SE Rallies For GAC Opening Win at UAM

MONTICELLO, Ark. – Southeastern rallied from a 19 point third-quarter deficit to open Great American Conference with a 72-69 win over Arkansas-Monticello on Thursday night in Monticello, Ark.
 
The win lifts the Savage Storm to 2-1 on the year and 1-0 in GAC play heading into a Saturday matchup with Southern Arkansas at 1 p.m. in Magnolia, Ark.
 
Olivia Potter exploded for 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and 5-of-9 from behind the arc to lead the charge.
 
Sa'Liesha Hunter and Katie Webb each added 10 points in the effort, while Rachel Wallace and Ariannah Kemp chipped in eight each.
 
The Storm shot 42.4 percent from the field while Potter's five three accounted for all the long range shots made for SE on the night.
 
Hunter dished out five of the team's 10 assists to lead the way on that front.
 
Webb paced the Storm on the glass with eight rebounds as SE held a 45-to-39 edge on the glass. Wallace and Emem David followed up with seven boards each, while Hunter added six.
 
Southeastern held a 6-0 edge in fastbreak points as well as a 12-10 advantage in second-chance points, a 36-20 edge in the paint and a 16-7 mark in bench scoring.
 
Besides three ties in the contest trailed until the 1:45 mark of the fourth quarter when Hunter would hit a driving layup in transition to give the Storm a 69-67 lead.
 
SE would never trail again, with UAM tying the game on its next possession, but a David free throw putting the Storm up for good at 70-69 with 33 seconds to go.
 
It was not without drama though as a Cotton Blossom turnover would give Rachel Wallace the opportunity at the free throw line to hit a pair of freebies to extend the lead to 72-69 with 29 seconds left.
 
Fortunately UAM would miss its final two shots and SE survived a pair of missed free throws which would have given them a two possession lead, but the Storm would hold on for its 72-69 win.
 
Southeastern went to the locker room at the half looking up at a 46-29 deficit which would balloon to 50-31 early in the third quarter.
 
A Wallace layup at the 7:52 mark would cue a 10-0 run capped by a pair of Wallace free throws to cut the gap down to 50-41 with 6:02 to go in the quarter.
 
UAM would hold the deficit at that approximate level, ultimately taking a 59-49 advantage into the fourth quarter.
 
Down by 10 with less than nine minutes to play, Potter would connect on a three off a Hunter pass and Hunter would follow up at the 8:06 mark with a transition bucket to close the gap to 61-56.
 
A pair of Miranda Schaefer free throws would finally get the Storm over the hump in the rally and close to within a possession at 65-62 with 6:01 on the clock.
 
After that it was a Potter three which tied the game for the first time on the night with 4:00 to play at 65-65.
 
UAM would regain the lead briefly, but a Potter jumper would knot the score which led to Hunter's layup with 1:45 to play which put SE in front for the first time.