Big Third Quarter Lifts SE past OBU

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern picked up its fifth-straight win on the strength of a huge third quarter, downing Ouachita Baptist 68-56 on Thursday night in Bloomer Sullivan arena.
 
The win lifts the Savage Storm to 9-11 overall and 7-7 in Great American Conference play, moving into a four-way tie for sixth in the league standings.
 
SE will be back in action on Saturday at 1 p.m. when it hosts Henderson State who is coming off a 59-49 loss at East Central and is now tied for fourth, just a game-ahead of the Storm.
 
Southeastern put three players in double-figures, led by Olivia Potter who knocked down four threes en route to a 16 point effort.
 
Emem David added 14 on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor, while Kaylie Baxter added four threes of her own to finish with 12 points.
 
SE shot 44.1 percent from the floor overall and 41.7 percent from behind the arc thanks to a big second half where the Storm hit 58.6 percent overall and 50.0 percent from long range.
 
Taylor Richards dished out five assists to keep the offense moving, while the team combined for 16 on the night.
 
The Storm held an edge on the glass as well by a 36-to-30 margin, led by eight from Rachel Wallace with Potter, Baxter and Miranda Schaefer adding five each.
 
SE shot just 30.0 percent in the first half and struggled to get the offense going, trailing 16-13 after one quarter, and despite closing the deficit to one point midway through the second quarter would find itself down 34-25 at halftime.
 
That gap jumped to 11 points out of the break, but a Baxter three would answer and trigger an 8-0 run to close the score to 36-33.
 
OBU would stop the run, but only briefly as Emem David would hit a layup to kick off a 9-0 run that saw a Schaefer layup regain the lead for the team and a Potter three cap the run to open up a 42-38 lead.
 
The Tigers would twice tie the game, but a pair of Wallace free throws and a Katie Webb three to end the quarter would give the Storm a 51-46 lead.
 
OBU would twice narrow the SE lead to one point early in the fourth quarter, but a Sa'Liesha Hunter jumper followed by a Potter three would push the advantage to two possessions at the midway point of the final frame.
 
Holding onto a four-point lead with 2:30 to play, Baxter would hit threes on back-to-back possessions to give Southeastern a 10 point lead, and a Wallace layup with 38 seconds to play would fashion the final at 68-56.