CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Samford women's basketball team picked up a thrilling 90-86 double-overtime win at Western Carolina Thursday evening at the Ramsey Center.
 
With the win, Samford improved its record to 7-15 overall and 2-4 in Southern Conference play. Western Carolina fell to 11-10 overall and 1-5 in league action.
 
"I couldn't be prouder of this team," Samford head coach Carley Kuhns said. "I told them before the game, you're going to have to have my back, I'm feeling down, and they absolutely did that. And I told them after we made that big play to send it to double overtime, we were going to win this game, we had all the momentum. But I thought we were tough, they went on runs and we responded and that's what we need out of this team."
 
In the win, Samford was led by freshman Claire Johnson with a career-high 26 points. Kennedy Langham had 16 points, while Alonya Waldon had 12 points and Sierra Godbolt added 11 points. Emily Bowman saw her first action since December, scoring four points in just 10 minutes of playing time.
 
For Western Carolina, Avyonce Carter led the way with 26 points. Tyja Beans scored 18 points for the Catamounts, while Jada Burton added 14 points for WCU.
 
Samford jumped out to a 10-4 lead with 7:21 to go in the first quarter following a three-pointer by Aubrey Blankenship. Western Carolina cut the lead to two points at 10-8, but a Waldon three-pointer pushed the Samford lead back to five at 13-8 with 5:32 to go in the opening period. The Bulldogs pushed their lead to seven points at 17-10, and Samford held a 21-14 lead at the end of the first period.
 
Early in the second quarter, Samford pushed its lead to nine points at 23-14, but WCU went on a 10-0 run to take a 24-23 lead with 6:54 to go in the second period after a layup by Burton. With Western Carolina leading, 28-25, Samford's Johnson hit back-to-back three-pointers to put the Bulldogs on top, 31-28 with 5:16 left in the second quarter. Western Carolina fought back to take a 35-33 lead at halftime.
 
In the third quarter, with Western Carolina leading, 44-42, Samford went on a 9-1 run to take a 51-45 lead after two free throws by Waldon with 2:08 to go in the period. After Western Carolina came back to cut the lead to 51-49, a three-pointer by Johnson pushed the Samford lead out to 54-49 with 56 seconds left in the third quarter. Samford held a 54-51 lead at the end of the third quarter.
 
The lead went back and forth early in the fourth quarter. Samford built a 70-66 lead on a layup by Bowman with 1:18 to go. With Samford leading, 71-69, a jumper by WCU's Carter with 21 seconds left tied the game at 71-71, forcing overtime.
 
In the first overtime, Western Carolina jumped out to a 77-73 lead, but a layup by Annie Ramil and two free throws by Sadie Stetson knotted the score at 77-77 with 1:34 to go. WCU's Beans made a layup with 12 seconds left to give the Catamounts a 79-77 lead, but Samford's Godbolt answered with a layup of her own with just seven seconds left to force a second overtime, tying the score at 79-79.
 
Samford built a six-point lead at 85-79 on a three-pointer by Johnson with 3:22 to go in the second overtime. Western Carolina cut the lead to four at 87-83 with 1:15 to go after a layup by Beans. Samford built the lead out to seven points at 90-83 with 31 seconds left after two free throws by Godbolt. Western Carolina's Beans hit a layup and a free throw to cut the lead to 90-86 with seven seconds left, but Samford was able to hold on for the 90-86 win.
 
Samford will remain on the road to play at UNC Greensboro on Saturday, Feb. 1. The game is set for a 1 p.m. (CT) start from Greensboro, N.C.
 
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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).