Samford women’s basketball’s regular season has ended, and the Lady Bulldogs are now looking ahead to the SoCon Tournament. The team finished 13-16 overall with a conference record of 7-7. However, the Lady Bulldogs had some notable moments from their 25th season.
First, the team faced formidable Power 5 competition from Auburn and Nebraska. Second, senior Andrea Bailey broke the single-game scoring record with 37 points in a game against Alabama A&M.
Talking about that stellar performance, Bailey said, “It still seems a little unreal, honestly.”
Samford started conference play 4-0, beating Chattanooga, who finished second in the conference, and ETSU, who finished third. With the early winning streak, the team also saw a late losing streak losing all 5 of their last games heading into the tournament. However, the team dropped 6 out of their final ten contests after the early success.
“Even though we didn’t finish like we wanted to, we saw how successful we could be,” Bailey said. “If we do the little things and really trust what the coaches have to tell us, I think we can make a run.”
Samford is matched up against ETSU in the SoCon tournament. The teams split their season series, with Samford beating ETSU in Johnson City and the Bucs clipping the Bulldogs in the Pete Hanna Center.
Freshman guard Masyn Marchbanks said, “ETSU doesn’t have anyone that can handle our inside. Sussy Ngulefac should be able to dominate the paint all night.”
Ngulefac, a preseason All-SoCon athlete, averages 11.3 points per game. She scored seven points in the win against ETSU, but in the loss against the Bucs, she scored 15 points.
The Samford-ETSU matchup tips off at 4:45 in Asheville, and the winner of the contest will face Chattanooga or Furman in the next round.
Staff Writer (Sports)
