Nov. 18, 2008

Box Score

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Samford's Monica Maxwell and Karmen Smith scored 17 points each to lead the Bulldog women's basketball team to a 61-55 overtime win at Alabama Tuesday night at Coleman Coliseum.

Samford shot 32.7 percent from the floor on the night, while holding Alabama to just 34.9 percent. Samford made 24.0 percent of its three-point attempts, while Alabama shot 7.1 percent from three-point range.

"I told our team in the locker room that good teams have to find a way to win when they are not playing well," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "We didn't play well for most of the game, but that is a credit to the players and their heart. They have a big heart and they refused to lose. They found a way to win a basketball game where it just didn't look like it was our night."

With the win, Samford improves to 2-0 on the season, while Alabama falls to 1-1. The win was Samford's second-straight victory over Alabama, but it was the Bulldogs' first ever win at a Southeastern Conference school.

Along with their 17 points each, Smith had seven rebounds and Maxwell pulled down six boards. Savannah Hill added 11 points for the Bulldogs.

Alabama's Tierney Jenkins led the Crimson Tide with 19 points. Katie Hancock led all rebounders with 11.

Samford's Hill hit a layup with seven seconds to go in regulation to send the game into overtime at 49-49. After Alabama hit the first basket of the overtime, Samford came back to score the next five points to take a 54-51 lead with 4:06 to go after a pair of free throws by Smith.

Karmen Smith scored 17 points and pulled down seven rebounds Tuesday night against Alabama.

After Alabama came back to take the lead at 55-54, Samford scored the final seven points of the game to earn the win. Chika Okoli hit a layup with 1:22 to go to give Samford the lead for good at 56-55. Maxwell then hit a layup with 41 seconds left to make the score 58-55. One free throw by Hill with 18 seconds left and two by Smith with six seconds to go sealed the win for the Bulldogs.

Alabama scored the first eight points of the game, but Samford bounced back with a 5-0 run to cut the lead to three with 16:37 to play in the first half after a three-point play by Megan Wilderotter. With Alabama leading, 15-5, Samford went on a 10-3 run to cut the Alabama lead to three at 18-15 after a three-pointer by Emily London with 8:19 to go in the first half.

With Alabama leading, 20-15, Samford went on a 7-0 run to take the lead at 22-20 after a pair of free throws by Maxwell with 3:13 to go in the first half. Alabama scored the last five points of the first half to go into halftime with a 25-22 lead.

Alabama pushed its lead to five points early in the second half at 33-28. With the Crimson Tide leading, 35-30, Samford went on a 10-2 run to take a 40-37 lead with 6:56 to go after a jumper by Smith.

Alabama fought back to take a three-point lead at 45-42 with 4:05 to play after a layup by Jenkins. With Alabama leading, 49-46, a free throw by Okoli cut the lead to 49-47 to set the stage for Hill's layup to force overtime.

Samford will return to action on Friday, Nov. 21, when the Bulldogs play their home opener against New Orleans. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Pete Hanna Center. The game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu.