BETHANY, Okla. — A nail-biter turned to sweet, sweet victory for Southern Nazarene as their No. 1 spot in the conference was untouched after defeating Southern Arkansas in the final seconds of the ballgame.
Conference records and winning streaks were hardly the talk of this game as the Muleriders (8-11, 4-9 GAC) came into Sawyer and battled the top-seeded Storm (15-4, 12-1 GAC) all 40-minutes. Southern Arkansas' impressive three-point shooting abilities kept them in the game all afternoon, getting as high as a nine-point lead in the third quarter.
SNU prevailed in the final few seconds, ending the 74-74 tie with a single free throw and then rejecting the Muleriders on the last possession of the ballgame to win it by one on their home floor.
The Muleriders went 13-23 from deep, which helped them pull off a 30-point third quarter. SNU ramped up their defense in the fourth, holding SAU to just 10 points that quarter while the Storm doubled them with 20, including an epic final two possessions that sealed the victory.
SNU forced 22 Mulerider turnovers which turned into 26 points off of those turnovers. The Storm also had a hay-day inside with 48 total paint points.
The contest started off to a speedy pace with a combined 38 possessions to make up the first quarter. SNU's three deep shots and four steals paved the way for a Storm 20-13 lead at the end of the first 10 minutes.
SNU struggled to get much going on the offensive end at the start of the second, going scoreless for just over four minutes of play. Southern Arkansas picked up their first lead of the game midway through at 22-20, but a 5-0 run by the Storm put them back up by seven with just under four minutes remaining in the quarter.
The Muleriders used a couple of threes to counter SNU's lead in the remaining few minutes, but SNU pulled through the rest of the way, heading into halftime up by six at 40-34
Out of halftime, the Muleriders and the Storm went back and forth between possessions trading buckets, with Southern Arkansas going 3-3 from three through the first five minutes of the third.
SAU controlled their biggest lead of the contest with two minutes remaining in the third quarter, holding a 61-55 advantage over the Storm. This lead grew to nine with under a minute remaining and SAU kept it there at 64-55 moving into the final quarter.
Payton Jones excited the Sawyer Center to start the fourth quarter, hitting two back-to-back buckets to bring the game within six. Jones' buckets ignited a 9-3 run by the Storm to cut SAU's lead down to 67-64 three minutes in to the fourth.
SNU turned the tables at the 4:30 mark, reclaiming the lead by one after a few key defensive stops. The lead continued to sway between both squads until a three-ball by the Muleriders put them ahead by four with two and a half minutes remaining.
Back-to-back lay-ins by Cassandra Awatt and Lauryn Reither tied the ballgame at 74 a piece with 1:12 left in the contest. The Muleriders picked up a foul with 22 seconds remaining, sending Emily Monaghan to the charity stripe. Monaghan only got the second one to go, leaving the final possession up to SAU with the Storm leading by one at 75-74.
The Muleriders flew up a shot in the paint through a swarm of Storm defenders, but the bucket was no good and Awatt pulled down the board, racing to the other end of the floor and allowing the time to run out to award SNU the epic 75-74 victory on their home floor.
Hannah Giddey led in scoring with 18 points, followed by six boards and five assists.
Awatt came up in big ways for SNU, finishing with 15 points and nine boards to go along with four assists.
Georgia Adams left the game at the beginning of the third quarter to get checked out for injury, but had an impressive first half showing with 15 points, four boards, and three assists.
Monaghan's game-winning free throw was the highlight of her afternoon, contributing to her total 13 points, four rebounds, and six assists.
Jones celebrated her birthday in excellent fashion, scoring 12 to go along with six rebounds.
