ADA, Okla. — Southern Nazarene missed the mark Saturday afternoon as they fell short 71-59 to East Central down in Ada.

The Storm (8-7, 3-5 GAC) saw good looks all afternoon long going 40 percent from the field and 42 percent from deep. Yet, East Central's offense had greater success as the Tiger's (8-5, 5-4 GAC) managed a 48 percent shooting clip and knocked down 16 of their 20 attempts from the foul line.

The cold front in Oklahoma also brought a cold start to the contest as SNU only put up eight points in the first quarter. East Central couldn't get much started either as they only finished with 13.

Things started to heat up at the start of the second period as two East Central three balls put the Storm behind by 10. Points were exchanged the rest of the quarter and the Tigers held a 10-point lead going into halftime (28-18).

Alexus Jones opened up the second half with a dagger from deep. Carrying over midway through, the Crimson Storm started to break free as Kennedy Gillette assisted Cassandra Awatt for a lay-in, bringing the Tiger's gap within one (34-33) with five minutes remaining in the third. ECU answered a couple of Storm fouls with successes at the free throw line late in the quarter, and the Tigers maintained their 10-point lead at 50-40 going into the final period.

As the Storm tried to fight their way back to the top, ECU stood their ground, answering every Storm score with a bucket of their own. The Tigers brought their lead up to 15 with two minutes remaining and kept it there and out of reach as time dwindled. Out of time, the Storm fell by 12 and East Central came out on top at 71-59 on their home floor.

Awatt led the Storm offense with her 15 points and three assists while grabbing five rebounds, and two steals.

Gillette was another spark that afternoon, scoring 11 while tallying five rebounds, two assists, and a steal.

Abby Niehues finished with eight points and pulled down six rebounds while adding one block and assist each.

Jones added six points and four rebounds while Nefer Leon came off the bench and added six points as well.

The Storm will make their week-long trek to Arkansas starting Monday, January 17th where they continue GAC play. Due to COVID protocols last year, the Storm have not seen any of the four Arkansas teams since the 2019-2020 season. Game dates, times, and opponents are on the athletics website.