GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Samford women's basketball team dropped a 79-67 decision at Furman Thursday evening at Timmons Arena.

With the loss, Samford falls to 12-14 overall and 7-5 in Southern Conference play. Furman improves to 15-10 overall and 8-3 in league play.

Samford was led in the loss by Andrea Cournoyer with 16 points. Sussy Ngulefac and Mallory Hampton scored 10 points each for Samford. Annie Ramil had eight points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs.

For Furman, Tierra Hodges had 28 points and 13 rebounds. Grace Van Rij tallied 19 points, while Niveya Henley added 13 points for the Paladins.

The first quarter was all Furman. The Paladins held a 28-8 lead at the end of the period.

In the second quarter, Samford cut the lead to nine points at 33-24 with 6:00 to go in the quarter after a three-point play by Cournoyer. With Furman leading, 40-28, Samford closed the second quarter with a 6-0 run to cut the lead to six points at 40-34 heading into halftime.

Furman pushed its lead back out to 12 points at 49-37 with 5:43 to go in the third quarter following a jumper by Hodges. The Paladins led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter and they held a 60-46 lead at the end of the period.

Early in the fourth quarter, Samford cut the lead to nine points at 60-51 with 7:56 to go after a three-pointer by Shauntai Battle. The Paladins pushed the lead back out to 13 points at 66-53 with 5:44 to go after two free throws by Van Rij. Samford closed to within eight points at 68-60 but could get no closer as Furman pulled out the 79-67 win.

Samford will next play at Wofford Feb. 19. The game is set to start at 1 p.m. (CT) in Spartanburg, S.C.

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