BETHANY, Okla. — A tight contest inside the Sawyer Center Saturday afternoon ended in SNU's favor as they took care of Southwestern Oklahoma State in the final stretch, defeating the cross state rival 76-66 for their fourth conference victory.
With success against SNU in years past, the Bulldogs (1-8, 1-3 GAC) had quite the reputation to live up to under new head coach Jeff Zinn. Rolling with a five game win-streak, the Storm (7-3, 4-0 GAC) defended their hot streak with a solid performance on the glass, out-rebounding SWOSU 49 to 22 to go along with 22 second chance points.
Free throws put points on the board for both teams at the start of the contest. From there, the teams continued to exchange buckets, trading the lead for for most of the first quarter. A couple of buckets from SWOSU in the final few minutes gave them the 19-13 lead, but a burst from Cassandra Awatt earned her four quick points, putting SNU behind 19-17 to end the first quarter.
SNU and SWOSU continued to battle back and forth to start the second quarter with the Bulldogs still controlling the slim lead. Two three balls gave the Bulldogs the seven point lead with seven minutes left in the quarter. Awatt answered with a three of her own, kick starting a 7-0 run for SNU to tie the ballgame at 27 all. Southwestern took back the lead once more and defended it all the way to the halftime buzzer, heading into the break up 36-33 over the Storm.
The contest stayed tight out of the break until a string of possessions turned Crimson and SNU held a four-point lead just under five minutes left in the third. SNU's lead quickly ballooned to 13 after a 9-0 run pushed SWOSU even further back. The Bulldogs were able to knock down a pair of free throws just before the 10 minutes was up, leaving SNU to maintain a 57-46 lead with one final 10-minutes left to play.
A three point play drawn by Payton Jones energized SNU to start the fourth quarter. SNU kept the Bulldogs at bay as the minutes went by and a Jones three-pointer extended the Storm's lead to 17 with six minutes remaining. The whistles started to sound as the minutes went by, leaving both teams with foul troubles. This never fazed SNU as they defended their double-digit advantage while the clock winded down.
Southwestern found a small burst just under a minute remaining in the ballgame, pulling the game within 11 at 75-64. The Storm's defense prevailed in the final seconds, making a SWOSU comeback near impossible. With a final score of 76-66 over the Bulldogs, SNU picked up their fourth consecutive conference victory, improving to a six-game win streak overall to conclude the semester.
Junior Hannah Giddey was all over the Bulldogs in the win, recording her third double-double for SNU with 14 points and 15 boards, also tallying three assists.
Awatt also recorded another double-double with her stellar performance, tallying 14 points, 12 boards, six assists, and three steals.
Jones was another 14-point scorer, causing problems for the Bulldogs all afternoon with her two three balls, three rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
Georgia Adams was also in double figures with 12 points to go along with three rebounds and two steals. Lauryn Reither added in nine points off the bench, powered by her pair of three's. Reither also tallied two boards, three assists, and two steals.
Emily Monaghan finished with seven points, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
SNU's win concludes the games for 2022 and they will continue the season in 2023 with an exhibition contest against The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma on January 2nd inside the Sawyer Center. Tip-time is set for 5:30 p.m.
