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Samford University Athletics

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Wheeler_WCU
72
Winner Samford SU 13-11,7-2 SoCon
63
Western Caro. WCU 9-15,2-7 SoCon
Winner
Samford SU
13-11,7-2 SoCon
72
Final
63
Western Caro. WCU
9-15,2-7 SoCon
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Samford SU 8 21 24 19 72
Western Caro. WCU 20 12 12 19 63

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Shorthanded Bulldogs Cage Catamounts In Comeback Victory

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – On a night that saw a quartet of Bulldogs score in double figures, the Samford women's basketball rallied from a 12-point first half deficit to wrangle a 72-63 win away from the Western Carolina Catamounts on Saturday.
 
With the win, Samford improves to 13-11 overall and 7-2 in Southern Conference action. The 13 overall wins and the seven conference victories both match the Bulldog win totals from last season. Western Carolina slips to 9-15 and 2-7 during SoCon play. 
 
Saturday also marked the 20th-straight win for the Bulldogs over the Catamounts on the hardwood dating back to 2014. 
 
Despite early foul trouble, Sussy Ngulefac picked up right where she left off in the UNCG game. The sophomore center had a game-high 18 points to go along with a bulldog-best five rebounds in the contest. 
 
In her return to the starting lineup, Kathleen Wheeler had a career night scoring 17 points to help the Bulldogs stay in the upper echelon of the SoCon. 
 
Masyn Marchbanks facilitated the victory and continued her hot streak with 16 points of her own to go along and a game-high eight assists. 
 
Rylie Stephens saw her first action since the Birmingham-Southern game and led all Samford reserves with 10 points coming off the bench.
 
Reigning SoCon Player of the Month Andrea Bailey was not available for the game.
 
After Ngulefac opened the game with a layup on the opening possession, the Catamounts scored 16 of the next 20 points and led 20-8 after the opening quarter. 
 
The Bulldog comeback started in earnest when Wheeler went on a 7-0 run by herself in the opening moments of the second frame. A made three and a layup by Stephens put Samford on top at 24-22 for the first time since the Ngulefac layup to open the game.
 
Following the back-to-back buckets from Stephens, Samford and WCU battled to a near stalemate with the Catamounts calming a 32-29 advantage at the break.
 
The Bulldogs came out of the locker room on fire and jumped out to a 10-point lead on the heels of a 16-3 run that was spearheaded by Wheeler and Ngulefac. 
 
By the time the third quarter was over, Samford had completely flipped the script and led 53-44.
 
The Bulldogs held serve in the ever-important fourth quarter and even pushed the lead to as many as 11 in the final seconds before closing out the 72-63 road win. 
 
Samford returns home for a three-game homestand starting on Feb. 9 with a SoCon showdown against ETSU. Tickets can be found here.
 
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).
 
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