ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Samford women's basketball team was eliminated from the Southern Conference Tournament with a 65-35 loss to top-seeded Mercer in the semifinals Friday morning at the Harrah's Cherokee Center.
With the loss, Samford ends its season with a mark of 13-17. Mercer improves to 22-6, and the Bears advance to Sunday's tournament championship game.
"This was a tough game," Samford head coach Carley Kuhns said. "Mercer's been playing really well, so we knew it was going to be a big challenge. I thought we really played well in the first quarter, and we found a little bit of our groove. We went on a little bit of a scoring draught, and I felt like that really dictated how we defended as well, and it just let them get hot. We had trouble scoring in the second and third quarter. Sussy (Ngulefac) going out with two fouls obviously hurt us because we really wanted to get the ball inside today. I thought we gave good effort. Our team could have given up in the fourth quarter and I thought we never quit."
This was the final game for Natalie Armstrong, who leaves school as the only player in program history to accumulate at least 1,000 career points, 500 career rebounds and 100 career blocked shots. Armstrong has missed the last few games after having eye surgery, and Kuhns talked about how much she was missed.
"To not have her on the floor was really difficult for us these last couple of games," Kuhns said. "The thing that I appreciate most about her is she is just an incredible teammate. She never once waivered in being behind this team and giving everything she could, even though she couldn't be on the floor. That stuff matters. I wish I could have had one more game with her, and I'm really going to miss having her on the floor. She's meant a lot to me and to this program."
Samford was led in the game by Andrea Cournoyer with nine points. Shauntai Battle and Sanaa Redmond added six points each for the Bulldogs. Annie Ramil grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for Samford. As a team, Samford shot 20.5 percent from the floor, compared to 50 percent shooting for Mercer.
Mercer was led by Amoria Neal-Tysor with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Shannon Titus scored 18 points for the Bears, while Jaron Dougherty added 12 points.
Mercer jumped out to an early 9-4 lead with 5:48 to go in the first quarter following a layup by Titus. The Bulldogs fought back to take a 12-11 lead with 2:10 left in the first quarter on a layup by Sussy Ngulefac. Mercer held a 15-14 lead at the end of the first period.
The Bears built a 22-14 lead at the 7:08 mark in the second quarter after a jumper by Neal-Tysor. Mercer led by as many as 16 points down the stretch in the second quarter and the Bears took a 34-18 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Mercer opened the third quarter with a 12-0 run to take a 46-18 lead with 6:39 left in the period following a pair of free throws by Titus. The Bears built a 34-point lead late in the third quarter and held a 58-24 lead at the end of the period.
Samford could get no closer than 28 points in the fourth quarter, and Mercer finished with the 65-35 win.
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).
