Feb. 22, 2005

Final Stats

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.- The Samford women's basketball team placed four players in double figures, but it was not enough, as the Bulldogs fell to Jacksonville State, 60-57, Thursday night at Seibert Hall.

The game was Senior Night for the Bulldogs, as the team's three seniors, Sarah Clement, LaBrena Friend and Che' Walker were honored before the game.

For Samford (13-13, 6-9 OVC), Andrea Ward led the team with a career-high 15 points. Tish Pilkerton scored 11 points for Samford, while Clement and Cora Beth Smith added 10 points apiece.

Jacksonville State (13-12, 9-6 OVC) was led by Rebecca Haynes with 16 points. Ann-Marie Healy and Freddricka Embry scored 10 points each for the Gamecocks. Katja Fuess scored nine points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

Jacksonville State jumped out to an early lead at 3-0, but Samford came back with five-straight points to take a 5-3 lead with 16:59 to go in the first half on a three-pointer by Cora Beth Smith. JSU retook the lead at the 16:24 mark at 6-5. The teams stayed close until, with the score tied at 10-10, Jacksonville State went on a 6-0 run to take a 16-10 lead with 11:35 left in the opening period.

The Gamecocks pushed the lead to as much as nine points in the first half at 21-12. Samford then went on an 11-0 run to take a 23-21 lead with 58 seconds remaining in the half on a three-pointer by Sarah Clement. Jacksonville State scored the last five points of the half to take a 26-23 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Samford took its first lead of the half at 35-32 with 16:28 to go in the game on a three-pointer by Ward. The teams went back-and-forth for a while until, with the game tied at 44-44, Samford went on a 10-3 run to take a 54-47 lead with 6:01 to go on a jumper by Ward.

Jacksonville State then scored the next six points to cut the Samford lead to one at 54-53 with 3:55 remaining in the contest. The Gamecocks took the lead for good at 56-55 with 2:58 left in the game. After JSU pushed its lead to three at 58-55, Samford cut the lead to one at 58-57. The Bulldogs had a couple of chances to retake the lead, but could not convert as Jacksonville State came away with the 60-57 win.

Samford will conclude its regular season on Thursday night when the Bulldogs play at Tennessee State in Nashville, Tenn. The game is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. start, and it can be heard worldwide on the internet at www.samfordsports.com.