BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford women's basketball team earned its third-straight win with a 55-50 victory over Chattanooga Saturday afternoon in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
With the win, Samford improved its record to 10-16 overall and 5-5 in Southern Conference play. Samford has now won three-straight games and four of its last five games. Chattanooga fell to 12-12 overall and 7-4 in SoCon action.
 
"I thought we showed up to play again," Samford head coach Carley Kuhns said. "I think this team is just continuing to mature. This team needed reps, you can only simulate so much in practice as you can in games. So, this team is growing up, they're figuring out how to finish and win basketball games."
 
Samford was led in the win by Emily Bowman with 16 points and nine rebounds. Kennedy Langham scored 15 points, while Claire Johnson added 11 points for the Bulldogs.
 
For Chattanooga, Caia Elisaldez led the way with 15 points. Gianna Corbitt added 14 points and nine rebounds.
 
Chattanooga jumped out to a 5-0 lead with 7:13 to go in the first quarter following a layup by Elisaldez. Samford answered with a 14-0 run to take a 14-5 lead at the 57 second mark in the opening period after a layup by Sierra Godbolt. Samford held a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
In the second quarter, Chattanooga fought back to take a 22-20 lead with 2:52 to go in the period after a layup by Corbitt. The Mocs took a 28-25 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
Samford scored the first five points of the third quarter, taking a 30-28 lead on a three-pointer by Johnson with 8:56 to go in the period. After Chattanooga tied the score at 30-30, Samford went on a 9-0 run to take a 39-30 lead with 6:11 left in the third quarter after two free throws from Bowman. Chattanooga scored the next six points to cut the lead to 39-36 with 2:43 left in the quarter after a layup by Elisaldez. With Samford leading, 40-36, Chattanooga scored the final four points of the quarter to tie the score at 40-40 entering the final period.
 
The Bulldogs built a 45-42 lead on a three-pointer by Langham with 6:12 to go. With the score tied at 45-45, Samford scored five-straight points to take a 50-45 lead on a three-pointer by Sadie Stetson at the 4:07 mark. After Chattanooga cut the lead to 50-48, Samford pushed the lead back out to six points at 54-48 with 35 seconds left after a jumper by Langham. Samford held on for the 55-50 win.
 
Next up, Samford will play at Wofford on Thursday, Feb. 20. The game is set for a 6 p.m. (CT) start from Spartanburg, S.C.




 
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