ALVA, Okla. - The Crimson traveled to Alva for their last GAC road contest of the season. The Storm exploded in the second half to take down the Rangers, 60-47, to claim the regular season GAC Championship title.

Northwestern (23-6, 15-6 GAC) controlled most of the first half before the Storm (26-1, 20-1 GAC) outscored the Rangers 20-11 in the third quarter. The two squads met for the second time this season after they faced off in Bethany in January. Both teams were ranked in the top 25 as SNU grabbed a 65-47 win.

The Crimson Storm got off to a quick 7-2 lead to begin the contest, but the Rangers tied the score quickly. The two squads would trade points from there before a few layups and free throws put NWOSU up 14-9 with just over two minutes remaining in the first quarter. Back-to-back lay ups from Hannah Giddey cut the deficit as the Storm trailed 13-16 after the first quarter.

The Rangers knocked down two quick shots to push their lead to seven. Giddey continued her rule of the paint, laying one in to chip away at the Northwestern lead. Carley Gasaway tacked on a long ball to put the Storm within four. 

A few made shots from the NWOSU led to an SNU timeout. Giddey knocked down two more shots in the paint to cut the Northwestern lead to 26-22 at the halftime break. 

The Storm regrouped heading into the second half as Lauryn Reither laid in a fast break bucket to open up quarter three. The next few minutes of the contest would be scoreless until Giddey was fouled, sending her to the charity stripe. She knocked down two free throws to cut the Rangers lead once again. 

Emily Monaghan got the SNU bench on their feet with a long ball to grab the lead at 29-28. Reither then dropped in two free throws to extend the lead once more. Monaghan poured in another three ball which led to a Northwestern timeout with three minutes left to play in the third quarter.

A layup from the Rangers put them within four, but the Storm continued to control the half. Monaghan went on to hit her third three to push the SNU lead to nine. The Rangers added on a few buckets but Jena Bay ended the third quarter with a three to give SNU a 42-35 lead.

NWOSU claimed the first points of the final quarter, but the Storm was unphased. SNU went on a 6-0 run before the Rangers hit a jumper. Abbie Jiles got in on the scoring knocking down a jumper in the paint to give SNU their largest lead of the night, 50-39. 

Monaghan made her way to the foul line a handful of times tacking on the points to the Storm's side of the scoreboard. A Northwestern comeback seemed nearly impossible as Monaghan knocked down two more shots to seal the deal as the Storm collected the victory 60-47. 

Monaghan led the SNU offense with 21 points. Giddey collected her twelfth double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 boards. 

This marks the second year in a row that the Storm have achieved the GAC Regular Season title. Now, they look to repeat their tournament title run, but must tackle one more game at home before then. 

Next Up

The Storm will return to the Sawyer Center for their final regular season game as well as senior day on Saturday, March 2 against Southwestern Oklahoma State. Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m. in Bethany.