CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Samford women's basketball team dropped a hard-fought contest, 69-63, at Chattanooga Thursday night at McKenzie Arena.
 
With the loss, Samford fell to 5-13 overall and 0-2 in Southern Conference play. Chattanooga improved its record to 7-9 overall and 2-1 in league play.
 
Samford was led in the loss by Kennedy Langham with 22 points and nine rebounds. Alonya Waldon scored 13 points, while Claire Johnson and Aubrey Blankenship added 10 points each.
 
For Chattanooga, Brooke Anya had 26 points and six rebounds. Gianna Corbitt had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Mocs, while Caia Elisaldez added 14 points for Chattanooga.
 
Chattanooga jumped out to an early 11-5 lead with 5:09 to go in the first quarter following a jumper by Corbitt. With Samford trailing 13-8, back-to-back three-pointers from Langham and Sadie Stetson gave Samford a 14-13 lead with 57 seconds left in the first period. The Bulldogs held the 14-13 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
 
Samford built a 23-17 lead at the 6:05 mark in the second quarter after a three-pointer by Blankenship. The Bulldogs built an eight-point lead at 34-26 following a three-point play by Langham with 2:51 to go in the second period. Chattanooga fought back to cut the Samford lead to 36-34 at halftime.
 
The lead went back and forth for most of the third quarter. With Chattanooga leading, 45-44, Samford went on an 8-0 run to take a 52-45 lead with 1:24 left in the period after a three-point play by Johnson. Samford held a 53-47 lead at the end of the third quarter.
 
With Samford leading, 58-53, Chattanooga went on a 7-1 run to take a 60-59 lead with 4:34 to go after a layup by Elisaldez. A layup by Johnson gave Samford a 61-60 lead with 3:22 left in the game. Chattanooga then went on a 6-0 run to take a 66-61 lead with 1:39 left after a layup by Anya. A jumper by Langham cut the lead to 66-63 with 1:08 to play. Samford, however, could get no closer as Chattanooga closed out the 69-63 win.
 
Samford will wrap up its three-game road swing with a game at ETSU on Saturday, Jan. 18. The game is set for a 1 p.m. (CT) start from Johnson City, Tenn.
 
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