WEATHERFORD, Okla. — Bumped, bruised, and battling all the way through, Southern Nazarene missed the mark Tuesday evening as the No. 21 Southwestern Bulldogs hit their ninth straight win defeating the Storm 72-60 at home.

There was not much of a difference between the two squads across boards, but the Bulldogs (10-2, 4-0 GAC) managed to knock down six of their 16 three point attempts; whereas, the Storm (7-4, 2-2 GAC) only got one to fall from behind the arc that evening.

Defense would control the momentum on both ends at the start of the game. The score stood at 6-2 in favor of SWOSU a quarter of the way through the beginning period. Buckets were exchanged and the first quarter ended on the lower end as the Bulldogs led the Storm by just two at 12-10.

The Storm would answer a couple of Bulldog buckets midway through the second, but a scoreless two minutes of play would set the Storm back 12 points before Abby Niehues' lay-in would bring it within 10 with a 1:30 reading on the clock. Just before the teams would head to the locker rooms, SWOSU's Lauren Ramey struck one from deep sending the Bulldog's lead to 38-24 at the half.

Out of the half, SWOSU scored a quick six points before the Storm could make their comeback. Cassandra Awatt kickstarted the fight scoring 11 points just over two minutes of play and going on a solo 9-0 run to cut SWOSU's lead to 47-35. The Bulldogs were fast to answer and managed to increase the gap, leading by as many as 16 with one final quarter left to play.

SWOSU commanded the rest of the way as they inched their way closer to victory leading by 19 with two minutes remaining. Lillie Smith came off the bench scoring a quick seven points to help bring the Storm back within 12. Time dwindled and SWOSU's final two free throws topped off the 72-60 victory in Weatherford.

Awatt dominated for SNU, scoring a career-high 28 points while grabbing seven rebounds, one assist, block, and steal each, and went 7-7 from the foul line. 13 of her 28 all came from 3rd quarter fight.

Kennedy Gillette struggled to see the ball go through the net, but brought down a game high 11 rebounds to go along with eight points, two assists, two blocks, and a steal.

Niehues only got two shots from the paint to fall, but grabbed seven rebounds and a steal that evening.

Smith tallied seven points in her two minutes of action also grabbing two rebounds a steal.

Taking some time off for the holiday break, the Storm will return to the hardwood December 30th where they matchup with Ouachita Baptist at 5:30 p.m. Thursday evening. The Tigers currently sit 1-2 as they have been handed losses by Arkansas Tech and Southeastern Oklahoma State. SNU has won the last four matchups against the Tigers, but the Storm will have to tie their loose ends as freshman guard Aspen Thornton has been putting up 28 points a game for OBU.