HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Samford women's basketball team suffered its first defeat of the 2023-24 season with a 71-59 loss to North Texas in the first round of the Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic, hosted by Southern Mississippi, Friday afternoon.
 
With the loss, Samford fell to 4-1 on the season. North Texas improved to 5-1 with the win.
 
Samford was led in the loss by Saide Stetson with 12 points. Masyn Marchbanks scored 11 points, while Lexie Pritchard added 10 points and six assists. Emily Bowman grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds for Samford.
 
For North Texas, Desiray Kernal had 17 points and 15 rebounds. Jaauckly Moore also had 17 points for the Mean Green.
 
Samford got off to a hot start, racing out to a 7-0 lead with 6:55 left in the first quarter after a driving layup by Pritchard. The Bulldogs pushed their lead to eight points at 15-7 with 4:14 to go in the period after a three-pointer by Marchbanks. Samford held a 17-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
North Texas opened the second quarter with an 8-0 run to take a 20-17 lead with 4:26 to go in the quarter after a basket by Kernal. Samford fought back to tie the score at 24-24, but North Texas closed the quarter with a 7-2 run to take a 31-26 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
North Texas built its lead to nine points at 40-31 with 5:55 left in the third quarter following a layup by Moore. The Mean Green led by as many as 15 points in the third quarter, and they held a 47-37 lead at the end of the third period.
 
In the fourth quarter, North Texas increased its lead to 16 points at 62-46 with 5:05 to play after a layup by Dyani Robinson. The Bulldogs fought back to cut the lead to eight points at 67-59 with 35 seconds left on a free throw by Kennedy Langham. Samford, however, could get no closer as North Texas finished with the 71-59 win.
 
Samford will conclude the tournament by taking on the host, Southern Mississippi, Saturday afternoon. The game is set for a 4 p.m. start and can be seen live on ESPN+.
 
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