Samford’s rollercoaster season came to an end on Thursday night, losing 65-53 to Southern University. After a slow start in the first quarter, the offense stepped up and went point for point with Southern. They ended the first half with a 3-point deficit of 27-24.
“We knew their pressure was going to be coming out in the first quarter. We knew we had to stay the course and eventually they will fall back,” said Sierra Godbolt.
The second half, the Bulldogs hit back hard, outsourcing Southern 20-17 in the third quarter and tying the game heading into the fourth. However, Southern went on a 21-9 run and beat Samford 65-53.
“I thought our team did an unbelievable job despite [Southern’s] physicality… what I was proud of is our team. Our players didn’t back down, they didn’t flinch.” said head coach Matt Wise.
Briana Rivera led Samford with 16 points. Freshmen Kaylee Yarbrough and Francie Morris contributed a lot to the game, with Yarbough scoring 11 points and five rebounds, and Morris with eight points and two assists.
Samford ended their season 16-19. Their tournament appearance was brought by a three-game Southern Conference tournament winning streak.
“Getting into the conference tournament as a 6th seed and beating the three teams that shared the conference title, that was absolutely incredible and made it mean that much more, and it just meant that we got to go and play some more games together,” said Alyssa Tarpley.
Despite the loss, the team still is proud of their season journey and putting up a strong fight on the national stage.
“The way we ended our SoCon tournament, we were just so grateful and happy that we were able to make it to this March Madness and be in this environment, and we took on the challenge. Of course, it’s not how you wanted to end things, but I feel like we are so grateful and we have fun and leading up to this we just stuck together and that was all we could do.” said Godbolt.
Public Relations Manager
