No. 1 seed Samford 77, No. 8 seed Western Carolina 62

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Top seed Samford ran past No. 8 Western Carolina in the first quarterfinal game of the 2020 Ingles Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Championship presented by General Shale. The Bulldogs used a strong middle of the contest to build an insurmountable lead in the 77-62 win Thursday.
 
Samford broke open a close game in the second quarter. Tembre Moates’ layup got the Catamounts within four, 25-21. The Bulldogs went on a 17-2 run over the final 8:24 of the half. Raven Omar started it with two free throws with Paige Serup’s back-to-back 3-pointers sending her squad into the break leading 42-23.
 
The lead grew as large as 25. Oman gave her squad the 54-29 lead on a layup with 4:14 to go. It essentially extend the run to 29-8 over 12:38 of clock time in the middle periods. Samford took a comfortable 56-35 lead into the fourth.
 
It stayed in the 17- to 24-point range into the final minute. The Catamounts used 3s by Diarra Smith and Jewell Smalls along with a Smalls layup to whittle the final margin to 15.
 
Smalls led all scorers with 23 points. Lauren LaPlant added 14 for Western. Samford as paced by Natalie Armstrong’s 18 points, nine rebounds and three steals. Serup and Sarah Myers each added 12, while Charity Brown recorded 11 with six assists.
 
The 2020 regular season tri-champions await the winner of Furman/Wofford in Friday’s semifinal round. That game tips off at 11 a.m. in Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville, broadcasting on ESPN+.
 
RECORDS: No. 1 Samford 16-14 | No. 8 Western Carolina 5-25
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW
- Samford is now 9-4 all-time in the quarterfinals. Western Carolina 16-27.
- The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 23-4. They swept all three games with a 62-50 win in Cullowhee on Jan. 30 and last Saturday’s 70-53 triumph in Birmingham in the regular-season finale. They’re now 2-1 in the SoCon tourney against the Catamounts.
- Western set the school’s all-time record for 3-pointers made with 215. They’ve built on the mark since breaking it on Feb. 27 at Mercer. The 10 Thursday makes it five games this season in double digits.
 
3 STATS TO KNOW
- The eye-popping number is Samford’s 23-9 advantage in points off turnovers. It was a wider margin over the first three quarters as the Bulldogs used it to take firm control of the game.
- Western shot a season-high 54.5 percent (24-for-44) including 45.5 percent (10-for-22) from 3. Twenty turnovers cut short that shooting effort.
- The Bulldogs won the rebounding battle by just two. It still held an 18-5 lead on second-chance points. The 18 points came off 11 offensive boards.
 

No. 4 seed Furman 68, No. 5 seed Wofford 54

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Furman Paladins rode a strong second-half effort in Thursday’s 68-54 win over the Wofford Terriers in the quarterfinals of the Ingles Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Championship presented by General Shale. Furman outscored its rival 38-23 in the decisive second half.
 
Wofford led 37-33 early in the third quarter on two Cairo Booker free throws. Celena Taborn in the post and Le’Jzae Davidson from 3 gave the lead back to the Paladins in just two possessions, 38-37. That sparked a 9-0 run capped by a Tierra Hodges layup in transition. The Terriers cut it to two three times before Taborn’s offensive board work sent the Paladins into the fourth quarter with a narrow 51-47 lead.
 
It was all Furman from there. Taborn, Milica Manojlovic and Hodges combined to score the first seven points out of the quarter break as the lead swelled to 11, 58-47. Alea Harris and Jamari McDavid answered, cutting it to a manageable seven with 6:56 remaining. The Paladins allowed just one basket the rest of the way, locking down the easy win.
 
Davidson led a trio of double-digit scorers for the winners with 18. Taborn added 16, while Hodges had a dominant day in the post with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Niyah Lutz posted 15 for the Terriers with Booker and McDavid chipping in 13 and 11, respectively.
 
The Paladins’ win sets the top half of the bracket. They square off with 2020 regular season tri-champion Samford in Friday’s first semifinal contest. That game tips off at 11 a.m. in Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville, broadcasting on ESPN+.

RECORDS: No. 4 Furman 19-11| No. 5 Wofford 15-15
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW
- Furman is now 18-20 in the quarterfinal round, Wofford 9-21. The 18 wins rank behind Chattanooga’s 23 entering Thursday for most in league history.
- The Paladins improve their series advantage to 46-10. They took two of the three from their arch-rival with Wofford winning the first meeting 66-62 in Spartanburg, while Furman won the regular-season finale in Greenville 62-56. Interesting that both of the SoCon quarterfinal matchups (Samford/Western Carolina & Furman/Wofford) were rematches of the last regular-season contest.
- Second straight semifinal appearance for Furman. It reached the championship game a year ago, losing 66-63 to two-time champ Mercer.
 
3 STATS TO KNOW
- Season-low eight turnovers for Furman. Previous low was 10 at Western Carolina and at Mercer. The Paladins averaged 17.2 per game for the season.
- Tough shooting day for the Terriers, managing just 35.8 percent (19-for-53) from the floor including 33.3 percent from 3-point range.
- Furman struggled from long range, making just 31.6 percent (6-for-19) beyond the arc but made up for it inside it. Shot 51.5 percent (17-for-33) from inside it along with a +6 advantage at the free -throw line, hitting 76.2 percent (16-for-21).
 

2020 Ingles Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Championship presented by General Shale
Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville, Asheville, N.C.
 
Thursday, March 5
Game 1 – No. 1 Samford 77, No. 8 Western Carolina 62
Game 2 – No. 4 Furman 68, No. 5 Wofford, 54
Game 3 – No. 2 Chattanooga vs. No. 7 Mercer, 3:30 p.m.^
Game 4 – No. 3 UNCG vs. No. 6 ETSU, 5:45 p.m.^
 
^ - Denotes approximate game time. The first game on March 5 will have a firm start time. Each game thereafter will start 30 minutes following the conclusion of the preceding game but will not start prior to the listed time.
 
Friday, March 6
Game 5 – No. 1 Samford vs. No. 4 Furman, 11 a.m.
Game 6 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 1:15 p.m.
 
Sunday, March 8
Championship Game
Game 7 – Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 12 p.m.
 
NOTE: All times Eastern. All games to be broadcast on ESPN+, with the championship game also on Nexstar.