SE Women Survive With Road Win over SNU

DURANT, Okla. – Katie Branam led all scorers with 18 points to lead Southeastern to a hard-fought 59-58 victory over Southern Nazarene in the regular-season finale on Saturday afternoon in Bethany, Okla.
 
The win lifts the Savage Storm to 11-7 overall and in Great American Conference Western Division play as well as earning the team the No. 2 seed in the Western Division.
 
The win gives the team a first-round bye in the GAC tournament next week, meaning they will next be in action on Wednesday, March 3, at 5:30 p.m. at Bloomer Sullivan Arena and will face the winner between No. 3-E Harding and No. 6-E Arkansas-Monticello scheduled for Monday.
 
"They play great defense," said head coach Darin Grover. "They have the make-up of a team that number one, they play hard. They really get out and pressure you in wing denial. And then they have a 6-3 post that is a rim protector. So they pressure, pressure, pressure, and even if we get loose, they've got a safety net there just waiting for you at the rim that can alter shots."
 
"I love it when a team is balanced," said Grover about his own squad, "But also has some go-to players and I think we have that. This year has been so interrupted, it's been hard to get any flow. Our offense, in my opinion is not near as good as it has been in the past from an execution stand point. I think we have really good players, but we've been so interrupted because it's been practice, play, practice, play, and that's true with everybody, so it's been difficult to create rhythm, and offense is a rhythm game."
 
Branam was 7-of-11 from the floor with a 3-of-5 effort from long range to finish with 18 points.
 
Kamryn Cantwell was next in line with 12 points on the back of an 8-of-8 effort from the free throw line.
 
Chandler Kemp collected 11 points, going 5-of-5 from the floor, while Jordan Benson added 10 points, including a 2-for-2 performance from three-point range.
 
Briley Moon rounded out the Storm scoring with eight points as the team's five starters accounted for all of the games scoring.
 
Kemp led the team with three assists, while Branam and Benson added two apiece.
 
Cantwell pulled down a team-high five rebounds, while Branam chipped in four.
 
SE jumped out 5-0 to open the game on a three by Branam and a Kemp bucket.
 
The Storm would hold off SNU and maintain the lead until the 4:13 mark when they knotted the game at 8-8.
 
The Crimson Storm would take a brief lead by two, but a Cantwell bucket and a Kemp free throw would set the SE lead to 11-10 at the quarter break.
 
Southeastern again pushed out to a five-point lead after a pair of Cantwell freebies early in the second, but SNU would rally and tie the game at 15-15 by the 5:07 mark.
 
A Moon three would regain the lead in the first of what would be five lead changes and four ties over the final 4:34, with a pair of Cantwell free throws tying the game at 27-27 at the half.
 
A Benson three would break the tie early in the third quarter with a three and SE would maintain a one-possession advantage until a SNU three at the 4:47 mark put the Crimson Storm ahead 35-34.
 
Southern Nazarene would stretch its lead to as many as four before the Storm closed the gap to 42-41 after three quarters.
 
After the Crimson Storm stretched its lead to three points out of the break to open the fourth, SE answered with an 8-0 run capped by a Cantwell jumper to lead 49-44 with 7:30 to play.
 
SNU would erase that advantage and tie the game with 7:05 on the clock, but Southeastern got a Branam bucket and a pair of Benson free throws to take a 53-49 lead with 6:06 to play.
 
The Storm would push its lead out to six points by the 1:54 mark on a Kemp layup.
 
SNU would chip away, and SE needed a pair of Cantwell free throws to go up 59-55 with 44 seconds remaining.
 
The Crimson Storm would get a three-point play with 36 seconds left to cut Southeastern's advantage to one point.
 
SNU would get a final possession, but the Savage Storm defense forced a trio of misses in the final 10 seconds to preserve the 59-58 victory.