Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Western Carolina women's basketball (8-11, 0-4 Southern Conference) dropped an afternoon contest against Samford (11-8, 4-0 SoCon) 68-52 Monday in the Pete Hanna Center.

The Bulldogs improve to 8-0 at home with the win and sweeps the regular season series with Western Carolina. Samford defeated WCU 60-50 just a week ago in Cullowhee. Neither team could find the basket early in the game with Western Carolina leading 3-2 after the first media timeout. The Catamounts' only score to open the game came with five minutes in off a three-pointer by Senior Makensey Campbell.

Western Carolina, trailing 8-7, tied the game at eight, with 11:54 left, when freshman Emily Hattfield hit 1-of-2 free throws. The Catamounts would get two more free throws, by Justin Taylor, at 10:42 giving Samford an 11-10 lead.

Samford would go on to score 11 unanswered points to build a 22-10 lead. Western Carolina went over five minutes without scoring to allow the Bulldogs to build its double-digit lead before Ace Easter scored a field goal for Western Carolina. The Catamounts hit just five field goals in the first half and shot 21.7 percent from the field.

In the final five minutes of the half Samford outscored WCU 14-to-5 to enjoy a 36-17 heading into the locker room. Perhaps the dagger in the game, for Samford, came in the waning seconds of the first half. A pressured Brrittony Stevens, for the Bulldogs, chucked up desperation shot near half court at the buzzer and it went in for a three-point bucket.

Western Carolina got six of its 17 first-half points from the free throw line going 6-of-8.

Though Western Carolina won the second half, outscoring Samford 35-32, the 19 point lead at the half afforded Samford the luxury of giving up points in the second half. The Bulldogs ended the contest shooting 45.5 percent from the field, after shooting 52.2 percent in the first half. The Catamounts improved its shooting in the second half with 30.2 percent after shooting 21.7 in the first.

The Bulldogs hit seven three-pointers in the contest. Western Carolina knocked down just two - one in the first half and one in the second. Samford also benefitted from just eight turnovers in the game while WCU coughed it up 16 times turning into 20 Bulldog points.

The Catamounts got 24 of its 52 total points, almost half, from the free throw line hitting 24-of-28. The Catamounts hit a season-low 13 field goals in the contest. Western Carolina won the rebounding battle 36 to 27 with 28 coming on the defensive end.

Red-shirt sophomore Brianne Mack tied her career-high with 10 points and was 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Four Samford players scored in double figures with Hannah Nichols and Destiney Elliott leading all scorers with 15 points each.

Western Carolina returns home at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Ramsey Center hosting UNCG. The contest is the Catamounts' "We Back Pat Game" a week-long initiative focused on bringing awareness and recognition to The Pat Summitt Foundation, a fund of East Tennessee Foundation, and its fight against Alzheimer's disease