Second Half Lifts SE to 78-62 Win

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern bounced back from a rough-shooting first half to shoot 58.6 percent over the final 20 minutes and pull away from St. Gregory's with a 78-62 win on Tuesday night in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
 
The win moves the Savage Storm to 6-0 on the year heading into a Nov. 30 matchup with Texas A&M-Kingsville at 1 p.m. in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
 
SE opened slow, shooting 30.6 percent from the field in the first half, including an uncharacteristic 1-of-11 form three-point range.
 
However, the second half turned around as the team hit 6-of-9 form long range and 58.6 percent from the field overall.
 
One reason he Storm was able to right the ship was a dominant rebounding effort, ending in a 50-to-28 edge on the glass, a big part of which came on the back of 16 offensive rebounds.
 
Three SE players reached double figures, led by Emily Williams and Demi Koelzer who each posted 14, while Olivia Potter added 11.
 
Williams turned in a double-double in the effort with a game-high 11 rebounds to match, while Koelzer was a perfect 7-for-7 shooting and Potter hit 3-of-4 from behind the arc.
 
Shelby Hill and Kaylie Baxter each added nine in the effort, while Madison Thames and Cheree Kiser chipped in seven each.
 
Williams' 11 boards led the way, while Baxter added nine and in all 11 of the 12 players who played pulled down two-or-more rebounds.
 
Southeastern also finished with 21 assists as a team, with Hill and Taylor Richards each dishing out four, while nine players recorded at least one assist.
 
The Storm dominated in the paint with a 40-20 edge in points there.
 
SE slowly pulled out to a 7-0 lead to open the game, with a run capped by a Thames three-point play at the 16:40 mark of the first half.
 
SGU would eventually tie the game at 13-13, but the Storm would regain it quickly and hold the advantage until the 2:36 mark when the Cavaliers took their first lead of the night at 24-23.
 
A Williams layup would answer and the Storm would eventually take a 30-27 lead into the halftime break.
 
SGU would score the first four points out of the break and again would briefly take the lead at 31-30, but a Baxter three would put SE back in front.
 
The Cavaliers would tie the game at 33-33 on their next possession, but a 13-3 run capped by a Koelzer bucket would put the Storm up 46-36.
 
SGU would close to within four points at 55-51 with 7:07 to play, but a pair of Kiser free throws would cue a 10-4 run that put the Storm back up by double-digits.
 
After a pair of free throws cut that gap back to eight points, SE would answer by scoring 13 of the final 18 points scored in the game to pull away with a 78-62 win.