BETHANY, Okla. - The Crimson Storm continued their home stint against Southern Arkansas for a Saturday matinee inside the Sawyer Center. A total team effort for the Storm allowed them to collect win No. 25 over the Muleriders, 72-57.

The two squads met for the second time this season as the Storm (25-1, 19-1 GAC) hosted the Muleriders (13-13, 8-12 GAC) after taking them down earlier this season in Magnolia. A hot start allowed SNU to claim the season sweep over Southern Arkansas.

The Storm jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead before SAU drained a long ball to cut the lead to one. From there the two squads swapped points back and forth before a few jumpers from Hannah Giddey and Emily Monaghan pushed SNU ahead 12-5. 

The Muleriders hung around but Lauryn Reither sank two free throws to push SNU ahead once more. Jena Bay then found an open Monaghan who sank a three to give the Storm an eight-point lead with just over two minutes left to play in the first quarter. 

Monaghan would handle the scoring for the remainder of the quarter collecting two free throws and another three to give the Storm a 24-11 lead after the first quarter of play.

A couple of Giddey jumpers added on to the SNU score as the Muleriders tried to crawl back. Back-to-back jumpers from Jillian Crawford pushed the Storm lead to 15, the highest on the day thus far.

Georgia Adams got in on the scoring, dropping a three-ball courtesy of Giddey. Southern Nazarene would hit one final shot before the clock ran out to lead the Muleriders 40-25 at the halftime break.

Giddey continued to lead the Storm offense, opening the second half of the contest with a made layup. Reither poured in a pair of jumpers to extend the Storm lead once again. Adams followed suit, hitting a pair of jumpers and a free throw.

The Storm continued to work in the paint and at the charity stripe to hold an 11-point lead going into the final quarter. 

The Storm did not let up to begin the fourth quarter as Giddey went on a 6-0 run on her own. A few other Storm members chimed in with points of their own to capture the 72-53 lead with 2:03 left to play. 

Both squads then looked to their benches in the final minutes of the contest to finish it out. SNU took the victory over SAU, 72-57 to claim the season sweep of the Muleriders and improve to 25-1. 

Giddey was outstanding for SNU posting 23 points and seven rebounds. Monaghan also saw double-digit scoring, posting 14 points of her own. Reither was just shy of a double-double as she tallied 11 points and eight assists. Adams and Crawford both collected 10 points of their own. 

Next Up

The Storm will travel to Alva, Oklahoma to take on the Rangers of Northwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday February 29. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. as the Storm will meet the Rangers for the second time this season.