Women get First game in Season Series Canceled, Game 2 Start Time Moved Up; POTW Steak Extended

On Tuesday Afternoon, Samford Athletics announced that Thursday's game against ETSU would be canceled and not made up. While I'm sure many reading the headline on Twitter or via SamfordSports.com thought that this was due to the winter storm the cancellation is to allow ETSU to clear COVID protocols as members of the team are scheduled to return from quarantine this Thursday. The Southern Conference also announced this afternoon that the series' only game on Saturday will have a new tip-time of 12pm, instead of the previously scheduled 1pm start.

With only 2 games remaining on the schedule for Samford, let's revisit the clinching scenarios for the Bulldogs.

With Samford defeating Wofford this past Saturday, they continue to control their own destiny. Obviously if Samford defeats both ETSU and Mercer, they control the top spot for the tournament and the only thing that would change the standin gs would be the result of the Wofford-Mercer series this weekend. Here are the scenarios where Samford is awarded the Regular Season Championship:

Samford wins out and Mercer sweeps Wofford: 1. Samford 2. Mercer 3. UTC* 4. Wofford**

Samford wins out and Mercer splits with Wofford: 1. Samford 2. UTC* 3. Mercer 4. Wofford**

Samford wins out and Wofford sweeps Mercer: 1. Samford 2. Wofford** 3. UTC* 4. Mercer

Samford loses to ETSU and defeats Mercer, Wofford and Mercer split: 1. Samford 2. Mercer 3. UTC* 4. Wofford **

Samford defeats ETSU and loses to Mercer, Wofford and Mercer split: 1. Samford 2. Mercer 3. UTC* 4. Wofford**

Samford loses to ETSU and defeats Mercer, Wofford sweeps Mercer: 1. Samford 2. UTC* 3. Wofford** 4. Mercer

Samford defeats ETSU and loses to Mercer, Wofford sweeps Mercer : 1. Samford 2. UTC* 3. Wofford** 4. Mercer

* Assuming UTC sweeps UNCG and defeats ETSU (2-3 are at home)

** Assuming Wofford defeats Furman (@ Furman)

While I would have like to see a basketball game in person this Thursday, the cancelation did allow for a positive: there is no longer a possibility of Samford and Mercer tying for first. In the event where Samford and Mercer were tied for 1st place, the Lady Bears would have won the tie breaker as they have a higher NET rating than the Bulldogs.

In other WBB news, Andrea Cournoyer was named as the SOCON Player of the Week where she shot a blistering 66.67% eFG (effective field goal percentage) and averaged 3.5 rebounds per game, 4 steals per game, and 3 assists per game in the series against Wofford. This selection marks the 3rd straight week where a Samford player was named POTW. It is the 5th time a Bulldog has been given this honor, and is the 2nd time in 3 weeks that Cournoyer was given the honor. The other Samford players to be awarded POTW honors this season are Annie Ramil (week 6 and week 10) and Shauntai Battle (week 1).

Photo taken by Chase Coachran