BETHANY — There's nothing like playing on your home floor after a long road trip, and there's nothing like getting a victory in your first game at home. Southern Nazarene did that on Saturday afternoon as they took down East Central 65-58 for their first win of the season.
The Crimson Storm (1-5, 1-1 GAC) put together their best all-around game to date, and it showed in the box score on Saturday. SNU shot just 35 percent from the floor, but poured in 8-of-17 (47.1%) three-pointers on their home floor. They held the Tigers (3-3, 0-2 GAC) to a 32 percent shooting clip and forced 14 turnovers out of ECU.
SNU out-rebounded East Central 40-39 and knocked down 19-of-29 free throw attempts in the contest. Freshman
Kayci Glover was sensational in her first game inside the Sawyer Center as the guard poured in 20 points, and registered five rebounds. She also went 3-for-3 from three-point range and dished out three assists as well.
Senior
Adrienne Berry found her shooting form on Saturday, as the senior buried a team-high four triples en route to 14 points and four rebounds.
Alexus Jones stuffed the stat sheet for the Storm as the sophomore scored 12 points, dished out five helpers, and pulled down three rebounds.
Kennedy Gillette chipped in nine points for SNU as well while Abby Nieheus added five.
East Central came out with the hot hand in the opening period as they scored 23 points to take a 23-16 lead through one. The Storm picked up the defense in the second quarter as they held ECU to 14 points, while scoring 18 to trail 37-34 heading into half. Glover scored 15 of her 20 points in the first two quarters.
The third quarter was no different for the SNU defense as they held ECU to a 20 percent mark and taking a 51-47 lead into the final frame. The Tigers took a 57-55 lead with 3:02 to play before Berry dialed up a huge three to give the Storm a one-point lead. Free throws from Gillette and Jones pushed their lead to four as SNU held on for the victory.
Southern Nazarene hits the road next week for a two-game road trip as they take on Southeastern Oklahoma State on Thursday night at 5:30 p.m. in Durant.
