GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Emily London scored 14 points and Samford used strong 3-point shooting to down Furman, 58-52, in Southern Conference women’s basketball action Wednesday evening on Carolina Court at Timmons Arena.
The victory was the sixth straight for Samford (13-3, 8-1 SoCon), competing in its first season in the league, and the loss was only the third setback in the last 10 games for Furman (10-8, 4-5 SoCon).
London’s 14 points topped a trio of double figure scorers for the Bulldogs, who got 12 each from Chika Okoli and Savannah Hill.
Furman was paced by Melissa Leibschwager’s game high 16 points. Lee Stephens chipped in 12 for the Paladins, who also got 10 points and 10 rebounds from Katie Johnson. Sarah Baker led all players with 12 boards.
The big difference in the game was Samford’s accurate shooting from 3-point range, where the Bulldogs drilled 11-of-23 treys, including 6-of-11 in the second half. In all six different players connected on a pair of 3-pointers for Samford, which helped overcome Furman’s 42-31 rebounding advantage.
The Bulldogs’ long range rainmakers broke open a close game early in the second half. Holding a 31-29 advantage a little over four minutes into the final period, Samford connected on four consecutive 3-pointers in a two a half minute span, including a pair by Megan Wilderotter, to fuel a 12-2 run that gave the Bulldogs a 43-31 lead with 11:48 to go.
Another Hill 3-pointer at the 9:09 mark put Samford ahead 48-37, but Furman battled back to make it 53-50 following a 3-pointer by Liebschwager at the 2:39 juncture.
After a Samford turnover, Furman had a chance to make it a one-point game, but Johnson’s left-handed bank shot missed, and Hill claimed the rebound. At that point the Bulldogs came down and Okoli drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the circle with 1:32 left give Samford a 56-50 cushion and effectively sealing the decision.
For the game the Bulldogs shot 43.8 percent from the field (21x48) to Furman’s 31.3 percent (20x64).
Furman returns to action on Saturday when it plays host to Georgia Southern in a 5:30 p.m. game that will be televised by CSS.
Samford will entertain Appalachian State on Saturday beginning at 5:00 p.m. ET.