4 at 11 a.m. (CT) against the No. 8 seed in the tournament. The SoCon Tournament will be held at Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, N.C.

FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS:
For the latest news and information on Samford women's basketball, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordWomen'sBasketball (Facebook), @SamfordWBB (Instagram) and @SamfordWBB (Twitter).