WEATHERFORD, Okla. — After winning the outright GAC Regular Season title last Thursday against Northwestern Oklahoma State, SNU had one final mission to close out the regular season, handing the SWOSU Bulldogs the 67-60 loss in Weatherford, Oklahoma Saturday afternoon.
With their tournament hopes on the line, the Bulldogs (8-19,8-14 GAC) gave it everything they had, rallying back from a 16-point deficit to tie the ballgame late in the fourth quarter. Known to take care of business in close-games, the Storm (24-4,21-1 GAC) did just that, hitting big shots and free throws in the final seconds to end the regular season in winning fashion.
The Storm got off to a hot start, going near perfect from the field on the first quarter as they knocked down 10 of their eleven field goal attempts, good for 27 total points at the end of the first ten minutes. SNU held the Bulldogs to 5-14 from the field, which gave them 12 total points in the first.
SNU hit a shooting slump in the second quarter, going 0-11 from the field seven minutes in until Cassandra Awatt earned herself a three-point play, getting SNU's first bucket of the quarter to put SNU ahead 33-25. The Storm kept the Bulldogs from seeing another bucket in the remaining two minutes, scoring a few more of their own to lead SWOSU 37-25 at the half.
SNU's lead grew shorter and shorter in the third as SWOSU exploded for 20 points, highlighted by a 6-0 run late in the quarter that allowed the Bulldogs to trail 51-45.
SWOSU continued to test SNU's lead, bringing the game within five, four minutes into the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs caught some momentum in the remaining half of the quarter, crawling their way back to tie the ballgame at 58 all with four and half minutes to play.
Both teams battled back and forth, but SNU caught a break at the two-minute mark as Hannah Giddey scored back-to-back buckets to put SNU up by four. Under 20 seconds remaining in the game, SWOSU was forced to foul, sending Cassandra Awatt to the free line two different times. Awatt went 3-4 from the charity stripe, lifting SNU to a seven-point lead with 11 seconds on the clock.
Not enough time was available for SOWSU to turn the game around, and SNU closed out the regular season in style, getting the 67-60 victory over the Bulldogs.
Georgia Adams led in scoring with 19 points, also chipping in eight rebounds.
Cassandra Awatt recorded another double double to her long list, racking up 14 points and 15 boards on the win.
Hannah Giddey stuffed the stat sheet per usual, scoring 18 to go along with six boards, seven assists, and three blocks.
Payton Jones added in eight points.
SNU's finished the regular season with an overall record of 24-4 and a near perfect conference record of 21-1. SNU went 12-0 at home and 11-2 away, keeping up a 14-game win streak. Earning the No.1 seed in the GAC Tournament, the Storm will await the conformation of the No. 8 seed, which could be Northwestern Oklahoma State, Southwestern Oklahoma State, and Southern Arkansas depending on tie-breaker scenarios. SNU is set to play the No.8 seed in Shawnee March 2nd at 5:45 p.m.
