MONTGOMERY, Ala. | Ayana Emmanuel led all scorers with 22 points and ignited a Lady Hornets second half run, but it wasn't enough as the Alabama State women's basketball team fell short to Samford 60-51 Thursday night.
"I told the girls coming out of halftime we need to cut the lead down and they did a good job fighting back into the game," head coach
Freda Freeman-Jackson said. "Since we are such a young team, we made some mistakes down the stretch, but the intensity was always there."
Emmanuel also chipped in on the glass with seven rebounds, while
Jayla Crawford and Tatyana Calhoun each added six points for Alabama State (0-3).
Samford (2-2) opened the game on an 11-2 run and took a 27-10 lead after one quarter before ending the first half with a 34-20 lead.
In the third period, Alabama State would score seven of their 15 points off Samford miscues, cutting the Bulldogs lead to single digits, 44-35, heading into the final quarter. Calhoun hit two free throws with 2:51 remaining in the contest to cut the Bulldog lead to four, but the Lady Hornets would get no closer.
Alabama State ended the night shooting 32.6 (15-of-46) percent from the floor and just 23.1 (3-of-13) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 78.3 (18-of-23) percent from the free throw line and won the rebounding battle, 39-33.
Meanwhile, Samford shot 43.1 (22-of-51) percent from the floor and 26.3 (5-of-19) percent from beyond the arc. They also finished at 64.7 (11-of-17) percent from the free throw line. Samantha Fitzgerald led Samford with 21 points and two steals, while Olivia Crozier added nine points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Alabama State returns to action Monday with a road test against North Alabama. Tip is set for 6 pm inside of Flowers Hall in Florence, Ala.
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