Storm Season Ends With GAC Tourney Loss

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Southeastern put four players in double-figures but were unable to weather a fourth-quarter Southern Nazarene run in a 71-56 loss in the quarterfinals of the Great American Conference Tournament in Friday afternoon in Bartlesville, Okla.
 
The loss brings the Savage Storm season to an end, finishing with a 14-13 record.
 
Alix Robins posted a team-high 13 points with a trio of threes to pace the offense, while Briley Moon was right on her heels with 12 on 4-of-7 shooting with a pair of threes.
 
Katie Branam followed up with 11 points and Tracy Johnson finished with 10 on the strength of a pair of threes.
 
Johnson would tack on three assists, while the Storm shot 37.0 percent for the game and hit 38.5 from beyond the arc.
 
Neely Noel hauled in a team-high four rebounds, while Moon, Robinson, and Branam each pulled down three.
 
SNU scored the first five points of the contest, but Robinson would answer with a three and the Storm would use an 8-2 run caped by another Robinson three to take an 8-7 lead with 4:22 to go in the quarter.
 
The Crimson Storm came back with three-straight free throws to go up 10-8 and Haiden Williams would close the quarter with a pair of free throws to knot the game at 10-10.
 
SNU scored the first seven points of the second quarter and used a 12-2 run to take a 22-12 lead with 5:12 to go in the second quarter.
 
Tracy Johnson would connect on a three in response and Southeastern would close out the first half on a 10-3 run to head to the halftime break trialing 25-22.
 
SE stayed close early in the third quarter, twice tying the game, the last time on a Johnson layup with 6:18 to go in the quarter at 32-32.
 
The Crimson Storm would then put together a 15-5 run to open up a 47-37 lead and Southeastern would trail at the end of the third by a 49-39 margin.
 
SNU would score first in the fourth quarter, but the Storm answered with six-straight points, closing the gap to 51-45 on a Moon jumper with 8:22 to play.
 
The Crimson Storm would put together an 11-2 run to push its lead to a game-high 15 points at 62-47 with 3:38 to play in the fourth.
 
SE would get threes from Moon and Williams to keep the lead from growing, but another SNU 6-0 run would push the deficit to 18 points with 1:55 to go.
 
Moon would connect on a three with 1:52 to play to fashion the final score of 71-56.