For video of UNCG coach Wendy Palmer's postgame comments, click here.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Samford's women's basketball team shot a blistering 68 percent from the floor in the second half and 62 percent for the game in picking up an 83-40 win over visiting UNCG in Southern Conference action at the Pete Hanna Center on Monday.

Sophomore forward Janae' Stevenson scored a team-best 13 points for UNCG (3-17, 2-10 SoCon), including 10 of the Spartans' final 12. Sidnei Harmon and Jarae Savage had eight points each for UNCG.

Shelby Campbell scored a career-high 23 points off the bench for the Bulldogs (13-8, 8-4 SoCon), while Paige Anderson and Ruth Ketcham added 12 each. Samford, which easily had its best shooting night of the season, won for the seventh time in its last nine games.

"Samford is playing really well right now," UNCG coach Wendy Palmer said. "It's definitely a different team than we saw on Dec. 3, which we knew was going to be the case. They worked really hard, they came out tonight and everything went their way. They played an excellent game."

UNCG couldn't get its offense going from the get-go, and held its largest lead at 7-4 just a few minutes in on a 3-pointer from Stevenson on the first attempt of her career.

A Ketcham layup and an Anderson 3-pointer put the Bulldogs back on top to stay, and Samford never looked back. Ketcham's layup sparked a 16-0 run that put the Bulldogs on top 20-7 with 12:05 to go in the first half.

An April Carson 3 and a Savage steal and layup got UNCG back within single digits at 20-12, but Samford again had an answer, going on a 16-3 spurt to pull away. A Savage jumper accounted for UNCG's first field goal in more than six minutes with a minute to play and got the deficit back under 20 points, but Taylor Reece drained a 3 at the buzzer to give the Bulldogs a 39-17 lead at the half.

The Bulldogs were 14-for-25 from the floor (56 percent) in the first half, with Ketcham going 4-for-4 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the free throw line for a game-high 10 points at the break.

The Bulldogs were 6-for-10 from 3-point range in the opening stanza, with Anderson and Ketcham knocking down two apiece.

Already playing with a depleted bench due to injuries to starting guards Breonna Patterson and Natalie Headley and reserve center Amy Clapper, who has been sidelined since early December, the Spartans found themselves in even more trouble when point guard Dayshaun Richbow picked up two early fouls and went to the bench just 6:57 into the contest.  Stevenson followed suit, picking up her second with 6:58 to go in the opening frame, putting her on the bench for the rest of the half.

The second half was more of the same, with Stevenson picking up her third foul at the 17:22 mark and Richbow being whistled for her third just two seconds later, sending both back to the bench for an extended period of time.

Samford picked up where it left off, as well, shooting 17-for-25 from the floor in the second frame. Campbell caught fire for the Bulldogs in the second half, scoring 14 of her 23 points in the latter frame. She was 9-for-11 from the floor for the night.

UNCG was able to briefly get the deficit back under 20 points at the start of the second half. After a Reece jumper to open the scoring, Richbow hit a turnaround 3 to beat the shot clock on the other end. A Harmon steal and a Savage layup made it 41-22 before a pair of Hannah Dawson free throws put Samford back up by 21.

Nneka Awuruonye corralled a Harmon miss and put it back up to again get UNCG within 19, but Reece countered with a layup of her own to quell any thoughts of a second-half comeback by the Spartans.

Stevenson was practically UNCG's entire offense for the final 10 minutes of the game, as she scored all but two of UNCG's points in the final 9:24. A Jazz Weaver jumper with just under five minutes to play was the only break in Stevenson's scoring spurt for UNCG.

For the game, Samford was 31-for-50 from the floor. And 8-for-16 from 3-point range.

UNCG returns to the court Saturday when it hosts Western Carolina for its annual Fight Like a Spartan contest to raise awareness for breast cancer. The game is set for a 2 p.m. start at Fleming Gymnasium.

AGATE
SAMFORD 83, UNCG 40

UNCG (3-17, 2-10 SoCon)
Janae' Stevenson 4-8 4-6 13; Sidnei Harmon 4-6 0-0 8; Jarae Savage 3-6 2-2 8; Dayshaun Richbow 1-4 0-0 3; April Carson 1-8 0-0 3; Nneka Awuruonye 1-2 1-2 3; Jazz Weaver 1-8 0-0 2; Sarah Folwell 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 15-45 7-10 40.

SAMFORD (13-8, 8-4 SoCon)
Shelby Campbell 9-11 3-5 23; Ruth Ketcham 5-6 0-0 12; Paige Anderson 3-5 4-5 12; Taylor Reece 4-8 3-4 12; Kendall Schwantz 4-5 0-0 8; Hannah Dawson 2-5 2-2 7; Jazmine Martin 2-7 0-0 4; J'Quita Babineaux 1-1 0-0 2; Jazmine Powers 1-1 0-1 2; Christy Robinson 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 31-50 13-19 83.

UNCG..........................   17   23  -   40
Samford.......................   39   44  -   83

3-point goals--UNCG 3-13 (Dayshaun Richbow 1-1; April Carson 1-6; Janae' Stevenson 1-1; Jazz Weaver 0-2; Sarah Folwell 0-2; Jarae Savage 0-1), Samford 8-16 (Paige Anderson 2-3; Shelby Campbell 2-4; Ruth Ketcham 2-2; Taylor Reece 1-1; Hannah Dawson 1-2; Jazmine Martin 0-3; Kendall Schwantz 0-1). Fouled out--UNCG-None, Samford-None. Rebounds--UNCG 25 (Sidnei Harmon 6), Samford 29 (Ruth Ketcham 8). Assists--UNCG 8 (Dayshaun Richbow 2; April Carson 2), Samford 23 (Taylor Reece 4; Paige Anderson 4). Total fouls—UNCG 19, Samford 8. Technical fouls--UNCG-None, Samford-None. A-494

- UNCG -