Box Score BETHANY. Okla. — Arkansas Tech went 9-for-20 from the 3-point line shooting 45 percent as the defending Great American Conference co-champions handed Southern Nazarene a 72-64 loss in the Storm's Conference opener.
 
The Golden Suns (4-0, 1-0 GAC) used three 3-pointers to go on a 16-2 run to start the second half earning their biggest lead of the game 54-36 with 12:15 left to play. SNU (2-4, 0-1) though, refused to go away. Trailing 62-52 with only 5:09 left, to play the Storm went on an 8-2 run, cutting the Golden Sun's lead to six at 66-60. Arkansas Tech and the Storm traded baskets until the Storm cut the lead to four 68-64 with only 34 seconds to play. The Storm forced an Arkansas Tech turnover with 32 seconds left, but could not convert on the offensive end as Aminata Fall missed a 3-pointer. The Storm had to foul to stop the clock and the Golden Suns hit four straight free throws to close out the game.
 
Kristin Milster led the Storm in scoring, notching 21 points shooting 7-for-13 from the field and hitting 53 percent of her shots. Fall tied a career-high with eight blocked shots, grabbed 15 rebounds and scored 20 points. She also went 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Callee Cox finished with 10 points and went 5-for-6 from the free throw line while Ashley Almond scored a career-high seven points shooting 3-for-5 from the field and added an assist.
 
The Storm and Golden Suns were neck-and-neck in the first half as neither team could get any separation over the other. Neither team led by more then three points as both teams shot it well from behind the arc. The Storm took a 34-32 lead into the half after Milster hit a free throw. SNU went 4-for-9 from the 3-point line shooting 44 percent in the first half. The Golden Suns went 3-for-8 from behind the arc shooting 37.5 percent. Arkansas Tech scored 20 points in the paint compared to the Storm's eight in the first half and outscored SNU's bench 12-4.
 
SNU shot 36.2 percent from the field for the game hitting 21-of-58 from the field. The Storm went 16-of-20 from the free-throw line and hit six triples shooting 35.3 percent from the 3-point line. Arkansas Tech scored 25 points off the bench compared to the Storm's nine. The Storm forced the Golden Sun's into 23 turnovers and SNU scored 19 points on takeaways.
 
The Storm will now host Harding for a Great American Conference game, Saturday, at 2 p.m.