CONWAY, Ark. -- The Samford women's basketball team held an 11-point halftime lead, but a cold second half was costly as the Bulldogs dropped a 63-44 decision at Central Arkansas Friday at the Farris Center.
With the loss, Samford fell to 0-2 on the young season. Central Arkansas improved to 2-0 with the win.
Samford was led in the loss by Annie Ramil with eight points and nine rebounds. Sierra Godbolt and Kennedy Langham also scored eight points each. Emily Bowman had six points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs.
For Central Arkansas, Leah Mafua had 17 points and five rebounds. Jade Upshaw had 11 points and eight rebounds, while Kinley Fisher also had 11 points.
In the first quarter, Samford jumped out to an early 8-2 lead following a three-pointer by Godbolt. After UCA cut the lead to 8-5, Samford pushed its lead to seven points at 16-9 after a pair of Langham free throws with 1:12 left in the first period. Two late Central Arkansas free throws cut the lead to 16-11 at the end of the opening period.
The Bulldogs pushed their lead to 22-14 at the 6:56 mark in the second quarter after a layup by Godbolt. Samford increased its lead to 11 points at 30-19 with 1:43 left before halftime following a three-pointer by Godbolt. After the Sugar Bears cut the lead to 30-21, a late layup off an offensive rebound by Ramil sent Samford to halftime with a 32-21 lead.
Central Arkansas opened the third quarter on an 18-0 run to take a 39-32 lead with 3:18 to go in the period following a pair of free throws by Mafua. The Sugar Bears held a 45-36 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Samford cut the lead to seven points at 47-40 with 7:18 to go after a layup by Langham. UCA answered with a 7-0 run to push its lead to 14 points at 54-40 with 5:06 to go in the contest after a three-pointer by Fisher. Samford could get no closer than 10 points the rest of the way as UCA came away with the 63-44 win.
Samford will next play at Memphis on Sunday, Nov. 10. The game is set for a 2 p.m. start from Memphis, Tennessee.
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