College of Charleston
Samford
Cougars Come Up Just Short, Fall to Bulldogs 62-53
12/19/2010 2:09:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Samford hit six straight free-throws in the last 20 seconds of the game to keep a pesky College of Charleston women's basketball team at bay and secure the 62-53 win tonight in front of 342 fans at the Carolina First Arena.
Down 50-44 with 8:01 left in the game, the Cougars fought back with a 9-4 run to cut the margin to one, 54-53, with 2:19 on the clock. That would be as close as Charleston would get as Savannah Hill's lay-up at 1:05 was followed by six straight free throws to give the Bulldogs the nine-point, 62-53 win.
A majority of the second half was a tight race with Samford building leads and Charleston clawing back every time. The first 10 minutes saw two ties, with the last coming at 10:39 after Janae Smith (Matteson, Ill.) connected on a lay-up to make the score 44-44. Samford took a 6-0 run after that to take its 50-44 lead, before the Cougar run.
Samford took its largest lead of the first half at 14:39 when the Bulldogs capped off a 10-2 run to lead 12-6. Tied 2-2 with 17:10 on the clock, Samford, behind a five-point effort by Paige Anderson, scored the next 10 of 14 points. Charleston responded quickly with six straight to knot the game up at 12 with 12:24 remaining. Samford's Ruth Ketcham ended the drought with a free throw shot a 10:51.
Over the final 10 minutes of the half, the no team had more than a three-point lead as both traded baskets, resulting in five ties and three lead changes. Samford took the one-point lead into the locker room off a lay-up by Anderson with just four seconds on the clock. Anderson led the Bulldogs in the first half with 10 points, but it was Cougar Tonia Gerty (Port Orange, Fla.) who kept Charleston close with 14 of her 20 points in the first stanza.
Charleston shot 38.2 percent from the field, with Samford leading the charge at 48.9. The Bulldogs connected on six-of-18 three-pointers, while the Cougars struggled at two-for-15. Samford controlled points in the paint at 30-18, with the Cougars taking the 13-5 advantage in second-chance points.
Samford was 10-14 from the charity stripe, compared to nine-of-11 for the Cougars.
Following Gerty and her 20 points was Latisha Harris (Aynor, S.C.) with nine points and a team-leading nine rebounds.
Savannah Hill led Samford with 15 points, while Emily London had 12 to add to her team-leading eight rebounds.
Charleston out-rebounded Samford 36-26 and had just two more turnovers, 17-15.
The Cougars will take a few days off for the holidays and will return to action Tuesday, Dec. 28 against the Tar Heels of North Carolina. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. in Chapel Hill.
