GAME NOTES--SAMFORD VS. CENTRAL ARKANSAS (PDF)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford women's basketball team will wrap up its season-opening homestand by playing host to the Central Arkansas Bears Saturday, Nov. 11, at 2 p.m. in the Pete Hanna Center.
The Bulldogs and Bears will be meeting for the first time ever in women's basketball. The Bulldogs opened the season with a 78-51 win over Auburn-Montgomery Monday afternoon. The game was played in front of 1,621 fans, the largest crowd to ever see a women's game in the Pete Hanna Center.
Samford was led in the win over AUM by sophomore Carly Heidger with 19 points. Sophomore Emily Bowman added a career-high 16 points, while also grabbing a team-high five rebounds. Graduate transfer Lexie Pritchard, making her Samford debut, scored nine points and dished out a career-high seven assists. Sophomore Alyssa Tarpley added eight points for the Bulldogs.
Head Coach Carley Kuhns is in her fifth season in charge of the Samford women's basketball program. Kuhns enters Saturday's game with a record of 125-89 overall and 59-58 in her time at Samford. The Bulldogs are 32-16 in home games under Kuhns.
Entering this weekend, Samford leads the Southern Conference in field goal percentage (.612) and three-point field goal percentage (.625). The Bulldogs rank second in the league in scoring (78.0 ppg.), opponent field goal percentage (.306), team defensive rebounds (30.0 rpg.), assist-turnover ratio (1.55) and blocked shots (5.0 pg.).
Central Arkansas enters Saturday's game with a mark of 1-0. The Bears opened the season with an 85-25 win over Hendrix. In the win over Hendrix, Central Arkansas was led by Jade Upshaw with 14 points and seven rebounds. Randrea Wright also scored 14 points for the Bears. Destine Duckworth scored 12 points for UCA, while Elizabeth Abiara added 11 points in the win.
Last season, Central Arkansas posted a record of 8-18 overall and 3-12 in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Bears return three of their top four scorers from last season's squad. Central Arkansas head coach Tony Kemper is in his first season in charge of the program. He spent the last six seasons as the head coach at Marshall, posting a record of 79-90 with the Thundering Herd.
Saturday's game can be seen live on ESPN+ and live stats will also be available online. For links to follow all of Samford's games this season, please go to the following link: 2023-24 SCHEDULE.
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).
