BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford women's basketball team earned a hard-fought 65-62 win over Central Arkansas Saturday afternoon in the Pete Hanna Center.
With the win, Samford improved to 2-0 on the young season. Central Arkansas fell to 1-1 with the loss.
"To have so many new players early in the season for us to get a tough, gritty win I think is huge for our program," Samford head coach Carley Kuhns said. "Any win is a good win. I was proud of our kids battling back. We got off to a hot start, but I think they really amped up their defensive pressure and it kind of put us on our heels a little bit, but I was proud of the way we battled through that throughout the game and just stuck to the game plan."
Samford was led in the win by sophomore Masyn Marchbanks with a career-high 24 points. Marchbanks made 4-of-6 shots from three-point range and was 8-of-9 from the free-throw line. Graduate transfer Lexie Pritchard had 12 points and six assists, while fellow graduate transfer Sadie Stetson added 12 points as well.
For Central Arkansas, Leah Mafua led the way with 15 points. Jade Upshaw, Randrea Wright and Kinley Fisher added 10 points each for the Sugar Bears.
Samford started the game off hot, racing out to a 7-1 lead with 6:50 to go in the first quarter after a jumper by Pritchard. After Central Arkansas cut the lead to 7-5, Samford went on a 13-2 run to take a 20-7 lead with 1:41 left in the first period after a pair of free throws by Kennedy Langham. Samford held a 22-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Central Arkansas opened the second quarter on a 10-2 run to cut the Samford lead to 24-19 at the 5:34 mark of the second period following a layup by Fisher. Samford pushed the lead back out to 12 points at 34-22 with 2:25 to go in the second quarter after a pair of free throws from Pritchard. UCA scored the final five points of the quarter to cut the Samford lead to 34-27 heading into the locker room at halftime.
The Bulldogs extended their lead back out to nine points at 40-31 at the 6:53 mark in the third quarter after a three-pointer by Stetson. Central Arkansas closed to within four points at 43-39 after a three-pointer by Fisher with 2:16 left in the third period. Samford held a 46-41 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Samford maintained its lead through most of the fourth quarter. Central Arkansas tied the score at 57-57 with 3:27 to go after a pair of free throws by Mafua. Samford scored the next five points to take a 62-57 lead on a free throw by Emily Bowman, a layup by Pritchard and two free throws from Marchbanks with 1:08 to play. UCA cut the lead back to one point at 63-62 with eight seconds to play. Marchbanks, however, hit two free throws with seven seconds left to give Samford the 65-62 win.
Samford will go on the road for the first time this season when the Bulldogs play at Troy Tuesday evening. The game is set for a 5:15 p.m. start from Trojan Arena.
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