Women's Basketball Travels to Spartanburg, SC to Take on Wofford

The Bulldogs traveled to South Carolina yesterday afternoon as they prepare for a double header against the 3rd place Wofford Terriers away from the friendly confines of the Pete Hanna Center. Samford enters the series coming off sweeps of Furman and UNCG, while Wofford has split their last two series against UNCG and Chattanooga. This series will come down to how well the Bulldogs can shoot. Samford enters the weekend series shooting a cool 41.1% to pace the league while Wofford is in the middle of the pack, shooting 38.3%. Both teams crash the boards well, with Wofford leading the league by grabbing 42 rebounds per game, while Samford is second in the league in both gathering rebounds (38 per game) and allowing rebounds (35 per game). Wofford allows an average of 36 rebounds to their opponents.

Keys to the Series:

1. Win the Rebounding Battle

Samford is 6-0 this season when winning the boards, and they score an average of 83 points in those games. All but one of these games has seen the Bulldogs throughly win the battle by at least 5 (Thursday's game vs UNCG was the first time Samford had out rebounded a team by less than 5). In games where Samford has lost the rebounding battle, the Bulldogs have a 4-6 record. Also, with Wofford leading the league in rebounding, anything that limits their main strength is a positive for the Bulldogs

2. Limit Turnovers

Yes, it sounds obvious, but the best advice in life is often the most obvious. Samford is averaging 14.5 turnovers a game in conference play. Not great. This is putting extra stress on our shooters as each shot is made that much more important when trying to make up for previous mistakes.

3. Get to the Line Early and Often

Samford is the second best in the league in free throw percentage, sitting at 71.9%. Not only does this add points, it also puts the Terriers in foul trouble. The Terriers spread out the attack well, with only one player averaging scoring in double digits. Samford can make the game much more comfortable for themselves if they force the Terriers to make early mistakes and make them think twice about going for a steal or block in the second half.