COLUMBIA, S.C. - Southern women's basketball beat Samford 65-53 in their second straight year of winning an NCAA Tournament game.

The Lady Jaguars won in a 16-seed First Four matchup on Thursday night. The Jags relied on their defensive presence in this game, an area of strength for them all season.

Southern forced 19 Samford turnovers and scored 20 points off of turnovers. The Jags also had five blocks and stole the ball 13 times, led by D'Shantae Edwards who had 5 steals.

Offensively, the Jags scored 34 points in the paint and got 20 points from their bench players.

Three Lady Jags scored in double figures in this play-in game. Jaylia Reed led the team in scoring with 16 points, a season high for her. DeMya Porter finished the night with a double-double. Porter put up 15 points and 12 rebounds in 29 minutes of work.

With the First Four win, the Jags advance to the First Round of the NCAA Tournament where they'll face top-seeded South Carolina. The Jags and Gamecocks will face off on Saturday at noon. The game will be televised on WBRZ.