ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The fifth-seeded Samford women's basketball team was eliminated from the Southern Conference Tournament with a dramatic 58-56 loss to fourth-seeded Wofford in the quarterfinal round Thursday evening at the Harrah's Cherokee Center.
 
With the loss, Samford ends its season by a record of 12-19. Wofford improved its record to 17-11. The Terriers will take on the top-seeded UNC Greensboro Spartans in the semifinal round Friday at 10 a.m. CT.
 
Samford was led in the loss by freshman Claire Johnson with 19 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Alonya Waldon had 17 points and four rebounds for the Bulldogs.
 
For Wofford, Helen Matthews had 20 points and five rebounds. Queen Ikhiuwu added 10 points for the Terriers.
 
After falling behind, 5-2 early, Samford used back-to-back three-pointers by Waldon and Aubrey Blankenship to take an 8-5 lead with 7:01 to go in the first quarter. Wofford came back to tie the score at 11-11 with 4:30 to go in the opening quarter on a layup by Matthews. After Wofford took a 16-15 lead, a deep three-pointer by Johnson at the first-quarter buzzer gave Samford an 18-16 lead at the end of the first period.
 
Samford scored the first six points of the second period, extending its lead to 24-16 with 7:12 to go in the quarter following a layup by Waldon. Wofford then went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 24-22 with 3:37 left in the second period after a layup by Libby Privett. Samford pushed the lead out to 29-22 following a three-pointer by Johnson with 1:16 to go in the period. A late Wofford three-pointer by Matthews cut the Samford lead to 29-25 heading into the locker room at halftime.
 
The Bulldogs pushed their lead out to nine points at 34-25 with 7:12 to go in the third quarter after a pair of free throws by Kennedy Langham. The Terriers then scored the next five points to cut the lead to 34-30 with 6:17 left in the third period after a three-pointer by Molly Masingale. After a pair of Johnson free throws pushed the lead to 36-30, Wofford fought back to tie the score at 37-37 with 4:02 to go after a three-pointer by Matthews. With the score tied at 43-43, Wofford's Matthews hit a layup with 21 seconds left in the third period to give the Terriers a 45-43 lead heading into the fourth period.
 
Wofford built a seven-point lead at 54-47 with 6:56 left after a layup by Ikhiuwu. After a Samford timeout, the Bulldogs fought back to cut the lead to two points at 54-52 after a layup by Johnson with 6:00 to go. Another Johnson layup tied the game at 56-56 with 2:33 left. The game remained tied until Wofford's Evangelia Paulk hit a layup to give the Terriers a 58-56 lead with 10 seconds to go. Samford had one last shot to tie the game, but Langham's jumper just missed, and Wofford held on for the two-point win.
 
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