BETHANY, Okla. — After a second quarter drop off, the Southern Nazarene Women's Basketball team came out of halftime with a daunting defense that propelled them to victory.
Coming off of a huge season opening win against Oklahoma Wesleyan last week, the Storm (2-0) welcomed the tougher Central Oklahoma squad to the Sawyer Center where they handed the Bronchos (2-1) their first non-conference defeat of the season.
A key factor in the Storm's dominating victory was their execution on transition as they put up 20 fast break points to the Bronchos' seven. The second half was all gas and no breaks for the Storm as they forced 17 turnovers and grabbed 11 steals those last 20 minutes with Kennedy Gillette and Lauryn Reither leading the defensive front as they combined for seven of those steals.
The Storm had a great first quarter showing as they began their lead at 15-11 shooting just over 46% from the field. Things started to change for the Storm as the second quarter rolled around when the Bronchos quickly switched gears outscoring SNU 15-10 and grabbing a staggering 13 rebounds that quarter. UCO was able to overcome their nine point deficit early in the second as they fought back to take the lead at 26-25 going into halftime.
A successful halftime break worked wonders for the Storm as they brought the heat on both ends to start the third quarter. Kennedy Gillette overcame her first half struggles as she put on a show in remaining two quarters checking off every stat possible. After a couple of points dished out between Gillette and Reither and taking care of business on the boards, the Storm reclaimed their lead ending the third at 43-32 in favor of SNU. The Crimson Storm held the Bronchos to single-digit scoring that quarter as UCO was only able to pull of six points going into the fourth.
The momentum would only go up from here as the Storm dug deep on the defensive end with a menacing zone that led to even more steals and buckets in the remaining 10 minutes. With almost a 90% field goal percentage and knocking down eight out of 11 of their shots from behind the free throw line, the Storm showed that they were the better Oklahoma team that evening. This second half surge by Coach May's squad would earn them their second win of the season against a notable Division II competitor.
Gillette picked up where she left off from Friday night but this time taking it up one more notch. The super senior tallied an outstanding 19 points, five rebounds and four steals serving as the second half spark for the Storm. Reither came off the bench matching Gillette's energy as she added a whopping 18 points, three rebounds, five steals, and three assists.
Jaycee Soap continued from last week as she also posted double digit scoring with her 11 points, two assists, and two steals. Cassandra Awatt switched gears this contest as she was full force on glass with her seven rebounds while adding in six points and two assists.
Retunring five year starter, Alexus Jones, tallied eight points while grabbing two rebounds of her own. Emily Monaghan was another rebounding machine alongside Awatt as she came off the bench getting six rebounds along with two steals and five points.
SNU's veteran center, Abby Niehues, battled it out with UCO's lineup of power forwards that evening managing to secure four rebounds and two points.
The Storm look to maintain this momentum as they see their first tournament of the year over in Lubbock where they will face St. Mary's and Angelo State over the weekend.
