Feb. 5, 2005

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Veronica Pike scored 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead the Samford women's basketball team to a 59-52 win over the Austin Peay Lady Govs Saturday afternoon at Seibert Hall.

"I can't say enough about our young ladies," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "It was a total team effort, but I thought it was big that we had our seniors out there down the stretch."

Behind Pike for Samford (11-10, 4-6 OVC), freshman guard Taryn Towns scored a career-high 13 points and grabbed six rebounds. Tish Pilkerton scored 11 points and had eight rebounds for the Bulldogs.

For Austin Peay (7-14, 3-7 OVC), Ashley Haynes scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Missy Booker scored 10 points for the Lady Govs.

Austin Peay jumped out to an early 10-5 lead with 15:18 to go in the first half. Samford answered with a 17-0 run to take a 12-point lead at 22-10 with 9:40 to go in the half on a layup by Andrea Ward.

With Samford leading, 28-17 with 4:23 to go in the half, Austin Peay went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to three points at 28-25 with 1:24 left in the half on a layup by Haynes. Samford went to halftime with a 32-27 lead.

Austin Peay cut the Samford lead to two at 36-34 early in the second half. Samford pushed the lead back to 10 at 45-35 with 13:57 left in the game on a jumper by Pike. However, a 7-0 run by Austin Peay cut the lead to three at 45-42 with 10:34 to go in the game on a three-pointer by Kera Bergeron.

Samford pushed its lead back out to seven at 49-42 with 7:53 to go in the game. Austin Peay cut the lead to three points at 53-50. Four free throws by Towns and two by Sarah Clement in the last minute of the game extended Samford's lead to 59-50. A jumper by Austin Peay's Carden Cobb with one second left made the final score 59-52.

Samford will return to action on Thursday, February 10, when the Bulldogs take on Eastern Kentucky. The game is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at Seibert Hall, and it can be heard worldwide on the internet at www.samfordsports.com.