Storm Open Season with Win over NSU

EDMOND, Okla. – Rachel Wallace turned in 22 points and Southeastern fought off a second half rally by Northeastern State to open its season with a 70-60 win on Friday afternoon in the GAC/MIAA Challenge in Edmond, Okla.
 
The Savage Storm opens the year 1-0 and will close out the event on Nov. 13 when it faces host Central Oklahoma at 5:30 p.m. in Edmond.
 
Wallace paced all scorers in the game with 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor which included a 5-of-6 mark from behind the arc.
 
Alix Robinson was next in line for SE in scoring with nine points in her collegiate debut, with all of her points coming from three-point range. Katie Webb added eight points, as did Jordan Dawson who was also making her debut.
 
The Storm shot 40.0 percent from long range, hitting 12-of-30, and was 70.0 percent at the free throw line, offsetting a 35.5 percent effort from the floor for the game.
 
Sa'Liesha Hunter dished out a game-high four assists, while Olivia Potter added two.
 
Wallace wrapped up a double-double with 10 rebounds, while Webb and Hunter added six apiece.
 
The Storm held a 45-to-38 edge in rebounding, and took advantage of 13 offensive boards to hold a 16-4 edge over NSU in second chance points.
 
SE also got help from the bench where it held a 26-11 advantage over the Riverhawks.
 
Southeastern fell behind early 7-3, but by the midway point of the first quarter a Wallace three would put the Storm back up 8-7 and they would hold the lead for the remainder of the frame, taking a 20-14 lead to the second quarter.
 
SE extended its lead in the second, going up by 15 at 31-16 with 6:57 to play in the half on a Dawson three, eventually settling on a 37-23 lead thanks to a Wallace three in the final two minutes of the half.
 
The Storm lead reached its largest point early in the third quarter when Wallace completed a three-point play to go up 40-23 a minute and a half into the third.
 
NSU would whittle that lead down to single digits, cutting it to six before a Robinson three at the 1:23 mark would give SE a 49-40 lead heading to the fourth quarter.
 
The rally continued for the Riverhawks as they would narrow the gap all the way down to 49-47 at the 8:39 mark. After trading buckets Potter would hit her only two threes of the game in a row and Wallace followed it up with a transition bucket to stretch the lead back to 10 points with 4:31 to play.
 
SE would hold on to win by that margin at 70-60.