BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford women's basketball team earned a hard-fought, 50-43 Southern Conference victory over ETSU Thursday evening at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
With the win, Samford improved its season record to 9-16 overall and 4-5 in the Southern Conference. ETSU fell to 14-11 overall and 5-5 in SoCon play.
 
"I couldn't be prouder of this group," Samford head coach Carley Kuhns said. "We knew coming in that this team was playing really, really well. I think they're one of the hottest teams in the league. All week, we have emphasized being in attack mode and playing hard. I thought our team responded and rose to the challenge, especially in the second half. Our guard play was incredible, defensively and in rebounding."
 
Kennedy Langham posted her first career double-double with 18 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Emily Bowman narrowly missed a double-double with 12 points and eight rebounds, to go along with her three blocked shots. Claire Johnson added eight points and four assists. Defensively, Samford held ETSU to a season-low 27 percent shooting from the floor.
 
For ETSU, Courtney Moore had 14 points, while Braylyn Milton followed with 11 points. Carmen Richardson led the Bucs in rebounding with 10.
 
ETSU jumped out to an early 6-0 lead with 8:33 to go in the first quarter following a three-pointer by Milton. Samford fought back to cut the lead to one point at 11-10 with 5:19 to go in the first period after a three-pointer by Langham. After ETSU pushed its lead back to 14-10, Samford closed the first quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 16-14 lead at the end of the period.
 
ETSU came back to take a 22-18 lead with 5:44 left in the second quarter after a three-pointer by Moore. Samford fought back to close to within one point at 24-23 with 1:06 to play before halftime following a three-pointer by Johnson. ETSU took a 26-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
With ETSU leading, 28-27, Samford went on a 10-0 run to take a 37-28 lead with 3:15 to go in the third quarter after a layup by Langham. Samford held a 37-30 lead at the end of the fourth quarter.
 
Samford built an 11-point lead at 41-30 with 7:38 to go after a jumper by Langham. ETSU answered with a 10-0 run to cut the lead to one point at 41-40 with 3:05 left after a three-pointer by Milton. A three-pointer by Langham and a layup by Bowman pushed the lead out to 46-40 with 50 seconds to go. A pair of free throws by Sierra Godbolt with 23.5 seconds remaining made the score 48-40. After an ETSU three-pointer, Bowman hit a late layup to make the final score 50-43.
 
Samford will next play host to Chattanooga on Saturday, Feb. 15. The game is set for a 2 p.m. start from the Pete Hanna Center.




 
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