"Coach Lemmond!"

On May 7, 2011 one of our very own said "I DO!"

One of our assistant coaches, Andrea Ward, became "Coach Lemmond" in a beautiful ceremony held at her family home in Evergreen, AL! A former Samford Women's Basketball player herself married another Samford alum in Graham Lemmond who played football for the Bulldogs from 2004-2007! In true Samford style it quickly became a reunion that included 14 former players and of course our head Coach Mike Morris who coached most of them during their time here!

(Coach Lemmond (in her boots!) with all of her former teammates, former players and Coach Morris!)

Among those 14 former teammates and players, three served as bridesmaids for the occasion, Clarissa Clarke, Morgan Vickery and Candace Jones along with other assistant coach Katherine Katz. The ceremony lasted about twenty minutes with Coach Lemmond being carried in a horse drawn carriage from her family home and was then escorted down the aisle by her father! In true southern style, Coach Lemmond sported her cowboy boots throughout the evening!

It was a night to remember and a great night for Samford Women's Basketball as we welcome another member to our family in Graham! Congrats Lemmond Family!

(Coach Lemmond posing with Emily London ('11) and Savannah Hill ('11) during the reception!)

2 Seniors...2 Graduations...2 Degrees

This past weekend we had two very bitter-sweet moments take place as both of our seniors walked across their respective stages to receive their diplomas officially ending their time here at Samford.

Savannah Hill received her degree in nursing and was pinned Friday morning by her parents, marking her entry into the medical profession! We all know how great of a player Savannah was, but we can all say on this staff that if ever we needed a nurse, we want Savannah by our bedside. She has studied hard, learned the material, applied it throughout her preceptorship in the hospitals and has received rave reviews from the faculty here at Samford and the nurses she worked with during her time here. Her compassion and humor make for an unbeatable combination and whichever patients have her by their side can consider themselves extremely lucky!

Emily London received her degree in Journalism and Mass Communications on Saturday morning and as we watched her walk across the stage we couldn't have been more proud of someone who put in the work and got out of her experience exactly what she put into it. Emily's accomplishments on the court are only rivaled by her success we know is sure to come! In four years she has been a part of a championship team, been named to numerous all-conference teams, been named player of the year and for all of that we are proud, but to look at what will come for her makes us even more excited! She is a passionate and caring individual whom will do wonderfully in whatever comes her way!

Both of these ladies embody what it means to be a Samford student-athlete and while they will be missed greatly, we are all looking forward to a future that is as bright as any that have graduated from this University. They are both one-of-a-kind and we cannot express enough our thanks for how much they gave to this program and to this University!

AND THE WINNER IS...

The Samford athletics department held its third-annual SAMSPY Awards Thursday evening at The Wynfrey hotel in Hoover.

The SAMSPY Awards are held to honor Samford’s student-athletes, teams, coaches and administrators for their accomplishments throughout the year.

For the third year in a row, the ceremony was hosted by Jim Dunaway from CBS 42 and WJOX’s The Roundtable, and Ryan Brown of The Roundtable.

A total of 23 awards were given out at the event. The first awards were the Team Academic Awards. These awards were given to the teams, one male and one female, that posted the highest grade-point average in the past year. The tennis teams swept the Team Academic Awards, with both the men’s and women’s teams earning their respective honors.

The Jim Griffin Award for the Supporting Player of the Year was given to Jazmine Powers of the women’s basketball team. Powers played a key role coming off the bench for the Bulldogs this season. She provided a spark with her defense in several games on the way to the program’s first Southern Conference title and NCAA Tournament appearance.

Paige Anderson of the women’s basketball team won the award for the Play of the Year. With second-seeded Samford trailing top-seeded Appalachian State by two points in the SoCon title game, Anderson hit a three-pointer with 18 seconds to go, giving the Bulldogs the lead for good on their way to a 57-54 win. The victory gave the program its first SoCon title and first bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The Best Female Athlete Award was given to Emily London of the women’s basketball program. London was named the SoCon Player of the Year by the SoCon Sports Media Association. She led the nation in free-throw percentage and ranked second in the nation in three-point field goal percentage. London also led the team to its first SoCon title and NCAA Tournament appearance.

The women’s basketball team’s historic win over Appalachian State for the SoCon title also earned the team the Best Championship Performance Award. 

End of the year banquet!!!

The Samford women's basketball program held its annual banquet Thursday evening in the Hospitality Room in the Pete Hanna Center. The banquet honored the Bulldogs' historic 2010-11 season.

The recently completed season was the most successful in the history of the women's basketball program. The Bulldogs set a school record for wins with 25, and they earned the program's first Southern Conference championship and first NCAA Tournament bid.

