The Southern Nazarene Women's basketball team returned to the Sawyer Center to battle against rival Oklahoma Baptist on a chilly Monday night. The Crimson Storm would extend their win streak to three as they steamrolled the Bison by score of 72-60.
SNU (5-5, 5-5 GAC) controlled the boards as they out-rebounded the Bison (2-12, 1-11 GAC) 42-23. The Crimson Storm also shared the basketball extremely well as they dished out 22 assists in the match-up. Southern Nazarene also hit seven shots from behind the arc. The win makes it seven in a row against Oklahoma Baptist.
Senior
Abby Niehues led the Storm in scoring as she collected a career-high 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting in the win. Niehues would also pull down eight boards and deny four shots.
Emily Monaghan had a notable game as she came away with 13 points, two steals,and two rebounds. Freshman
Payton Jones had another good performance with 11 points, six rebounds, and two blocks. Jones also scored three triples when Southern Nazarene needed it most.
Both teams shot right out of the gate in the first quarter offensively. Niehues led the way for the Crimson Storm as she recorded seven of her 24 points in this quarter alone. At the end of the first, SNU led the Bison 18-15.
After a slow start offensively in the second quarter,
Payton Jones hit two straight triples to allow Southern Nazarene to take it's largest lead so far at 28-19.
Massey Beard hit a jumper as time expired to extend SNU's lead to 32-26 going into halftime. The Crimson Storm out-rebounded the Bison 23-12 in the first half. SNU also scored 20 of its 32 points in the paint in the half as well.
SNU was dominant at the beginning of the third quarter as the Storm went on an 8-2 run. That run allowed Southern Nazarene to take their largest lead of the game at 40-28 with 8:15 left on the clock. The Crimson Storm would score 22 points in this quarter, their most in a quarter on the night, and led 54-36 as the third quarter expired.
In the fourth, SNU didn't even give the Bison a chance at attempting a comeback as the Crimson Storm would close out a 72-60 win on Monday night.
Southern Nazarene will look to extend their win streak to four this Thursday as they play host to the Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs (11-1, 11-1 GAC). Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 pm.
