BETHANY, Okla. — A week's rest was no trouble for Southern Nazarene Saturday as they picked up another win on the road against Northwestern Oklahoma State, bumping their conference record to 3-0.
What started as a close contest quickly turned all SNU's way as the Storm (6-3, 3-0 GAC) outscored the Rangers (4-2, 1-2 GAC) in the second, third, and fourth quarters, leading to the overall 19 point victory. SNU's defense came in clutch down the stretch, holding NWOSU to just 3-14 from behind the arc and a 34% shooting clip for the day.
It was a slower start for both squads to open the game as the first quarter only reached a combined 15 points. The Storm began to pull away in the second quarter, starting with a Lauryn Reither three-ball to get things going for SNU. Buckets by Hannah Duncan, Cassandra Awatt, and Georgia Adams kept the fire going, giving SNU the 23-19 lead at the half.
Two minutes into the second half, neither team could get a shot to fall. Northwestern was able to break the ice first, kickstarting the back-and-forth affair that occurred for most of the third quarter. SNU put together some solid possessions in the last four minutes, powered by an 11-0 run that left the Rangers behind 44-34 at the end of of the third quarter.
SNU's momentum did not stop there as they continued to pile on the points in the remaining 10 minutes. Northwestern got a few shots to fall in hopes of lessening the Storm's lead, but Awatt's quick eight points pushed SNU to outscore NWOSU 17-8 that quarter, making the Rangers' comeback far out of reach. SNU's efforts earned them their third consecutive conference victory as they defeated NWOSU with a final 61-42 score.
Awatt led the offense with 22 points, with six boards, three assists, and a game-high five steals. Adams was right there with her, scoring 19 while adding in five boards, two assists, and two steals.
Payton Jones finished with six points on the day, also tallying three rebounds, a block, and a steal. Lauryn Reither added five points with four rebounds, three assists, and a steal.
Hannah Giddey totaled seven boards, four points, two assists, and two blocks while Duncan added four points, two rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
SNU will have a week off before returning to the Sawyer Center to take on Southwestern Oklahoma State on December 17th at 1:00 PM.
