CANYON, Texas – Making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history on Friday night, the Southern Nazarene women's basketball team was looking to conjure up some more magic in this historic season. That magic ran out inside the First United Bank Center as SNU fell 70-64 to Texas A&M-Commerce in the regional quarterfinal.

Trailing by as many as 21 entering the fourth quarter, the Crimson Storm never quit. They held the Lions to only 12 points in the final frame as their 27-point outburst in the final 10-minutes made the game interesting down the stretch. For the game, SNU shot just 35.3 percent from the floor, and made just 3-of-10 from 3-point range. They held TAMC to 38.1 percent from the field and forced 18 Lion turnovers. The Crimson Storm went to the free-throw line 20 times and converted 13 and gave the ball away 14 times. TAMC out rebounded SNU 49-40 for the game and hauled in a killer 18 offensive rebounds which led to 20 second chance points for the Lions.
 
SNU had three scorers in double-figures as freshman Payton Jones led the way with 20 points to go along with three rebounds and two assists. Cassandra Awatt finished the game with 12 points, a team-high eight rebounds to go with a pair of steals/assists. Kennedy Gillette tallied 10 points and five rebounds for SNU as well. Emily Monaghan and Abby Niehues each chipped in with eight points as Niehues blocked three shots and hauled in seven rebounds while Monaghan collected three boards and a couple of steals. Massey Beard was solid off the SNU bench as she finished with six points and four rebounds for head coach Trent May and company.
 
The first quarter was action-packed as both teams got aggressive early. Texas A&M-Commerce went to the free-throw line nine times in the opening quarter, but SNU combatted that with strong defense and forcing turnovers to face a 17-13 deficit after 10 minutes. The Lions offense came alive in the second stanza as they shot 52.9 percent while holding the Storm to 5-of-20 from the field. TAMC went to the line eight more times in the second period and took a 41-27 lead into the halftime break.
 
Coming out of the break, SNU got off to a nightmare start in the third as they scored just 1 point in the first five minutes of the period. They made just three field goals in the entire quarter as TAMC ballooned their lead to 24 with 4:48 remaining. But again, Southern Nazarene never quit. Facing a 21-point deficit heading to the fourth quarter, the Crimson Storm had one more run in them.
 
Possession by possession, they cut into the Lion lead as a Gillette triple with 6:26 left cut the deficit to 13 at 63-50. Later, a Jones layup made it 69-59 with 1:33 to go before the freshman knocked down a three to make it 69-62 with 39 seconds left. TAMC closed with a stop and a free-throw as the comeback bid fell just short in the Storm's first taste of the Big Dance.
 
Southern Nazarene finishes the season 12-8 on the year as they ended up winning 10 of their last 13 after starting 2-5 on the year. They secured their first Great American Conference Championship and will look to deepen their core as they enter the 2021 offseason.