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At Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina, a No. 6 seed with a losing record rewrote the Southern Conference script. On March 8, 2026, Samford University stunned top-seeded Chattanooga 72–67, capturing the Southern Conference women’s basketball tournament championship and earning an automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament.
Samford’s improbable four-day surge turned a 15–18 team from Homewood, Alabama, into conference champions and NCAA qualifiers. Behind a barrage of three-pointers, clutch late-game free throws, and breakout performances from freshman guards, the Bulldogs eliminated all three co-champions of the league on consecutive days. It became not only one of March’s most surprising conference tournament runs, but also a historically rare NCAA bid: according to the Associated Press, Samford is just the 12th team ever to reach the NCAA women’s tournament with a losing record.
Coming into Asheville, Samford University carried more questions than momentum. The Bulldogs were 15–18 overall after an uneven regular season and slotted as the sixth seed in the Southern Conference bracket. Chattanooga, by contrast, arrived at 20–9 as a co-champion and the No. 1 seed, widely expected to secure the league’s automatic NCAA bid.
But in tournament settings, matchups, rhythm, and confidence can matter more than seed lines. Guided by first-year head coach Matt Wise, Samford leaned fully into the identity it had been developing all season: a perimeter-oriented offense that launched threes at one of the highest rates in the country, trusted its depth, and relied heavily on bench scoring.
That style clicked at exactly the right time. Over three games in Asheville, the Bulldogs:
In the process, Samford eliminated all three programs that had shared the Southern Conference regular season title. For a team that had spent much of the winter below .500, the transformation from spoiler to champion in four days was striking.
For much of the first quarter, the title game followed the script most observers had predicted. Chattanooga raced out to a 14–3 lead, overwhelming Samford with pressure defense and commanding the paint. The Bulldogs looked rattled, committing early mistakes and struggling to establish offensive rhythm.
The Mocs’ interior presence and physicality helped them control the glass, an edge they would maintain throughout the game. Southern Conference Player of the Year Caia Elisaldez set the tone offensively for Chattanooga, while the defense keyed in on limiting Samford’s perimeter looks.
Samford’s response came from the part of its identity that had carried the team all season: three-point shooting. The Bulldogs settled down late in the first quarter, began to find clean looks from beyond the arc, and quickly chipped away at the deficit. By the end of the opening period, what had felt like a potential blowout had tightened to a 23–20 Chattanooga lead.
In the second quarter, Samford seized control. The Bulldogs locked in defensively, holding the Mocs to just seven points in the frame. While Chattanooga labored to find quality shots, Samford’s ball movement and spacing created open threes and driving lanes. The swing in efficiency produced a dramatic halftime flip: Samford led 35–27 at the break.
Coming out of the locker room, that surge continued. Behind a confident offense, Samford extended the lead to double digits in the third quarter, at one point going up by 13. The Bulldogs scored 19 points in the period, pushing Chattanooga into chase mode.
Chattanooga was not ready to concede its NCAA path. Guard Izzy McPherson ignited a furious fourth-quarter rally, giving the Mocs the perimeter scoring punch they needed to counter Samford’s hot shooting. McPherson buried multiple three-pointers in a short stretch, slicing what had been a comfortable Samford cushion down to 60–58 with just over five minutes to play.
Each time Samford threatened to put the game away with a run, Chattanooga answered. The Mocs twice cut the margin to one possession in the final minute, setting up a tense finish in a building that had seen its share of March drama in past Southern Conference tournaments.
The difference in the closing seconds came at the free-throw line. While Chattanooga kept attacking, Samford stayed composed and efficient when it mattered most. As the Mocs were forced to foul, the Bulldogs’ guards calmly stepped to the stripe and converted nearly every opportunity.
Samford finished the night 12 of 13 at the line, an elite 92.3 percent clip. Sophomore guard Briana Rivera delivered the final dagger, knocking down two free throws in the closing seconds to extend the lead back to five and effectively end Chattanooga’s hopes of a comeback.
When the buzzer sounded, Samford had completed a five-point upset, 72–67, and secured a conference championship that few outside the locker room had anticipated when the tournament began.
The signature performance of the afternoon belonged to freshman guard Kaylee Yarbrough. Coming off the bench, Yarbrough erupted for 25 points in just 22 minutes, making 8 of 13 shots from the field and an eye-popping 5 of 7 from three-point range.
Her scoring punch was perfectly timed. Whenever Chattanooga made a push, Yarbrough seemed to have an answer, whether it was a deep three to halt a run or a timely bucket to rebuild a shrinking lead. For a freshman to deliver that kind of production in a conference championship setting speaks to both her talent and the trust Samford’s staff places in its young guards.
Yarbrough was not alone. Fellow freshman guard Francie Morris turned in a career performance of her own, finishing with 22 points and six rebounds in a career-high 35 minutes. Where Yarbrough did much of her damage from distance, Morris consistently punished Chattanooga off the dribble and from the perimeter.
Her ability to create off the bounce added a second-dimensional threat to Samford’s offense. As the Mocs tried to run shooters off the line, Morris attacked gaps, got into the lane, and either finished or drew defenders to free teammates.
Amid all the freshman fireworks, Samford also leaned heavily on senior guard leadership. Veteran guard Sierra Godbolt played all 40 minutes, contributing 12 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Her steady handle, defensive presence, and decision-making helped stabilize Samford whenever Chattanooga threatened to tilt the game back in its favor.
