BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford women's basketball team was outscored 25-10 in the second quarter as the ETSU Bucs took a 69-56 win over the Bulldogs Saturday afternoon in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
With the loss, Samford fell to 11-13 overall and 3-6 in Southern Conference play. ETSU improved to 16-8 overall and 5-4 in league play.
 
"I thought we opened really well," Samford head coach Carley Kuhns said. "I thought we opened up really sharp and crisp and ready to compete. But that's kind of been the story of this team, we take a dip at some point in the game, and it just becomes almost too far out of the range, and we spend the rest of the game trying to catch up. We have to find a way to close the gap and not let one and two possessions turn into five and seven."
 
Samford was led in the loss by Masyn Marchbanks with 18 points. Carly Heidger had 11 points and Emily Bowman added 10 points for the Bulldogs.
 
For ETSU, Nevaeh Brown led the way with 20 points and seven rebounds. Breanne Beatty and Kendall Folley added nine points each.
 
ETSU jumped out to an early 9-2 lead with 5:35 to go in the first quarter after a free throw by Courtney Moore. With ETSU leading, 14-8, Samford closed the quarter with an 8-3 run to cut the lead to one point at 17-16 at the end of the period.
 
Samford opened the second quarter hot, taking a 21-19 lead with 8:56 to go in the period following a three-pointer by Marchbanks. ETSU then went on a 9-2 run to take a 28-23 lead with 5:42 left in the second quarter after a jumper by Folley. After Samford cut the lead to three points at 28-25, ETSU answered with a 14-0 run to push its lead to 42-25 with 13 seconds left before halftime after a three-pointer by Beatty. ETSU took a 42-26 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
The Bucs stretched their lead to 19 points at 47-28 with 7:48 left in the third quarter after a pair of free throws by Beatty. Samford then went on an 8-1 run to cut the lead to 12 points at 48-36 with 4:31 to go in the third after a layup by Marchbanks. The Bulldogs closed to within nine points at 50-41 with 1:18 to go in the third period after a jumper by Heidger. ETSU led, 55-43, at the end of the third quarter.
 
After Samford cut the lead to 10 points at 55-45, ETSU scored the next five points to push the lead to 15 points at 60-45 with 5:41 to go after a free throw by Brown. Samford fought back to cut the lead to eight points 64-56 with 2:08 to play after a three-point play by Heidger. Samford, however, could get no closer as ETSU came away with the 69-56 win.
 
Samford will next play at UNC Greensboro on Thursday, Feb. 15. The game is set for a 6 p.m. (CT) start from Greensboro, N.C.




 
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).