BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford women's basketball team battled SoCon regular season champion Mercer but could not get over the hump, falling by a score of 64-55 Saturday afternoon at the Pete Hanna Center.

With the loss, Samford falls to 12-16 overall and 7-7 in Southern Conference play. Mercer improves to 20-6 overall and 13-1 in SoCon play.

"I thought we were a little out of sorts to start the game, but I thought we kind of settled in," Samford head coach Carley Kuhns said. "I thought my team played extremely hard tonight. We fought back and chipped away, especially against a really good team. But, they capitalized on too many of our mistakes, and we've got to be able to make free throws and layups, and take care of the ball against really good teams."

Samford was led by Sussy Ngulefac with a career-high 19 points to go along with her nine rebounds. Annie Ramil posted a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

For Mercer, Shannon Titus led the way with 20 points. Amoria Neal-Tysor scored 12 points, while Jaron Dougherty added 10 points for the Bears.

Mercer jumped out to an early 10-0 lead with 7:04 to go in the first quarter following a layup by Neal-Tysor. Samford scored nine of the next 11 points to cut the lead to 12-9 with 4:29 to go in the first quarter after a layup by Ngulefac. Mercer pushed its lead back out to 17-10 with 2:14 to go in the opening period after a free throw by Nigeria Harkless. Samford scored the final four points of the quarter to cut the lead to 17-14 at the end of the period.

The Bulldogs cut the lead to one point at 17-16 with 9:28 left in the second quarter on a layup by Ngulefac. With Samford trailing, 20-18, Mercer went on a 9-0 run to push the lead out to 11 points at 29-18 with 4:25 to go in the second quarter after a jumper by Dougherty. Samford closed the lead to seven at 29-22 with 2:39 left in the second period after a jumper by Sanaa Redmond. Mercer held a 36-28 lead at halftime.

Mercer scored six of the first seven points of the third quarter to extend its lead to 13 points at 42-29 with 7:24 left in the third quarter after a driving layup by Titus. The Bears built their lead to 15 points at 46-31 with 4:34 to go in the third quarter following a pair of free throws by Endia Banks. Samford closed to within 11 points at 49-38 with 1:18 to go in the third quarter after two free throws by Shauntai Battle. Mercer held a 51-40 lead at the end of the third quarter.

The Bulldogs cut the lead to six points at 51-45 with 8:41 to go following a free throw by Ramil. Mercer extended its lead back out to 11 points at 57-46 with 4:33 remaining after a layup by Allie Thayne. Samford cut the lead back to four points at 59-55 with 34 seconds left after two free throws by Ramil. Samford, however, could get no closer as Mercer closed out the 64-55 win.

Samford will open play in the Southern Conference Tournament in Asheville, N.C. next Thursday. The Bulldogs' opponent and the time of the game will be announced later Saturday evening.

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