MAGNOLIA, Ark. - No matter the time, the place, the circumstance, the situation, one thing remains true when it comes to the 2018-19 Southern Nazarene women's basketball team.
They find a way.
They did so again on Thursday night as they held off a scrappy Southern Arkansas squad in the second half to earn a 57-54 road win, notching their 15th GAC victory, the most ever since joining the conference.
Also, SNU is one win away from wrapping up the No. 2 seed in the GAC Tournament next weekend in Bartlesville.
SNU shot 19 of 51 (37%) from the field, struggling in the second half after shooting 50% in the first. The Crimson Storm were 6 of 18 (33%) from deep and 13 of 20 (65%) from the free throw line. On the other side, the Muleriders were 21 of 49 (43%) from the field, 3 of 8 (38%) from deep, and 9 of 15 (60%) from the line.
The big difference was turnovers as SNU forced 22 SAU turnovers on the night. The Crimson Storm had 12 steals as a team as well as 10 assists on the night.
After falling behind 4-0, SNU went on an 11-2 run behind a flurry of points from
Adrienne Berry and
Madeline Schroepfer as well as a 3-pointer from
Jaycee Soap. SNU would take a 17-11 lead at the end of the quarter before Schroepfer took over the second quarter as she ran her point total to 14 along with tremendous defense as the Crimson Storm opened a lead as much as 14, leading 35-21 at the break.
SNU ran their lead out to 16 in the second half, but began to cool off from the field. As the Crimson Storm began to cool off, turnovers began to amount and Southern Arkansas tried to make a run to get back into it. However, every time SAU got it to 10 points, SNU would find a way to build the lead back out.
However, in the fourth quarter, the Muleriders got two of their three 3-pointers to fall and cut the deficit to six, but SNU responded with a 3-pointer from Berry and free throw from Soap to get it back to 10. SAU responded with a massive 9-0 run to suddenly make it a one point game with 2:44 to go.
From there, Berry, with ice in her veins, hit a huge jumper with 2:12 to go to push it back to three, and following a free throw from the Muleriders, buried a mid-range jumper inside the 3-point line with one minute to play to push SNU back ahead 54-50. SNU would get it done at the free throw line and get stops when it mattered most to escape Magnolia with a 57-54 win.
Berry led the way with 18 points on 8 of 14 shooting and two steals while Schroepfer had 14 points, six boards, and four steals. Soap added 10 points with two steals off the bench while
Irene Perez scored five.
Abby Niehues finished with four points and three blocks.
Olivia McWilliams and Alyssa Crase each had 12 points while Erin Brinkley had 11 points.
SNU will conclude its season and look to wrap up the No. 2 seed as they take on Arkansas-Monticello at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
