Southern overtakes Samford late for First Four victory

Jaylia Reed scored 16 points and DeMya Carter contributed 15 on Thursday night as Southern went on a game-ending 14-2 run to subdue Samford 65-53 in an Women's NCAA Tournament First Four matchup in Columbia, S.C.

The game was tied at 51 with 6:59 left after Carla Baguda hit a layup for the Bulldogs. But Reed canned a 3-pointer on the next possession, and the Jaguars never looked back. Samford went scoreless for 4:42 during the clinching spurt.

Jocelyn Tate added 10 for Southern (20-13), which shot just 39.7% from the field but made up for it by forcing 19 turnovers and converting those into 20 points. The Jaguars advance as a No. 16 seed to meet top-seeded South Carolina on Saturday in a Sacramento 4 Region game at Columbia.

Briana Rivera scored a game-high 16 points for the Bulldogs (16-19), who won eight of their previous 10 games, including all three in the Southern Conference tournament.