BETHANY, Okla. - Southern Nazarene took to their home court inside the Sawyer Center on a chilly afternoon to go head-to-head with the Golden Suns of Arkansas Tech. Another battle in Bethany goes the Storm's way as they took down ATU 71-67.

The Crimson Storm (14-0, 8-0 GAC) entered the contest with the Golden Suns (7-5, 4-4 GAC) after an electrifying win against No. 13 Harding earlier this week. The Storm has claimed the two previous meetings with Arkansas Tech in the 2022-23 season. The Golden Suns did not make things easy for the Storm as they led until the third quarter before SNU was able to sneak by with the win.

Arkansas Tech snagged the momentum from the first tip, scoring a quick jumper to begin the contest. The Storm struggled to respond, but a trip to the charity stripe allowed them to get on the board. The two squads traded trips to the foul line as the Golden Suns led, 5-3. Tech then added a few layups and a three-pointer to go on a 7-0 run. 

The Crimson Storm ceased the Tech momentum and began to chip away at the score utilizing free throws. The ATU defense did not make scoring an easy task for Southern Nazarene, as they scored just one field goal in the first quarter. Tech continued to keep the SNU offense quiet as they led the Storm 21-11 at the end of quarter one.

Carley Gasaway got the Sawyer Center rocking after she opened up the second quarter with a three-ball. The two squads began to trade points before Gasaway hit another triple to help cut the Tech lead to 23-19. Tech was unphased, as they went on to hit back-to-back long balls to stretch their lead to 29-21.

Southern Nazarene began to creep back, but ATU seemed to always have a response to every Crimson Storm point. Lauryn Reither hit a three-pointer to slash the lead to 33-28, but once again the Golden Suns continued to respond. Reither hit another three with 54 seconds left in the half to shorten the Tech lead to 37-31 at the break.

The Storm was beginning to get deja vu as they entered the second half in a bit of a hole for the second time this week. Tech scored the first points of the third quarter before Reither found an open Jena Bay who sank a three-ball to get the Crimson Storm crowd on their feet. The squads traded points from there before Emily Monaghan snagged a rebound and buried a three to tie the score, 41-41, for the first time in the contest.

The Golden Suns and the Storm began to trade points once again as Tech slowly took back the lead before Monaghan made her way to the foul line tacking on two free throws to the Storm score. Once again Tech responded with points in the paint to lead, 48-47. Hannah Giddey hit a jumper in the paint and Reither utilized a Tech turnover to give SNU a 51-48 lead after four lead changes in quarter three.

Quarter four began to get intense as the squads continued trading points back and forth. Reither made her way to the charity stripe sinking in two shots to give SNU a 59-57 lead before Head Coach Trent May called for time. Tech responded once again and the two teams began to battle back and forth. A quick ATU jumper led Golden Suns Head Coach, Dave Wilbers, to call a timeout with the lead 63-61. After the short break, Reither fired another three ball to grab back the lead for the Storm. 

Reither collected a steal before getting fouled and extending the SNU lead, 65-63. The Golden Suns tied the score once again before Bay found an open Reither who drained a long ball to erupt the Sawyer Center. The Reither three led to a Tech timeout with 22 seconds left on the clock and a Southern Nazarene lead of 68-65. 

ATU responded again with a jumper to cut the deficit 68-67. Reither was then fouled as Tech tried to regain possession. Reither hit both free throws to extend the Storm lead 70-67. Tech went on to call their final timeout with seven seconds left to play. Reither stole the ball back from the Golden Suns where she was fouled yet again. She hit one free throw which made an Arkansas Tech comeback near impossible. The Golden Suns fired one last three, but it was off the mark leaving SNU with the 71-67 victory.

Reither continued to be an offensive catalyst for the Crimson Storm dropping a career-high 32 points. Giddey collected her fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Monaghan also saw double-digit scoring with 10 points.

Next Up

The Crimson Storm will travel to take on Southern Arkansas on Thursday, January 18. The Storm is set to take on the Muleriders in Magnolia at 5:30 p.m.