BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford women's basketball team pulled out a hard-fought win over Western Carolina, 48-47, to give the Bulldogs their first Southern Conference victory of the season Thursday evening in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
"This was really gutsy," Samford head coach Carley Kuhns said. "I was proud of our team. On Monday, we kind of hit a total reset with this team and just kind of went back to the drawing board and talked about the depth of this team and really challenged them it practice this week. It was probably one of our most competitive three days of practice and the team responded."
 
With the win, Samford improved to 9-9 overall and 1-2 in Southern Conference play. Western Carolina fell to 5-13 overall and 0-3 in league action.
 
Samford used a new starting lineup in the game. Jada Knight, Kennedy Langham, Sadie Stetson, Alyssa Tarpley and Emily Bowman started the game for the Bulldogs.
 
"We wanted to switch things up and try something new today," Kuhns said. "And it obviously paid off. I thought Jada Knight was really good at getting down hill and being able to create for her teammates. People who we need making shots stepped up at the end. Sadie (Stetson) made some huge shots, (Carly) Heidger went to the line and made two free throws. But as poorly as we shot the ball, for us to find a way and grind out that win, especially with how we've been playing the past two weeks, I think is huge for this team and a confidence boost moving forward."
 
Samford was led in the win by Carly Heidger with 12 points and four rebounds. Knight, in the starting lineup for the first time, responded with 10 points and five rebounds. Langham added nine points and six rebounds. Bowman was the team's leading rebounder with seven.
 
For Western Carolina, Chelsea Wooten led the way with 16 points. Tyra Robinson added eight points for the Catamounts.
 
Samford jumped out to an early 9-2 lead with 6:36 left in the first quarter following a three-pointer by Langham. Western Carolina fought back to tie the game at 13-13 late in the quarter, but a jumper by Masyn Marchbanks gave Samford a 15-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
Samford opened the second quarter with a 10-2 run to push its lead to 25-15 with 5:13 to go in the period after a free throw by Langham. Western Carolina cut the lead to seven points at 26-19 heading into the locker room at halftime.
 
The Bulldogs pushed their lead to 11 points at 32-21 with 6:24 to go in the third quarter after a pair of free throws by Bowman. Western Carolina scored the next six points to cut the lead to five points at 32-27 with 3:41 left in the period after a jumper by Tyja Beans. With Samford leading, 34-27, Western Carolina ended the third quarter with an 8-1 run to knot the score at 35-35 heading into the final period.
 
Western Carolina took a 42-37 lead with 6:37 left in the game after a layup by Zanoria Cruz. With Western Carolina leading, 47-43, a three-pointer by Samford's Sadie Stetson cut the lead to 47-46 with 1:26 to play. With five seconds left, Heidger was fouled and hit two free throws to give Samford the 48-47 lead. The Samford defense was able to get one final stop at the end to secure the one-point victory.
 
Samford will next play host to UNC Greensboro on Saturday. The game is set for a 2 p.m. start from the Pete Hanna Center.




 
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