BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford women's basketball team held McNeese State to 27.8 percent shooting as the Bulldogs defeated the Cowgirls, 67-48, on the first day of the Samford/UAB Thanksgiving Classic Friday night at the Pete Hanna Center.

"I thought, defensively, we were very good," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "We have been very consistent from a defensive standpoint for five games. But, we have been inconsistent from an offensive standpoint and that is something we have to improve on. I am very pleased that we have had great defensive effort."

Samford was led in scoring by Megan Wilderotter with 15 points. Savannah Hill added 14 points and eight rebounds for the Bulldogs.

With the win, Samford improves to 5-0. The 5-0 start is the best start in the history of the women's basketball program.

For McNeese State (2-4), Ashlyn Baggett led the way with 16 points.

Samford jumped out to an early 9-2 lead with 14:21 to go in the first half after a three-pointer by Emily London. McNeese State came back to tie the score at 13-13 with 11:48 to go in the half after a three-pointer by Baggett.

Samford then went on a 14-3 run to take a 27-16 lead with 5:15 left in the opening half after a three-pointer by Hill. Samford pushed its lead out to 14 points at 33-19 with 2:33 to go after a three-pointer by Monica Maxwell.

Samford took a 37-25 lead into halftime. For the first half, Samford shot 42 percent to MSU's 30 percent from the floor.

Early in the second half, Samford pushed its lead out to 15 points at 42-27 with 17:51 to go in the game after a free throw by Chika Okoli. MSU fought back to cut the lead to 10 points at 42-32 with 16:30 left in the contest.

Samford then went on a 7-0 run to push the lead out to 17 points at 49-32 with 11:32 to go after a three-pointer by London. The Cowgirls fought back to cut the lead to 12 at 51-39 with 8:18 to play.

Samford then scored the next six in a row to increase its lead to 18 at 57-39 with 5:21 to play after a pair of free throws by Wilderotter. MSU could get no closer than 13 points the rest of the way and Samford came away with the 67-48 win.

Samford will take on Evansville, who defeated UAB by a score of 62-47 in Friday's first game, Saturday at 4 p.m. CT. UAB and McNeese State will meet at 2 p.m. CT. Both games will be played at the Pete Hanna Center.

No. 17 Vanderbilt 82, Davidson 50

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- For the first time this year Davidson had three players score in double figures, but No. 17/17 Vanderbilt proved to be too much in the second half, nailing 54.5 percent of its shots in the half on its way to taking an 82-50 decision over the Wildcats in the first game of the Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament on Friday afternoon in women's basketball action.

Playing in its last in-season tournament of the year, Davidson fell to 1-4 on the year. The Wildcats also played their fifth ranked opponent in the past four years as they have faced the likes of Georgia (twice), Auburn, North Carolina and now Vanderbilt, all which were ranked in the top-25 of either poll, during that time period.

The Commodores picked up their fifth win of the year to improve to 5-1 and advanced onto the championship game tomorrow.

Despite the 32-point setback, Davidson had one of its best shooting games to date as it shot a season-best 45 percent from the field. The 'Cats also out-boarded their opponent for the third time with a 34-27 edge on the glass.

Junior Julia Paquette (Stockbridge, Ga.), who helped the Wildcats win the battle on the boards with a game-and career-high nine rebounds, eight of them on the defensive end, tied for top team honors in scoring with 13 points.

Sophomore Ashley Lax (Little Rock, Ark.) shared the lead with Paquette with 13 of her own points, and senior Mercedes Robinson (Baltimore, Md.) rounded out the trio of double-figure scorers for Davidson with a even 10 points. Lax, who was 5-of-11 from the field, set a personal-best with three made shots from downtown.

Vanderbilt matched Davidson with three of its own players in double-figures, led by Hannah Tuomi's game-high 16 points. All-SEC pick Christina Wirth (14) and Merideth Marsh (10) also hit for double digits in the winning effort. Tuomi and Wirth combined for 11 of Vandy's 27 rebounds.

