MAGNOLIA, Ark. — In their last Arkansas trek of the season, Southern Nazarene made a statement in Magnolia, lighting up the Muleriders with a 92-71 victory.
Eyeing a Regular Season Championship title, the Storm (21-4, 18-1 GAC) got even closer Thursday evening, using a 55% shooting clip and 44 points off turnovers to blow past the Muleriders (11-14, 7-12 GAC) who fell behind early and never caught up.
The Storm were on fire from first tip, going 11-13 from the field seven minutes in to hold a 16-point lead over the Muleriders. SAU put together a string of buckets in the remaining three minutes, going on a 9-0 run to come within seven at 24-17 after quarter one.
SNU kept their distance in the second quarter, knocking down three triples to help build a 24-point lead at halftime, leading SAU 48-34.
An early 8-0 run in the third continued to lift SNU further, keeping them at a double-digit advantage for most of the quarter. Outscoring the Muleriders 20-11, the Storm headed into the fourth quarter up 68-45.
SNU continued to pile on the points, exploding for a 14-0 run three minutes into the fourth to lead by as many as 37. The Muleriders fought back, but SNU's lead was far out of reach and SNU tacked on their 11th win in a row, defeated Southern Arkansas 92-71.
Hannah Giddey led in scoring with 21 points. The junior also grabbed nine boards and four assists.
Cassandra Awatt finished with 16 points to go along with three rebounds and steals a piece.
Lauryn Reither had 15 points, three boards, and four assists. Payton Jones finished with 14 points and a team-high four steals.
Emily Monaghan finished 13 points and three boards while Georgia Adams finished with ten points and five boards.
Southern Nazarene is just two-wins away from an outright GAC Regular Season title. One win will guarantee them at least a share. The Storm are set to play Arkansas-Montiello Saturday, February 18th at 1:00 p.m., looking to take care of one of those wins. SNU already defeated the Blossoms once this season in Bethany by 13 points.
