ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — After shooting struggles in the second quarter, SNU made a dominate bounce-back as they defeated Henderson State 58-50 in Arkadelphia Friday night.
Weather concerns called for an untraditional Friday-night matchup, but this did not phase the Storm (16-4, 13-1 GAC) as they overcame early shooting struggles to take care of the Reddies (11-9, 8-6 GAC), who gave SNU a good fight all the way through. SNU's 13-19 from the free throw line and late defensive stops gave them the fire they needed to finish the job in the end.
SNU was on fire from first tip, dishing bucket after to bucket to build a 14-0 run through the first seven minutes, leading the Reddies 19-4. Henderson State was able to put a few points on the board in the remaining three minutes, but that did not stop SNU from amassing a 23-10 advantage after quarter one.
It was different story in the second as SNU hit a six-minute scoring drought later in the quarter. The Reddies capitalized, going on a run of their own in the final five minutes of the half to bring the game within one at 27-26 at the halftime buzzer.
The Reddies opened the second half with a deep ball to pick up their first lead of the game at 29-27. The third quarter went back and forth from their, but not many buckets were scored as both teams combined for 20 total points that quarter. The Reddies outscored the Storm by four, leading by three at 38-35 with just one last 10 minutes left in the contest.
In the final stanza, SNU was able to knock down a couple of shots to get ahead by a few to have the Reddies trailing. Henderson State never backed down, fighting with buckets of their own to tie it several times throughout the quarter. In the final few minutes, the Storm had a six-point lead with free throws and lay-ins secured by Hannah Giddey. The Reddies were never able to recover and SNU picked up their sixth straight win with the final 58-50 victory.
Giddey finished with 17 points, 14 rebounds, and five blocks, adding another double-double to her list.
Cassandra Awatt poured in 15 points and eight boards.
Georgia Adams scored seven and eight boards and Lauryn Reither also scored seven with four boards.
SNU remains in Arkadelphia as they are set to play Ouachita Baptist on Sunday, February 5th at 1:30 p.m.
