BIRMINGHAM, Ala. –—Taylor Reece posted 20 points and three assists, and Samford held Georgia Southern to 25 percent shooting to earn a 56-41 Southern Conference women’s basketball victory over the Eagles Monday night in the Pete Hanna Center.

MiMi DuBose scored 16 points to lead the Eagles (2-14, 1-6 SoCon), and Meredyth Frye netted 12. Aishya Wofford pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.

Reece was 9-of-17 from the floor and hit two triples for Samford (8-7, 5-1 SoCon), while Krista Strickland collected 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Christy Robinson scored 10, and Hannah Dawson finished with a game-high 13 boards.

After the Eagles fought back from an early deficit and trailed 27-23 at halftime, Reece scored seven points in a 12-4 Bulldog run to open the second half and extend the lead to 12 points.

Frye cut the margin to 10 points with a pair of free throws, but Robinson scored the first eight points in an 11-2 Samford run as the Bulldogs opened a 50-31 cushion to take control of the game.

The Eagles fought back with DuBose scoring five points in an 8-2 run, capped by a Frye 3-pointer that made the score 52-39 with 3:01 remaining. Reece answered with a layup for the Bulldogs, and Samford was able to work the clock on their offensive possessions to seal the win.

"It’s the second game in a row we dug ourselves an early hole and fought back hard to give ourselves a chance, but they exerted their will on us in the second half," said GSU coach Chris Vozab. "We lost the offensive and defensive discipline that enabled us to get back in the game."

Georgia Southern shot 20 percent in the second period, and Samford shot 48 percent. The Eagles committed just 12 turnovers, but the Bulldogs were able to convert them into 13 points.

Samford hit four of its first five 3-point attempts to start the game and two triples by Stricklin helped the Bulldogs open an 18-5 lead midway through the first half.

Trailing 23-9, the Eagles finished the period with a 14-4 spurt to trim the margin to 27-23 at halftime. DuBose scored seven during the run and Frye added three, capping it with a jumper as the shot clock buzzer sounded with 49 seconds left in the frame.

The Eagles, who play eight of their final 13 games of the season at home, return to action against Wofford Sunday in Hanner Fieldhouse.