SHAWNEE, Okla. - The No.1 seed Southern Nazarene met the No. 4 seed Reddies for a semi-final matchup in Shawnee. The Crimson Storm's GAC Tournament run came to an end after Henderson State handed SNU just their second loss of the season, 81-77. 

The Storm (28-2, 21-1 GAC) had to play catch up for most of the contest as the Reddies (19-11,13-9 GAC) handled the Storm to earn a trip to their first GAC title game. SNU claimed the season sweep over Henderson this season after defeating them on the road and in Bethany. HSU was looking for revenge and got it as they stunned Southern Nazarene by just four points on Saturday. 

Henderson State jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead to begin the contest before the Storm dropped in a bucket to cut their lead in half. The Reddies continued to hold the momentum tacking on a few points to lead 13-4 and forcing an SNU timeout. 

Georgia Adams drained a three-ball after SNU took time to get the Storm fans cheering again. Lauryn Reither followed with a layup to cut the HSU lead to six. The Reddies continued to have a response to every SNU point making it difficult for the Storm to tie the score. Southern Nazarene got the final shot of the first quarter as Jena Bay knocked down a free throw to trail 23-18. 

Carley Gasway opened up the second quarter with a jumper to put the Storm within three. The Reddies responded quickly, dropping in a three to extend their lead again. Hannah Giddey responded by sinking two free throws to cut the lead to four. Two jumpers and a three stretched the HSU lead to 10 with 6:09 left to play in the half. 

The Henderson offense stayed hot, dropping in shot after shot. Giddey and Emily Monaghan chipped in a few buckets for the Storm to trail by eleven. A Monaghan free throw cut the HSU lead to ten and the two squads continued to go back and forth leaving Henderson with a 44-31 lead at the half. 

Abbie Jiles hit a jumper to open the third quarter before the Reddies responded with a jumper of their own. Henderson kept their foot on the gas before a Jena Bay jumper cut their lead 49-42. A few free throws pushed the Reddies further ahead once again. Giddey and Monaghan teamed up to chip away at the Henderson lead from the free-throw line putting SNU down six

HSU continued to respond but Jiles drained a three to maintain the six-point deficit. The Reddies responded once again with a three making an SNU comeback feel impossible. A few more buckets from each squad left Henderson State to lead 64-55 going into quarter four.

The Reddies maintained the control, extending their lead 72-59 on a long ball. A Reither free throw cut the HSU lead to 12 before another three from Henderson pushed their lead again to 15. A layup from Giddey and two free throws from Reither put the Storm within 11 with just under four minutes remaining. A jumper from Jillian Crawford and a handful of free throws put the Storm within five leading to a Henderson timeout.

A Reither steal and Jiles' three put the Storm within two with 38 seconds on the clock. A costly foul sent Henderson to the line as they knocked down the shots to extend their lead and forced SNU to continue to foul. The Reddies knocked down all their free throws to lead 81-77 with 20 seconds remaining. The Storm was unable to sink a three leaving the Reddies to escape and earn a trip to the GAC Tournament Championship.

Giddey led the Storm with her fifteenth double-double of the season as she posted 24 points and 20 boards. Reither followed with 15 points and Monaghan 14. Jiles also saw double-digit scoring with 12 points.

Next Up

The Storm will await the NCAA DII Women's Basketball selection show to what seed they will claim in the Central Region Tournament. The Storm earned a trip to the Central Region Tournament last season after earning the No. 8 seed from an automatic bid from the GAC Tournament. SNU will look to earn their second trip in two years with a chance to host on the line.