WOMEN
SAMFORD 65, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 62
The University of Central Arkansas outscored Samford in three of the four quarters Saturday afternoon at Pete Hanna Center in Homewood, Ala., but a 22-9 first-quarter deficit was too much to overcome.
In the first quarter, Samford (2-0) made 3 of 5 three-pointers and 7 of 8 free throws to jump out to the 13-point lead.
The Bulldogs were held to 14 of 42 shots from the field, but eight of those makes came from three-point range. Conversely, UCA (1-1) made 21 of 57 shots from the field and 5 of 18 from deep.
The largest disparity between the teams was the free throw shooting. UCA made 15 of 17 attempts. Samford drew 30 fouls and converted 29 of 41 attempts. UCA allowed just six points in the paint.
UCA trailed by seven points going into the fourth quarter, but it tied the game with 3:27 remaining thanks to six fourth-quarter points from Leah Mafua.
Mafua led the Sugar Bears with 15 points. Jade Upshaw, Randrea Wright and Kinley Fisher all finished with 10 points.
Masyn Marchbanks led Samford with 24 points with four three-pointers and eight free throw makes.