Samford Women’s Basketball Heads North For Contest With Vanderbilt

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – For the first time in the 2022-23 season, the Samford women's basketball team will hit the road as the Bulldogs head for Nashville for a non-conference midweek showdown with the Vanderbilt Commodores on Thursday.

Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT with the game streaming on SEC Network+. Andrew Allegretta will be on the call. Samford's game notes can be found here.

Samford enters the midweek match with a 0-1 record after falling on Opening Night by a score of 66-62 to Troy. Vanderbilt opened the season with an 82-71 win over WKU on Monday.

The Bulldogs and the Commodores are meeting for the fourth time in program history, Vanderbilt holds a 3-0 series lead. This is the first contest between the two programs in the Carley Kuhns era at Samford.

Samford has not beaten an SEC opponent since downing the Georgia Bulldogs, 65-59 on December 22, 2017.

Senior guard Andrea Cournoyer returns to anchor a Samford lineup that features a unique blend of returners and newcomers. The Merryville, La., native, played in 30 games for the Bulldogs en route to being named to the 2021-22 All-SoCon First Team. Cournoyer averaged 16.3 points per game while contributing 4.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. Cournoyer was one of the two Bulldogs named to the 2022-23 Preseason All-SoCon Team.

Joining Cournoyer, on the 2022-23 Preseason All-SoCon Team is
sophomore center Sussy Ngulefac. Ngulefac, the
Co-Freshman of the Year in 2021-22, shoot 63.9% from the floor to lead the SoCon. The Lilburn, Ga. native ranked second on the team averaging 9.5 points per contest and 4.5 boards per game while scoring in double-figures 16 times.

Kathleen Wheeler returns after showing major improvement last year and looks to have a bigger role this season. Other returning players who saw time last year are Kiersten Nelson and Mattie Hatcher. Players who return after redshirting last season include Carly Heidger, Nicole Azar and Emily Bowman. Three transfers were added in the offseason in Macey Lee (North Alabama), Cydney Rivera (Pepperdine) and Rylie Stephens (Evansville).

A pair of true freshmen have also joined the team for this
season. Masyn Marchbanks (Hartselle, Ala.) and Alyssa Tarpley (Gunter, Texas), both look to make an impact in their first collegiate seasons.

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 /SamfordWomensBasketball (Facebook), @SamfordWBB (Instagram) and @SamfordWBB (Twitter).

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Players Mentioned

#11 Andrea Bailey: G; 5' 4"; Junior

#32 Kiersten Nelson: F; 6' 1"; Freshman

#23 Kathleen Wheeler: F; 5' 10"; Redshirt Freshman

#21 Nicole Azar: G; 5' 11"; Freshman

#5 Carly Heidger: G; 6' 3"; Freshman

#35 Sussy Ngulefac: C; 6' 3"; Freshman

#44 Emily Bowman: C; 6' 5"; Freshman

#25 Mattie Hatcher: G; 5' 4"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#11 Andrea Bailey
: 5' 4"; Junior
: G

#32 Kiersten Nelson
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: F

#23 Kathleen Wheeler
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Freshman
: F

#21 Nicole Azar
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: G

#5 Carly Heidger
: 6' 3"; Freshman
: G

#35 Sussy Ngulefac
: 6' 3"; Freshman
: C

#44 Emily Bowman
: 6' 5"; Freshman
: C

#25 Mattie Hatcher
: 5' 4"; Freshman
: G

Samford University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned