BETHANY, Okla. — There was not much to say about Southern Nazarene's performance Thursday inside the Sawyer Center other than it was near perfection on both ends of the floor as they stormed over Southern Arkansas 98-52 while clinching a spot in the Great American Conference Tournament.
Winning by just nine over in Magnolia the first matchup this season, the Storm (18-8, 13-6 GAC) made that two wins over the Muleriders (11-13, 6-12 GAC), this time, with nearly a 50-point victory, which would make it their third highest victory margin this season.
The offensive and defensive pursuits kicked off early for SNU as they shutout Southern Arkansas for the first eight minutes of the beginning quarter with a commanding 18-0 lead. The Muleriders dropped in a single free throw with 1:48 left on the clock to finally end the stall. SNU finished that quarter with a smooth 20-3 lead.
The dominance did not stop there as the Storm put up 26 points in the second, shooting 60 percent from the field to go into halftime up by a staggering 30 points at 46-16.
There was no stopping the Storm's surge as their 5-0 run midway through the third bumped their lead up to 64-22. Lillie Smith had the hot hand off the bench, reaching her career high in scoring at the five minute marker with 10. SNU closed out the third with a 73-35 lead still with one quarter left to play.
Nothing changed in the final ten minutes as the Storm continued to command both ends of the floor. It was at the three minute point where much of the bench was cleared for the Storm to let the final few possessions play out. Just shy of the triple digit scoring marker, SNU put up a whopping 98 on the Muleriders, who finished with 52 to end the night's contest.
Off the bench, Lillie Smith was unstoppable on the offensive end, setting a new career-high 17 points to go along with three steals and two rebounds.
Cassandra Awatt notched her sixth consecutive double-double that game, making that 12 for the season as she finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, adding in three assists and steals a piece.
Jaycee Soap almost broke SNU's single-game assist record as she recorded her first double-double with 11 points and 10 assists adding in two rebound and a block.
Emily Monaghan had her hand in every stat category, putting up 13 points along with five rebounds, two assists, and one steal and block.
Abby Niehues was the force inside the paint, putting up 12 points, four rebounds, three blocks, and three steals.
Georgia Adams was another Storm member in double figures as she tallied 11 points while grabbing six rebounds, two assist, and two steals.
Kennedy Gillette finished with eight points, five boards, and two steals.
SNU finished with 66 points in the paint while forcing Southern Arkansas to turn the ball over 26 times that contest.
The Storm are back in action Saturday, February 19th as they host Arkansas-Monticello once again this season with tip-time set for 1 p.m.