For a program built around underclassmen shooters, Godbolt’s durability and poise provided the backbone. Her presence on the floor from the opening tip to the final horn symbolized how seniors can anchor a young roster in high-pressure moments.
Statistically, the championship box score underlined just how well Samford executed offensively:
Chattanooga, led by 20 points from SoCon Player of the Year Caia Elisaldez and 17 from McPherson, actually won the rebounding battle. But the Mocs could not match Samford’s efficiency from long distance, particularly in the decisive second and third quarters.
In a modern game where three-point math can erase talent and size advantages, Samford’s offensive profile was a perfect example of how a lower seed can flip a tournament hierarchy in one weekend.
The championship game was the exclamation point, but the full story of Samford’s week in Asheville is even more impressive when viewed in sequence.
Samford opened its tournament with a 59–57 win over No. 3 seed Wofford in the quarterfinals. It was a tight, grind-it-out game that reflected the Bulldogs’ ability to win even when shots were not falling at elite levels. That survival test gave Samford belief that it could hang with the league’s best and laid the foundation for the rest of the run.
In the semifinals, the Bulldogs took down No. 2 seed East Tennessee State 57–48. The defensive effort stood out: holding a co-champion under 50 points in a win-or-go-home setting showcased Samford’s commitment at both ends of the floor. With that victory, the Bulldogs had already knocked off two of the three regular-season co-champions.
The title game win over Chattanooga completed the trifecta. Interestingly, the seeds of that upset may have been planted weeks earlier. In late February, Samford stunned Chattanooga 77–70 at home at the Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham, avenging a 21-point loss earlier in the month. That regular-season split hinted that the matchup was far more even than records and seed lines suggested.
Armed with that recent win and a refined offensive identity, Samford arrived in Asheville believing it could compete with anyone in the league. Over four days, the Bulldogs proved it.
Samford’s Southern Conference tournament title resonated beyond the league’s footprint. According to reporting from the Associated Press, the Bulldogs’ victory propelled them into select company in NCAA women’s basketball history. At 16–18 following the championship game, Samford became just the 12th team ever to qualify for the NCAA women’s tournament with a losing overall record.
The program’s NCAA history adds even more weight. This will be only Samford’s third appearance in the NCAA women’s tournament, and its first since back-to-back trips in 2011 and 2012. That means the 2026 berth ends a 14-year drought on the national stage for the Bulldogs.
For context on how automatic bids and conference tournaments shape the NCAA field, the NCAA’s official resources provide helpful overviews of the selection process and historical tournament participation patterns for both men’s and women’s basketball programs (https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-women). Historians and fans interested in the evolution of the women’s tournament can also find deeper background via the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and educational sources like the Women’s Sports Foundation (https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org).
Being the 12th team to enter the field with a losing record underlines how unusual Samford’s path has been. For recruits and families following college basketball, it is a reminder that:
Another layer to the story is the presence of first-year head coach Matt Wise. Taking over any Division I program requires time to recruit, install systems, and build culture. Doing all of that while elevating a team to a conference championship and NCAA bid in year one is uncommon.
Wise and his staff leaned into a roster built heavily around underclassmen shooters. Rather than slow the game down or attempt to mirror bigger, more experienced opponents, Samford doubled down on its strengths. The Bulldogs finished the season among the national leaders in three-point attempts and makes, and they regularly relied on bench production to keep pressure on opponents across four quarters.
The Southern Conference title was Wise’s first as a head coach and immediately reshaped the external view of what Samford women’s basketball can be. For recruits, it sends a clear message that players can have an impact early in their careers, especially if they fit the program’s shooting and pace-driven style.
On campus in Homewood, the implications of this championship extend beyond one trophy. For a small Christian institution competing in the Southern Conference, the 2026 run elevates the profile of the women’s basketball program nationally and energizes the wider university community around March basketball.
Selection Sunday on March 15 will determine where Samford is seeded and how far this group will have to travel from Alabama for its first-round matchup. The Bulldogs will almost certainly face a higher-seeded opponent from one of the power conferences, but their SoCon run has already demonstrated that seed lines are only part of the story.
For current and future athletes, Samford’s week in Asheville is a real-time case study in how player development, fit, and belief can trump expectations. Freshmen in major roles, a senior playing forty minutes in a title game, and a first-year head coach combining it all into a championship formula is exactly the kind of narrative that resonates on the recruiting trail.
If you are a high school player or parent following this story, there are a few practical lessons to pull from Samford’s 2026 SoCon championship:
If you want to explore where a school like Samford fits among your potential options, tools like the Pathley College Directory and the sport-specific Basketball Pathley Hub can help you map out similar programs by level, geography, and fit.
Stories like Samford’s 2026 run are exactly why thoughtful college matching matters. The right environment can unlock opportunities that go far beyond star ratings or early offers. If you are trying to figure out where a rising SoCon champion, a high-academic mid-major, or a Power Five program fits into your plan, Pathley is built to make that process clearer.
With Pathley, athletes and families can:
You can also build a polished one-page PDF for coaches using the Athletic Resume Builder, making it easier to reach out to staffs at schools like Samford with clear, organized information.
If Samford’s rise from a No. 6 seed with a losing record to Southern Conference champion and NCAA participant shows anything, it is that the right fit and the right moment can change everything. The next under-the-radar story could be yours; the key is finding the program where your game, your goals, and the coaching vision truly align.
