Late Comeback Lifts Women's Basketball Over Morehead State, 59-57 :: Monica Maxwell led Samford with 18 points in the win

Feb. 14, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford's Monica Maxwell hit two free throws with four seconds left to lift the Bulldog women's basketball team to a 59-57 win over Morehead State Thursday night at the Pete Hanna Center.

The win was the 12th in the last 13 games for the Bulldogs, and their record improves to 19-6 overall and 12-3 in Ohio Valley Conference play. With Samford's win and Eastern Illinois' 46-41 loss at Southeast Missouri, Samford moves into second place in the OVC standings, just one game behind first-place Southeast Missouri. Morehead State drops to 7-17 overall and 5-10 in conference play with the loss.

"The positive is that down the stretch, we found a way to win," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "We didn't play well at all in the first half, and Morehead played well and shot the ball well. But, I think when you are not playing well, but you still find a way to win the basketball game, it is a huge positive."

Samford was led in scoring by Maxwell with 18 points. Alex Munday scored 14 points and Savannah Hill followed with 12 points. Emily London scored nine points and pulled down a career-high nine rebounds.

For Morehead State, Brandi Rayburn led the way with 18 points. Chynna Bozeman scored 13 points and Tarah Combs followed with 11 points.

Morehead State led the entire game until, with the Eagles leading, 57-55, Taryn Towns hit a layup with nine seconds left to tie the game and set the stage for Maxwell's game-winning free throws.

In the first half, Morehead State jumped out to an early nine point lead at 14-5 with 13:22 to go in the half. The Eagles pushed the lead out to 12 at 27-15 with 6:00 to go in the first half.

Samford cut the lead to nine at 29-20 with 3:45 to go in the half after a three-pointer by Maxwell. A late free throw by MSU's Brittany Pittman gave the Eagles a 30-20 halftime lead.

In the first half, MSU shot 46.7 percent from three-point range, while Samford shot just 18.2 percent from beyond the three-point line.

In the second half, Samford cut the lead to four at 38-34 with 14:30 to play after a three-pointer by Munday. MSU, however, pushed the lead back to eight at 46-38 with 11:07 to go in the game.

After Samford cut the lead back to four at 50-46, MSU scored the next five points in a row to push the lead back to nine at 55-46 with 5:03 to play. Samford finished the game with a 13-2 run to pull out the 59-57 win.

Samford will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 16, when the Bulldogs play host to Eastern Kentucky for the Bulldogs' final home game of the regular season. The game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start at the Pete Hanna Center.