During the banquet, each player was presented with a framed collage of items from the 2010-11 season. The collage included a poster commemorating the team's Southern Conference title, a piece of the net from the SoCon championship game, an individual action photo, a celebration photo, a ticket from the SoCon championship game, a ticket from the NCAA Tournament, an NCAA pin, an NCAA patch worn on the players' uniforms during the tournament and a wrist band the team wore during the SoCon Tournament with the word "ring" on it.

The wrist bands served as player-driven motivation to earn the Southern Conference championship ring. The players re-dedicated themselves to winning the championship after a midseason slump and they had the wrist bands made to remind themselves of their goal.

The team's two seniors, Emily London and Savannah Hill, were also honored at the banquet. They were both given basketballs honoring them for scoring over 1,000 points in their careers. London is Samford's all-time career scoring leader with 1,760 career points. Hill ranks third in school history with 1,539 points.
The seniors were also presented with framed jerseys. Hill and London delivered their Senior Speeches at the banquet, and a highlight video from the 2010-11 season was also shown.

In their four-year careers at Samford, Hill and London have re-written the program's record book.

London is first in school history in scoring (1,760), first in free throws (382), first in three-pointers (276), first in games started (113), second in steals (162), third in field goals made (551), fifth in assists (304) and fifth in games played (122).
Hill ranks first in school history in field goals made (595), second in rebounds (686), second in assists (376), second in blocked shots (99), second in games started (112), second in games played (127), third in scoring (1,539) and fifth in three-pointers (121).

With the team's 25 wins this season, Samford has now won at least 20 games in the last four-straight seasons and in five of the last six seasons. The Bulldogs have also earned national postseason bids in each of the last two seasons, as the team earned a WNIT bid in the 2009-10 season.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE 2010-11 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM
--School record for wins with 25
--First Southern Conference championship
--First NCAA Tournament bid
--Defeated teams from the ACC (Clemson) and Big East (South Florida)
--Southern Conference Player of the Year (Emily London)
--Southern Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player (Savannah Hill)
--Southern Conference All-Conference team (Emily London and Savannah Hill)
--Southern Conference All-Freshman team (Shelby Campbell)
--Finished the season winning 13 of its last 15 games
--School record for points in a season by a player (Emily London, 535)
--School record for 3-pointers in a season by a player (Emily London, 84)
--School record for free throws made in a season by a player (Emily London, 117)

Jazmine Powers stepping up!

The following was a letter sent to our President about some of our student athletes...one of which was our very own Jazmine Powers! This letter makes you proud to be a Bulldog!

Dr. Westmoreland,

I'm sure as the days go by, you will receive many reports of how our Samford students are making a difference in the recovery efforts for the tornado victims. At this time, I will add mine to the growing pile.

Yesterday, I went to Pratt City to photograph our students helping out at Scott Elementary School. There were many students who showed up to sort clothes, haul water, prepare food. Jazmine Powers, a womens basketball player, came in with several football players to reload their truck with items to distribute in the community and offered for me to ride along. The students included Jazmine, Devyn Keith, Jeremy Towns, Jacobi Rodriguez, and Bill Kottas.

These students were so calm and so supportive of everyone they came in contact with as they passed out sandwiches, water, toilet paper and such. However, there was one moment in particular that stole my heart. A lady pulled up in her car and Devyn stopped her to see if she needed anything. She asked him if he was going to take care of her. He said, "No, ma'am. I can't take care of you. God's gonna take care of you. I'm just gonna help out." Well, that's all it took; the woman broke down crying in her car. The students reached in and hugged her and just let her cry it out. She said it was the first time she'd been able to cry since the tornado. Devyn loaded her up with sandwiches and other supplies and told her that he loved her and that everything was going to be alright.

I've had to cover several tornadoes for UPI and AP in my career. I've heard people calling out for their loved ones after the storm and watched people digging through the remains of their homes. However, I will say that I have never been so moved as I was at that moment with Devyn and the other students and that woman. They gave her alot more than sandwiches and toilet paper; they gave her hope and that's what those people need more than anything.

I have always felt that I was blessed to work on a campus filled with such amazing people, both faculty and students. But, I must say, that I have never been prouder to be associated with Samford University than I was yesterday. These students don't just help out for something to do; they truly care and as they leave Samford University and go out into the world, they will make all the difference.

God's Peace,

Caroline Summers

Senior Photographer

Samford University

Welcome!

This is our very first blog and we are so excited to start doing this! Hopefully you will continue to come back and read about all that is going on here at Samford and in the Women's Basketball program!

Throughout the year we will post stories, quotes, and blogs from all different people involved in our program from our student-athletes to our strength and conditioning coach to our coaching staff! We really hope that you enjoy getting an inside look and would love to get any ideas you may have on posts!

Enjoy the blogs!!!

GO BULLDOGS!!!