BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford women's basketball team was outscored 21-8 in the third quarter as Mercer pulled away in the second half on its way to an 87-59 win Saturday afternoon in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
With the loss, Samford fell to 11-11 overall and 3-4 in Southern Conference play. Mercer improved to 9-14 overall and 3-4 in league play.
 
"In the first half, I thought we let things happen for us offensively," Samford head coach Carley Kuhns said. "We handled their pressure really well, let the offense flow, moved side-to-side, got everybody involved. And defensively, other than them hitting a few threes that last four or five minutes of the second quarter, overall, we executed. For the course of the game, our goal was to outrebound them, and we got more offensive rebounds then they did and to win the paint battle, and we won that. I would have never guessed they would have made 13 threes, but credit to them, they stepped up and made open shots."
 
Samford was led in the loss by Emily Bowman with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Kiersten Nelson scored 15 points, while Masyn Marchbanks added 10 points for the Bulldogs.
 
Mercer was led by Summah Evans with 35 points, making 14-of-20 shots from the floor and 5-of-8 from three-point range. Aspen Johnson and Briana Peguero added 10 points each for the Bears.
 
Samford jumped out to an early 6-2 lead with 6:24 to go in the first quarter following a layup by Bowman. The Bulldogs stretched their lead to six points at 12-6 with 2:10 left in the period after a layup by Nelson. Mercer ended the first quarter with a 9-2 run to take a 15-14 lead at the end of the period.
 
Samford came back to take a 22-19 lead with 6:39 left in the second quarter after a jumper by Marchbanks. Samford led by five points at 28-23 with 4:24 remaining in the second period following a layup by Nelson. The Bears then went on a 16-4 run to take a 39-32 lead with 53 seconds left in the second quarter after a three-pointer by Peguero. Mercer held a 41-34 lead heading into the locker room at halftime.
 
Mercer started the third quarter with an 11-0 run to take a 52-34 lead with 4:42 left in the period following a three-pointer by Deja Williams. The Bears held a 62-42 lead at the end of the third quarter. Mercer led by as many as 29 points in the fourth quarter and finished with the 87-59 win.
 
Samford will next play host to Chattanooga on Thursday, Feb. 8. The game is set for a 6 p.m. (CT) start from the Pete Hanna Center.




 
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