BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – In a quest to reach its first ever Great American Conference Championships title game, Southern Nazarene fell in heartbreaking fashion 87-84 to Arkansas Tech in overtime inside the Bruin Fieldhouse.
Adrienne Berry had a chance to send the game into double-overtime and got a great look at the buzzer, but the shot was off the mark as the Golden Suns are headed to the championship game tomorrow afternoon against Southwestern Oklahoma State. Berry finished with a team-high 19 points on 5-of-12 shooting and she also finished 3-for-6 from 3-point range.
As a team, the Crimson Storm shot the ball extremely well from behind the 3-point arc as they converted 8-of-16 attempts from downtown. Arkansas Tech went 9-for-20 behind the arc and finished the game shooting 44.8 percent from the field. SNU shot 42.1 percent from the floor and turned the ball over 15 times in the contest.
Southern Nazarene also got excellent offensive performances from
Madeline Schroepfer and
Sonia Sarda. Schroepfer finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, and three steals as the senior also went 7-for-10 from the free-throw line. Sarda recorded 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting off the bench as the freshman went 2-for-4 from 3-point range.
Alexus Jones and
Abby Niehues also finished in double-figures as Jones tallied 11 points and seven rebounds while Niehues recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Southern Nazarene's offense exploded in the first quarter as the Crimson Storm went 3-for-5 from 3-point range. Berry scored 11 of her 19 points in the opening frame as SNU shot 46 percent from the field. Although Arkansas Tech shot 42.9 percent, the Storm forced four Golden Sun turnovers and scored eight points off those giveaways to take a 21-15 lead into the second.
The Crimson Storm stayed very hot on the offensive end in the second period as they knocked down three 3-pointers on four tries. They got the Golden Suns in foul trouble and went to the line seven times and converted five of those. Arkansas Tech went on a 8-2 run midway through the period before SNU ripped off an 8-0 run where they held the Suns scoreless for almost three minutes. Niehues and Sarda each made a layup in the final minute to give the Storm a 43-32 lead at halftime.
Arkansas Tech came out in the third quarter on a 9-2 run to cut the SNU lead to 45-41. The Golden Suns outscored the Storm 22-13 in the period, and Tech held SNU to a 38.5 percent shooting clip. The Suns went to the free-throw line nine times in the quarter and the Storm were able to hang on to a 56-54 lead heading into the fourth.
Southern Nazarene's shooting woes continued into the final frame as they were held to 36.4 percent. Their aggressive offensive play however, allowed them to get to the free-throw line 18 times in the period as both teams knew they were in for a barn burner. Schroepfer knocked down a difficult shot in the paint with 35 seconds left to give SNU a 76-72 lead. After a Tech bucket and Jones' 1-for-2 trip at the line, the Suns had a chance to tie it in regulation. Jayana Sanders pulled up from 25 feet for ATU and knocked down her first three-pointer of the game to tie it at 77-77. Jones got a great look at the buzzer, but the shot didn't fall as the game was headed to overtime.
Sanders took the game over in the extra five minutes for Arkansas Tech as she scored nine of the team's 10 points. Southern Nazarene was held to 28.6 percent shooting in overtime, while the Golden Suns shot 50 percent. ATU had the lead 87-84 with 5 seconds to play, and after a missed free-throw from the Suns, the Storm had one final chance to tie the game. Berry got a good look, but the shot barely missed.
Southern Nazarene finishes the outstanding season with a 17-13 record and returns three of their five starters for the 2019-20 season.
