SE Tourney Run Ends Against ATU

BARTLESVILLE, Okla.  – Third-seeded Southeastern saw its 2015 Great American Conference Tournament run come to an end in the semifinals with a 68-62 loss to No. 2 seed Arkansas Tech on Saturday afternoon in Bartlesville, Okla.
 
The loss drops the Savage Storm to 20-10 on the season and brings its 2015 season to an end.
 
Cheree Kiser came off the bench with a team-best 16 points in the final game of her SE career on 6-of-8 shooting with a pair of threes.
 
Kaylie Baxter added 15 points, 12 of which were in the first half, on 6-of-9 shooting with a 3-for-3 effort from long range.
 
Emem David added seven points off the bench, while Emily Williams and Olivia Potter chipped in six each.
 
The Storm shot 39.3 percent from the field for the game and hit eight threes, but was unable to offset a  50.0 shooting effort by the Golden Suns.
 
Taylor Richards dished out a team-high four assists, while Williams and Baxter added three each.
 
Baxter added a team-best eight rebounds, while Richards added five boards.
 
SE scored the game's first points on a Baxter three, but ATU answered with a 9-0 run to gain the lead and would lead for the entire first half, using a late 8-0 run to put the Storm in a 38-25 hole at halftime.
 
A David free throw at the 12:17 mark would kick off a 10-0 run by the Storm that cut a 15 point deficit down to 55-50 on a David layup with 9:20 to play.
 
The Suns would answer by pushing their advantage back to 12 points with 5:11 to play, but a Kiser three would trigger an 8-0 run that got the Storm to its closest point since early in the first half when a Williams bucket with 1:54 to play made the score 64-60.
 
ATU would answer with a bucket, and Richards would respond with a pair of free throws to keep the game at four points with 1:02 to play.
 
The Suns would add a bucket with 36 seconds to go and the Storm would not find an answer, falling 68-62.