Women's Hoops Downs EKU, 69-56, In First-Round OVC Tournament Game :: The Bulldogs advance to the OVC Tournament semifinals to face Murray State on Friday

The Bulldogs advance to the OVC Tournament semifinals to face Murray State on Friday

March 4, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford women's basketball team defeated Eastern Kentucky, 69-56, in a first-round Ohio Valley Conference Tournament game Tuesday night at the Pete Hanna Center.

The game, played in front of a season-high home crowd of 1,058, gives Samford its third-straight trip to the OVC Tournament semifinals. The second-seeded Bulldogs will play third-seeded Murray State Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium.

"We had 10 turnovers and they had five offensive rebounds, and that is what they (EKU) try to do, get offensive rebounds and turn you over," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "I think that was the difference in the game. They played well, but we were finally able to get some stops down the stretch."

Samford (23-8) was led by senior Taryn Towns with 16 points and six assists. Freshman Savannah Hill scored 13 points and senior Alex Munday added 10 points for the Bulldogs.

EKU (14-14) was led by Crystal Jones with 17 points and seven rebounds. Niki Avery scored 10 points, while LaTanya Stokes added nine points and nine rebounds for the Lady Colonels.

In the first half, Samford jumped out to an early 10-6 lead with 14:32 to go in the half after a three-pointer by Monica Maxwell. With Samford leading, 15-11, EKU went on a 9-2 run to take a 20-17 lead with 7:39 to go in the first half.

Samford scored the next six points to take a 23-20 lead with 4:08 to go in the half after a three-pointer by Hill. After EKU came back to take a 24-23 lead, Samford scored the next five points in a row to take the lead back at 28-24 with 1:05 to go in the half after a jumper by Hill. Samford took a 31-29 lead into halftime.

Samford pushed its lead out to 10 at 44-34 with 15:43 to go in the game after a layup by Towns. EKU cut the lead to six at 44-38, but Samford was able to push the lead back out to 10 at 48-38 with 10:52 left in the game.

With Samford leading, 54-45, EKU went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to three at 54-51 with 5:06 left in the game. With Samford leading, 56-53, the Bulldogs went on a 9-0 run to push their lead to 12 at 65-53 with 1:52 to go after a pair of free throws by Emily London.

EKU could get no closer than nine points the rest of the way as Samford came away with the 69-56 win. The win is Samford's 23rd of the season. The 23 wins set a school record for wins in a season.

Friday's semifinal game against Murray State can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/groups/wvsu/. The game can also be viewed on the internet at www.ovcsports.tv.