BETHANY, Okla. — Southern Nazarene tried to make it three straight wins on Saturday afternoon, but fell 61-55 inside the Sawyer Center to No. 13 ranked Southwestern Oklahoma State.
 
The Bulldogs (23-1, 18-0 GAC) entered Bethany riding a 22-game winning streak, and the Crimson Storm (13-11, 12-6 GAC) held them to a season-low 29.4 percent shooting from the field, but it wasn't enough in the end. SNU turned the ball over a season-high 26 times and scored just 21 points in the second half. The Storm made just 3-of-12 (25%) of their three-point tries and went to the line just six times and converted four. SNU won the rebounding battle 51-39, but SWOSU had 28 points off turnovers while the Crimson Storm had just six.
 
Abby Niehues led the way in scoring for Southern Nazarene as she scored 13 points on 6-of-15 shooting. She also pulled down nine rebounds and tied her career-high in blocks with eight. She was one of two Storm players that finished in double-figures as Jaycee Soap tallied 12 points and three rebounds. Adrienne Berry scored seven points and pulled down five rebounds while Madeline Schroepfer chipped in six points and a team-high 11 rebounds.
 
Southern Nazarene's defense was swarming in the opening 10 minutes, as they held SWOSU to just 23 percent shooting. The Bulldogs forced seven turnovers out of SNU though, and converted multiple buckets as the Storm led 17-13 after one quarter.
 
Southwestern started to find their rhythm on the offensive side after SNU increased their lead to 25-15. The Bulldogs forced nine turnovers out of the Storm in the second and scored 24 in the quarter as Southern Nazarene found themselves facing a 37-34 deficit heading into halftime despite shooting 53 percent in the opening two periods.
 
Both sides turned up the defense in the third quarter as SNU and SWOSU each shot under 25 percent from the floor. The Storm made just four field goals while the Bulldogs made three, as SWOSU took a 46-43 lead into the final quarter.
 
Southern Nazarene's shooting woes continued into the final quarter as they once again shot 23 percent from the field. The Storm held the Bulldogs to three field goals in the fourth, but down the stretch SWOSU made 8-of-11 free throws to seal their 23^rd straight win.