BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Samford converted 28 North Alabama turnovers into 33 points Friday in a 79-66 home win over the Lions. With the loss, the UNA women fall to 0-5 on the season.
A 23-8 second-quarter run proved to be the difference in the game as the Bulldogs stretched an 18-15 advantage to 21 points and maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way. The Lions made just one shot from the floor and had six turnovers in the first 8:52 of the period. Samford led 41-23 at the half.
Early in the third quarter, the Bulldogs grabbed their largest lead of the game. An 11-4 run gave the home team a 52-27 lead with 7:43 remaining. UNA responded with a 9-0 run that included baskets four different players. The Lions, however still trailed 58-38 entering the final stanza.
Samford regained a 24-point advantage before UNA made its best run of the night. After hitting just 2 of their first 18 three-point attempts, the Lions connected on 5-of-6 shots from long range. A trey by Jaida Bond with 51 seconds remaining made the score 76-65, but the Lions ran out of time.
The Bulldogs converted a basket and free throw on the ensuing possession and UNA could not connect from the floor the rest of the way.
For the game, North Alabama was 7-of-24 from three-point range. The 28 turnovers was also the most since UNA had 29 at FGCU in 2019.
Four players, including three freshmen reached double figures for the Lions. Macey Lee led the way with 13 points while fellow freshmen Alexis Callins and Sakyia White just missed double-doubles with 12 points and nine rebounds each. Bond also scored 12 points to round out the scorers for UNA.
North Alabama will return home to face Murray State on Monday. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at Flowers Hall.
