Bench Lifts SE to win over OBU

DURANT, Okla. – Katie Branam and Taten Hyde combined for 29 points off the bench to lead Southeastern in scoring en route to a 76-67 win over Ouachita Baptist on Thursday night in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
 
The win lifts the Savage Storm to 7-4 overall on the year and 5-1 in Great American Conference play heading into a 1 p.m. matchup on Jan. 6 against Henderson State.
 
Branam led all scorers with a career-high 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting which included a 3-for-3 effort from behind the arc.
 
Hyde also came off the bench with a 3-for-7 performance and a 6-of-7 effort at the free throw line to turn in 12 points.
 
Starters Emem David and Courtney Brady each cracked double-figures with 11 points apiece.
 
"Katie Webb's season is over due to an injury," said head coach Darin Grover. "That is a massive hit to our points and rebounds, and for our kids to step in and pull together, that's great. It wasn't just one player, but multiple, that stepped up to help get the victory."
 
Sa'Liesha Hunter finished with nine points on offense and added seven assists to lead all passers.
 
David turned in a double-double with 11 rebounds to lead all players on the glass.
 
Overall the team shot 44.4 percent from the field and an impressive 52.9 percent from long range, hitting 9-of-17 threes, and went 19-of-23 at the charity stripe.
 
The team's traded the lead back and forth early, with a Branam three with 19 seconds to go in the first quarter giving the Storm an 18-16 edge after one quarter.
 
Southeastern led the entire second quarter, with both teams going cold for nearly three and a half minutes before SE pulled ahead by as many as nine and settled on a 33-27 lead at halftime.


OBU would close the gap and tie the game late in the third quarter at 42-42, but a Branam jumper and a pair of Branam free throws would put the Storm in front 46-42 after three quarters.
 
Branam carried her momentum over to the beginning of the fourth quarter where she scored 10 of the team's first 13 points as SE led by as many as 12 points in the opening minutes of the final quarter.
 
The Tigers would close to as close as four points with 2:05 to play, but a pair of Hyde free throws followed by a Brady three with 56 seconds to play would end the threat of a rally and give SE a 76-67 win.