MAGNOLIA, Ark. - The No. 5 ranked Crimson Storm hit the road to take on the Southern Arkansas Muleriders, continuing their perfect season after defeating SAU 72-59.

The Crimson Storm (15-0, 9-0 GAC) entered the contest with Southern Arkansas (9-6, 4-5 GAC) as the lone undefeated team in the nation after checking in at No. 5 in the WBCA DII poll. Southern Nazarene looked to keep their streak alive against the Muleriders in their first matchup of the season. The Storm has won the last six meetings with the Muleriders dating back to the 2019-20 season. 

The two squads traded points from the first tip before a Lauryn Reither three-ball extended the SNU lead 9-4. From there the Storm went to work in the paint, continuing to keep the Muleriders at bay. Reither found an open Abbie Jiles who sank a three to extend the SNU lead 16-8. 

The Muleriders began to attempt a first-quarter comeback, but Reither found an unguarded Carley Gasaway who hit a long ball leading to an SAU timeout. The Muleriders hit one last three before the clock ran down to cut the SNU lead 23-14 after quarter one.

Southern Arkansas opened up the second quarter at the charity stripe, where they hit two shots to cut the Storm lead once again. Hannah Giddey and Emily Monaghan took turns scoring for the Storm to maintain a strong 10-point lead. 

SAU went on a 10-0 run to tie the score at 33-all with 1:25 left to play in the half. Monaghan found herself at the charity stripe, grabbing back the lead for SNU at 35-33. Southern Arkansas would get one last chance at the foul line but came up short leaving the score 35-33 at the half.

A minute and 39 seconds passed before Southern Arkansas tied the score 35-35. The squads traded a few points before SAU hit a three to grab the lead for the first time in the contest 40-37. Jiles hit a big three to tie the score and get the SNU bench on their feet. Jena Bay then went on to hit a three of her own, sparking an 8-0 run to pull ahead 45-40. 

The Muleriders finally broke the SNU run, but Jiles grabbed the momentum back with another long ball. SAU laid one in before Reither made her way to the foul line. She hit both shots to extend the lead to 50-44 at the end of the third quarter. 

Giddey got the Storm on the board first in the fourth quarter to lengthen the SNU lead. Bay then hit a three-ball to stretch the score 57-49. A Reither layup and free throw pushed the Storm even further ahead. Southern Nazarene continued to utilize points in the paint, tacking on more their side of the scoreboard. This made an SAU comeback difficult. 
The Muleriders took time with 41 seconds left to play. The Storm scored one last time before the clock ran out. The Crimson Storm came away with their fifteenth victory of the season as they took down SAU, 72-59.

Monaghan led the SNU offense with 20 points. Giddey was not far behind with 16 points to go alongside her nine rebounds and seven assists. Jiles also posted 15 points while she shot 75 percent from beyond the arc. 

Next Up

The Crimson Storm will continue their road trip as they take on the Blossoms from Arkansas-Monticello. Tip-off is set for Saturday, January 20th at 1:00 p.m. in Monticello.