RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky limited Samford to 27 percent shooting and 13 total field goals while beating the Bulldogs 72-45 Saturday at McBrayer Arena. The Lady Colonels (10-6, 5-4 OVC) shot 52 percent for the second straight game and got a game-high 25 points from senior guard Niki Avery.
Samford (13-6, 6-3 OVC) entered the game on a six game winning streak and as one of three teams with just two losses in conference play. The Bulldogs were led by Emily London with 14 points and six rebounds, but the freshman only registered two points in the second half.
Avery made seven of 10 attempts from beyond the three-point arc and 9-of-13 from the field. She also grabbed five boards and dished out three assists. The point guard turned the ball over only once in 38 minutes on the court.
Ashley Cazee added 15 points, five rebounds and five assists.
EKU made 13-of-19 three pointers for 68.4 percent and out-rebounded Samford 36-27. The Bulldogs made only 4-of-23 attempts (17.4 percent) from deep and just 1-of-11 in the second half.
The Lady Colonels got off to a quick start by hitting their first three shots from the field to take a 7-2 lead. Back-to-back three-pointers by LaTonyah Bentley and Avery extended the lead to 10 points, 17-7. Avery’s three from the left wing began a streak of four straight three pointers by the senior guard. Her fourth trey put Eastern in front 26-10 with 9:17 remaining in the first half.
London scored Samford’s first seven points but the Bulldogs were hindered early by eight turnovers in the first 12 minutes of the game.
LaTanya Stokes made it six straight three-pointers when she knocked down a triple from the right wing to put the home team in front 29-10 with 7:37 before intermission.
Samford rolled off seven unanswered points to cut the deficit to 12, but the Bulldogs did not make another field goal after Savannah Hill capped the run with a lay-up at the 5:53 mark. The remainder of Samford’s first half points came from six free throws.
London’s two free throws with 34 seconds before the break set the halftime score at 36-23. The freshman accounted for 12 of the Bulldogs’ 23 first half points.
EKU limited Samford to 29.2 percent (7-of-24) shooting in the first half. The Lady Colonels shot 50 percent (14-of-28) from the field and made eight of 11 three-pointers for 72.7 percent.
The Bulldogs opened the second half by scoring the first five points to cut the deficit to eight. Alex Munday’s three-pointer made it 36-28 with 17:47 left in the game. A three by Crystal Jones extended the EKU advantage back to 14 points but Munday scored six straight to bring Samford back to within eight, 44-36, with 14:26 to play.
Munday finished with 12 points off the bench. However, after her lay-up the Bulldogs went 8:12 without scoring and the Lady Colonels used a 15-0 run to put the game away. By the time Monica Maxwell made two free throws to end the drought, Samford was down by 21 with 6:14 remaining in the game.
Cazee’s lay-up at the 2:34 mark gave Eastern its largest lead of 28 points, 68-40.
Eastern Kentucky committed one more turnover than Samford, but the Lady Colonels out-scored the Bulldogs 29-17 off turnovers.
Next up for the Lady Colonels is a road trip to face Tennessee State on Thursday. The game in Nashville, Tenn., is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. (ET).
