DURANT, Okla. ‑ It was an absolute heartbreak for Southern Nazarene as they traveled to Southeastern Oklahoma State to ultimately fall short in the final seconds of the game 63-60, in a highly competitive matchup.
No one could have seen this coming as the Crimson Storm (14-6, 11-5 GAC) led for 85 percent of the game. These teams entered Saturday tied for first place in the conference, and both of the teams wanted to win this game very badly to go ahead of the other in the GAC standings.
Even with the loss Southern Nazarene still showed many positives against Southeastern Oklahoma State (15-5, 12-5 GAC) on Saturday afternoon.
Jaycee Soap came into the game with the best three-point percentage of anyone in the GAC, shooting 51 percent. The Crimson Storm followed her great three point accuracy on Saturday, as they put together seven triples on 46.7 percent shooting in Durant. The Storm also showed off their lockdown defense, forcing the Savage Storm into 17 turnovers.
Kennedy Gillette had a big game for the Crimson Storm as she put together a very good all around game with 13 points on (5-9) from the floor, with two steals, and three rebounds in the game.
Sonia Sarda also had a nice game dishing out the ball, as she put together five assists, and she also had 11 points.
Jaycee Soap gave head coach
Trent May some good minutes, but she didn't have the type of game that SNU fans had come accustomed to. Soap had 12 points, but only hit one three-pointer in the game, and only made five out of 10 free throws.
The first quarter started out fast and furious, and that same tone would last all game. The Crimson Storm put together an efficient quarter making 57 percent of their shots. The first quarter ended with SNU holding on to a 4-point lead. Coming into the second, the score was 18-14, and the Crimson Storm were looking to stretch out their lead. SNU held the Savage Storm to start the quarter shooting just 16 percent from the floor. SEOSU finally made a three pointer after putting together a mind-boggling 17 threes in their last game. Overall it was a very competitive first half with SNU leading 33-28, but they had the Savage Storm on their heels ready to strike.
Just three minutes into the 3rd quarter, Southeastern made it a tie game, but SNU wouldn't budge on their lead no matter how much the Savage Storm fought. The game was again tied up at 40-40 with five minutes left to go in the third, but then SNU went on a 10-2 run to quiet the Savage Storm crowd. Overall, the 3rd was a very good quarter for the Crimson Storm. The only glaring negative was that the Crimson Storm was 5-13 from the free throw line.
SEOSU started off the fourth quarter hot, scoring the first six points but SNU again answered with their own 8-point run. The Savage Storm then responded as they took the lead with 5 minutes left to go in the game, after not leading since the 6 minute mark in the first quarter. SNU again took the lead off of a big three point bucket from Sarda. The Crimson Storm fought their hardest, but couldn't keep pace with the Savage Storm. SNU shockingly fell to Southeastern OSU on a game winning shot.
Southern Nazarene will look to get back on track as they hit the road again to face their rival Oklahoma Baptist (5-17, 1-15 GAC) this Thursday, in Shawnee. Tip off is scheduled for 5:30pm.
