FORT SMITH, Ark. - The Crimson Storm continued their road stint, this time, in Arkansas at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. The Storm offense continued to shine, defeating the Lions 71-55 to pick up their third road victory of the season.

The Storm (3-0, 0-0 GAC) came off of a 2-0 weekend at the Central Region Crossover Challenge and continued their win streak against the Lone Star Conference member UAFS (2-1, 0-0 LSC). The Lions and the Crimson Storm met for the first time last season when SNU defeated Arkansas-Fort Smith 69-43 in Bethany. 

Southern Nazarene struck first beginning the game with a 5-0 run before the Lions finally got on the board. The two squads began to trade possessions, but the Storm stayed ahead thanks to an Abbie Jiles three and easy layups from Hannah Giddey and Emily Monaghan. SNU ended the first quarter with Lauryn Reither at the line and she sank two free throws to give SNU a 16-11 lead at the end of the quarter.

Reither found herself at the line again to begin the second quarter, sinking both free throws in to extend the Crimson Storm lead. Arkansas-Fort Smith responded with a made three, but Hannah Duncan returned the favor with a three of her own. A Jillian Crawford three and numerous free throws for SNU gave them a solid 31-18 lead going into halftime.

To begin the third quarter, SNU took advantage of their first possession scoring a quick layup to stretch their lead. A foul from the UAFS sent Shannon Burton to the line to knock down two free throws to extend the lead even more for the Crimson Storm. The Lions responded with a 10-0 run to cut the Storm's lead to 37-30. Monaghan cut their run with a made free throw and helped Southern Nazarene get back in rhythm. Both teams began to trade chances at the free throw line to end the quarter, with Storm still leading 52-41.

The Storm began to break away from Arkansas-Fort Smith throughout the fourth quarter. Made free throws from Giddey, Jiles, and Burton helped lengthen the SNU lead. The Storm then began to utilize the paint driving in to score the remainder of their points. The Crimson Storm defense shut down UAFS to claim the victory, 71-55.

Reither continued to lead the SNU offense with 17 points. Monaghan followed closely with 14 points as well as Jiles with 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Giddey was incredible, collecting 8 points and 16 rebounds on the night.

Next Up

The Storm will return home to play their first game of the year in the Sawyer Center on Saturday, November 18th against Central Oklahoma. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.