Jan. 4, 2005

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Jacksonville State scored the final six points to pull away for a 66-59 win over the Samford women's basketball team Tuesday night at Pete Mathews Coliseum.

"I thought we played hard and played tough," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "I challenged the team to have better practices this week, and I thought we brought those practices into the game.

"I, personally, take responsibility for this loss because I didn't do a good job of getting our team a good shot down the stretch," Morris said. "The last three or four possessions, we didn't get a good look, and that is completely on me. I thought our team played well enough to win the game, but we have to do a better job down the stretch."

Samford (7-5, 0-1 OVC) was led by junior guard Cora Beth Smith with 17 points and six rebounds. Sophomore forward Veronica Pike scored 12 points and pulled down five rebounds. Senior guard Sarah Clement added nine points for the Bulldogs.

For Jacksonville State (4-5, 1-0 OVC), Shanika Freeman led the Gamecocks with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Laniece Thomas and Freddricka Embry added 12 points apiece for JSU.

In the first half, JSU jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but Samford responded with an 8-0 run to take an 8-4 lead on a jumper by Smith with 15:22 to go in the first half. Jacksonville State came back to tie the score at 8-8 on four-straight points by Freeman. The game remained close throughout the first half, with the largest lead being five points by Jacksonville State. Samford trailed the Gamecocks, 32-29 at halftime.

Jacksonville State pushed its lead to seven points early in the second half at 40-33 with 14:06 to play in the game. Samford then went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 40-39 with 12:13 remaining in the game on a layup by Andrea Ward.

Samford took the lead for the first time in the second half on a layup by Tish Pilkerton with 7:04 remaining to make the score 48-46. The Bulldogs led by as much as four points at 57-53 with 2:52 to go in the game. However, a 7-0 JSU run gave the Gamecocks the lead at 60-57 with 1:35 to go in the game. Smith then hit two free throws for Samford to cut the lead to one at 60-59, but the Gamecocks closed the game with six-straight points to pull out the 66-59 win.

Samford will return to action on Saturday, January 8, when the Bulldogs play host to the Tennessee State Lady Tigers. The game is scheduled for a 4:00 p.m. tip-off from Seibert Hall. The game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samfordsports.com.