College of Charleston
Samford
CofC comeback bid falls short as Samford escapes with 64-58 victory
1/3/2009 5:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Savannah Hill scored a game-high 26 points to lead Samford (9-3, 4-1) over the College of Charleston (8-4, 2-3) in Southern Conference women's basketball action at the Carolina First Arena on Saturday, January 3.
Trailing 43-37 with 10:38 remaining in the game, the Bulldogs used a 15-4 run, fueled by a pair of three-pointers by sophomore guard Emily London and seven points from Hill, to retake the lead at 52-47 with 3:19 to play. A three-pointer by Charleston junior guard Jade Hughes (Spartanburg, S.C.) on the next possession quickly narrowed the gap to 52-50 before a layup by London and a trey from redshirt-junior guard Monica Maxwell pushed the lead back to 57-50 at the 1:30 mark.
With the score at 62-55 and 26 seconds to play, sophomore guard Tonia Gerty (Port Orange, Fla.) drew the Cougars to within 62-58, but it would be as close as they would get as Maxwell sunk a pair of free throws to stave off an impressive Charleston rally and escape with a 64-58 victory.
It was much different game in the first half as Samford dominated the first 14 minutes of play. After jumping out to a 9-3 advantage at the 15:03 mark, the Bulldogs weathered a Charleston rally that narrowed the gap to 14-9 with 10:07 remaining in the half. From there, back-to-back three-pointers from London and Hill sparked an 8-0 run that left the score at 22-9. Samford would continue to build on that lead, eventually extending to a 29-15 advantage with 5:54 until the break.
At that point, consecutive jumpers by senior forward Nikki Williams (North, S.C.) and a three-point play by junior forward Brooke Kotcella (Anderson, S.C.) keyed a 7-2 Cougars rally that left the score at 31-24 heading into the half.
Coming out of the break, the Bulldogs managed to extend their lead to 37-29 before the Cougars again flashed the strong play they had showed at the end of the first half. Trailing by eight, Charleston went on a 14-0 run that included seven straight points from Williams and took its first lead of the game at 43-37 with 10:38 to play. All told, the Cougars went on a 28-8 run from 5:54 remaining in the first half to 10:38 of the second half, a span of 15:16. From there, Samford then battled back to earn the 64-58 victory.
Hill's career-high 26 points, on 10-of-13 shooting and 4-of-5 marksmanship from beyond the three-point arc, led the way for the Bulldogs while Emily London notched 15 points, nine of which came on three three-pointers. She also added five rebounds and a team-high four assists while Monica Maxwell rounded out the double-figure scoring with 10 points.
For Charleston, Williams scored a team-high 12 points and added six rebounds and Gerty finished with 11 points, four rebounds and a game-high five assists. Kotcella added eight points and five rebounds while Hughes totaled seven points. Senior forward Sarah Moye (Alpharetta, Ga.) chipped in with six points and six rebounds while junior center Deidra Jones (Irmo, S.C.) added six points and five boards.
The Cougars continue through the most difficult portion of their schedule when they host defending Southern Conference Champion Chattanooga on Monday, January 5. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m. in the Carolina First Arena.
NOTES
The 64-58 loss is the first for the Cougars in the Carolina First Arena ... they are now 5-1 at home this season ... Samford currently holds a 3-0 advantage in the all-time series with the only other meetings occurring in the 1997-98 season when both teams were members of the Trans America Athletic Conference (now Atlantic Sun).