The early part of the first half showcased the inside play of Paquette and Tuomi, who nearly matched each other point-for-point. Paquette dropped in all 13 of her points in the first half, including a three-point play that brought the 'Cats to within five at 19-14 halfway through the stanza.

Tuomi scored 10 of the Commodores' first 19 points and closed the half with 12, including two free throws that pushed the Vandy lead out to seven at 29-22 with 4:59 left in the period.

Tia Gibbs provided the Commodores with some outside scoring, draining the last of four three-pointers made in the half by Vanderbilt, and also scored five of the final seven Vandy points, to send the Commodores into halftime with a 36-24 advantage.

Tuomi then helped spark a 9-0 run to start the second half with four points, and Vanderbilt opened up a 45-24 lead before the first break in action at the 15:50 mark.

A Lax jump shot in the paint brought Davidson within 16 at 45-29, before the Commodores rattled off a 20-6 run over the next five minutes to take a commanding 65-35 lead on its way to the 82-50 victory.

Davidson will next play either Virginia Tech or St. Joseph's, which both play in the second game of the day, tomorrow at 2 p.m.(CT).

Game Notes: This was Davidson's first trip to Nashville since playing the Commodores back on Nov. 14, 1997 ... the last time Davidson dropped four of its first five games to start the year was the 2005-06 season, but the Wildcats went on to finish 17-12 overall ... the double-digit games by Lax and Robinson marked the third time this season they each have score 10 or more points ... junior Moncia Laune dished out a season-high five assists and Davidson as a team matched their team-best in a game with 12.

Florida Gulf Coast 66, UNC Greensboro 50

GREENSBORO, NC ? UNC Greensboro got 10 points each from Gini Grimsley, Ashley Mullins and Amanda Leigh, but it was not enough as the Spartans fell to Florida Gulf Coast, 66-50, in the second game of the UNCG Marriott Classic on Friday.

The Eagles (3-1) put four players in double figures, with Courtney Chihil and Adrianne McNally scoring a game-high 15 apiece. Kelsey Jacobson scored 14, all of which came in the first half, and Chelsea Lyles had 13 points.

The Spartans (1-4) hung with the Eagles in the first half, leading by as many as four after a Grimsley 3-pointer with 13:08 to play in the opening frame. FGCU was about to rip off a huge run, though, as the Eagles quickly turned an 18-16 deficit into a 33-22 halftime lead.

Lyles’ pair of free throws tied the game at 18 before Chihil’s pair of freebies put the Eagles ahead for good. A McNally layup made it a four-point game, but UNCG freshman Sarah Folwell hit a jumper to draw UNCG back to within two at 22-20.

Back-to-back 3s from Chihil and Jacobson pushed FGCU’s lead to eight, and after a Mullins layup, Jacobson hit a pair of free throws and another 3 ? her fourth of the half ? to put UNCG down by 11 a halftime, 33-22.

The Spartans made the Eagles pay for 10 first-half turnovers, converting them into 11 points ? half of UNCG’s point total in the opening frame.

Early in the second half, Agne Girstautaite’s layup cut the Eagles’ lead to single digits at 35-26, and Grimsley’s three-point play made it a two-possession game again. FGCU quickly responded, however, as Chihil and McNally hit consecutive layups underneath to push the Eagles’ lead back to 10 at 39-29. Lyles and Brittany Brown added layups of their own to make it an 8-0 run, but another Grimsley three-point play halted the spurt.

By then, the damage was done, as FGCU held a 43-32 lead and never looked back. The Eagles stretched their lead to as many as 23 before the Spartans closed the game on a 12-5 run. Mullins had eight of her points in the run, including a perfect 4-for-4 showing at the free throw line.

The line was a struggle for the Spartans all day, as UNCG went just 13-for-26.

