BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Two days after making 17 three pointers and shooting 65 percent from beyond the arc, Eastern Kentucky made just three treys and shot 15.8 percent from deep in a 71-48 loss to Samford on Saturday in Birmingham, Ala. The Lady Colonels (12-10, 7-8 OVC) shot only 31.7 percent from the field. The Bulldogs (20-6, 13-3 OVC) shot 51 percent and won for the seventh straight time.

Shavonne Jones led EKU with 12 points. Crystal Jones added 11 points, seven rebounds, six steals and four assists. Monica Maxwell led Samford with 18 points.

The Bulldogs made eight of 18 shots from behind the arc for 44.4 percent.

After honoring its seniors in a pregame ceremony, Samford jumped out to an 11-2 lead on the Lady Colonels. Shavonne Jones engineered a 7-0 run to get EKU back in the game. The sophomore center scored five points during the spurt.

A free throw by LaTanya Stokes with 10:39 left in the first half kept Eastern within five, 19-14, but the Lady Colonels went on a three minute scoring drought and the Bulldogs used a 10-0 run to build a comfortable margin. Three-pointers by Chika Okoli and Emily London capped the run and put Samford in front 29-14.

EKU didn’t score until Ashley Cazee converted a lay-up with 7:37 left before intermission.

The Lady Colonels climbed back within single digits on a lay-up by Stokes with three minutes showing on the clock, but Eastern went into another scoring drought and didn’t put any more points on the board in the first half.

The Bulldogs scored eight straight to close out the opening period. The final six points came on back-to-back three-pointers by Maxwell that sent Samford to the locker room with a 40-23 lead.

Samford made six of 13 three-pointers in the first half while Eastern went 1-for-5 from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs made 53.1 percent (17-of-32) of their shots. In addition to turning the ball over 14 times in the first 20 minutes of play, the Lady Colonels made only 10-of-27 attempts from the field.

Eastern Kentucky scored the first four points of the second half to get within 13 points, 40-27. A jumper by Cazee with 15:29 left in the game made it a 12-point deficit, 47-35, but the Lady Colonels wouldn’t get any closer. The Bulldogs maintained a 20-plus point lead for the final 7:47 of the game.

The Lady Colonels continue a stretch of four straight road games on Thursday when they face Tennessee-Martin. Game time in Martin, Tenn., is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.