BETHANY, OK – The first-round of the 2021 Great American Conference Women's basketball tournament produced exactly what we thought it would, a thriller. A talented six-seeded Oklahoma Baptist team had given the three-seeded Storm all they could handle this year despite going 3-0 against the Bison in the regular season.
The two teams battled and scrapped all game, but it was the resiliency of the Crimson Storm (10-7, 10-7 GAC) that helped pull-out a 69-64 win inside the Sawyer Center on Monday night.
There were 16 lead changes and nine different ties in the first-round thriller between the two clubs.
SNU would finish the contest at a 40.3% shooting clip while holding the Bison to 39.7%. Besides blocking fewer shots, the Bison had the advantage in every statistical category.
Oklahoma Baptist rolled up their sleeves as they came down 44 rebounds, 11 more than the 33 SNU finished with. The Bison would also hold a 36-26 advantage in points in the paint. It didn't seem like the outcome was possible on paper, but the Storm brought a little thing they call heart to wield them to victory.
The opening quarter went back-and-forth as both teams traded buckets en route to OBU leading 17-15 going into the second. The Bison began the game at 33.3%, while SNU shot 50% from the floor, despite trailing.
Southern Nazarene would continue to have trouble shooting in the second as they went 0-7 from the three-point line and turned in a 29.4 field goal percentage. Still, the Storm hung around to only trail by one going into recess.
Out of the break, the Bison lit up Sawyer, garnering their largest lead of the game. At one point, the score read 53-40 as OBU shot 56.3% from the field. SNU was held to a mere 27.8 field-goal percentage on 5-of-18 shooting. Oklahoma Baptist would close out the third on a 15-2 run and lead, as mentioned, 53-40 going into the final quarter.
SNU exploded with a 29-point fourth quarter, shooting 60% from the floor, to overcome their deficit. Two big threes from Kennedy Gillette, a few buckets from Cassandra Awatt, and a game-sealing steal from Payton Jones are what the Storm needed to escape the grip of the Bison.
Sophomore Cassandra Awatt led the Storm with 16 points, eight rebounds, and one steal. Awatt was also efficient from the charity stripe as she knocked down six of her seven attempts. Senior Abby Niehues turned in a 15-point performance on 7-of-12 shooting and eight rebounds. The most feared defender in the league would also deny five shots and collect a steal.
Freshman Payton Jones may not have had the best night shooting but made the shots when SNU needed them on her way to 15 points. Jones would also go 4-of-5 from the free-throw line and dish out three assists. Alexus Jones commanded the floor with six assists, two steals and registered 10 total points.
Kennedy Gillette would round things off for the Storm as she produced nine points, four rebounds, two blocks, and three assists.
Southern Nazarene will be back in action Wednesday for the second round of the GAC tournament as they will travel to Arkadelphia for a contest against Henderson State (7-6, 7-5 GAC). Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.