Sophomore TaShama Banner had another solid day defensively, coming away with a game-high five steals to go along with five rebounds. Grimsley had a team-high seven boards, while Chihil pulled down a game-high nine for the Eagles to just miss a double-double.

The Spartans harassed FGCU into 23 turnovers, converting them into 23 points. While the Spartans committed 19 turnovers of their own, the Eagles got just 11 points off them.

“I’m disappoint with how we played in the second half, obviously,” UNCG coach Lynne Agee said. “We got a bit disjointed when they started on their run, and we can’t do that. The first half was impressive. What they ran was a real challenge for us, particularly for a young team. I thought our defense was pretty good for most of the first half, handling their 3-point barrage. Based on the games we saw, they shoot 35-40 of those a game. We knew what we were in for.

“I saw progression from the other day to today in our intensity and our effort,” she said. “I thought we put out a good effort. We’ve never seen an offense like that, so it was a great challenge for us, and I was pleased with how we challenged it.”

Sophomore guard Monique Floyd got a concussion during the game and did not return. She is questionable for Saturday’s game.

Winston-Salem State and Bowling Green played the early game of day one of the UNCG Marriott Classic, with Bowling Green coming away with an 80-43 win.

WSSU and FGCU will play at 1 p.m. Saturday, and UNCG and Bowling Green will close out the Classic with a contest starting at 3 p.m.

Pittsburgh 84, Elon 49

PITTSBURGH, PA. ? Despite a solid effort against the University of Pittsburgh, who appeared in the 2008 Sweet 16, the Elon women’s basketball team fell 49-84 in the second game of the Pittsburgh Thanksgiving Classic at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pa.  Elon had three players in double-digit scoring, led by Julie Taylor with 11 points.  Taylor was also a perfect three-for-three from beyond the arc and four-for-six from the field.  Amber Wall and Courtney Medley each posted 10 points.  Leading the team in rebounds was Urysla Cotton with five.
 
Elon is now 1-4 on the season, while Pitt improves to 3-1.
 
The Phoenix opened the game strong, staying within three during the opening three minutes of play.   Pitt scored nine straight to take a seven-point advantage.  Cotton’s jumpshot at the 16:11 mark sparked a 4-0 run by Elon that cut Pitt’s lead to three.
 
The Phoenix came within three again at the 16-13 mark after Cotton sank a shot from the charity stripe.  Pitt answered with eight points of their own, highlighted by four points and an offensive rebound from Kate Popovec.  A free throw shot and a jumper by Elon ended the Pitt run and decreased the home team’s lead to 13 at 29-16.
 
Julie Taylor hit a three at the 6:25 mark, which was followed by two free throws by Erica Keto to end the Panther run and decrease the lead to 14.  Tiffany Davis sank two shots for four points that Aiesha Harper followed with a layup that ended a Pitt 6-0 run and bring the Phoenix within 14.  Chelsea Cole scored the final points of the half with a layup with 1:22 left to put Pitt up by 16 entering the half.
 
The teams traded points on the opening four possessions of the half before Pitt went on a 11-0 run that was ended by a Taylor three at the 13:07 mark. Taylor continued her success from behind the arc to give Elon its 40th point of the night.
 
Zellous sank two free-throws that allowed Pitt to take its then-largest lead of the night at 31 with just under five minutes to play. Taneisha Harrison hit a shot from behind the three-point arc to give Pitt its 80th point.  
 
A foul by Kate Popvec allowed Keto to return to the line and give Elon its final point of the night. Shayla Scott hit the final shot of the night with just under a minute to play that put the Panthers on top by 35 for a final score of 84-49.
 
Elon will face Weber State, who could not survive a late comeback by Youngstown State, at 2 p.m. tomorrow afternoon at the Petersen Event Center.  Pitt will face Youngstown State in the championship game of the Pitt Thanksgiving Classic at 4 p.m.

Bethune-Cookman 75, Wofford 70 (2 OT)