Storm Falls Late at No. 17 SWOSU

WEATHERFORD, Okla. – Kamryn Cantwell led all scorers with 24 points, but it was not quite enough to power Southeastern past No. 17 Southwestern Oklahoma State in a 74-67 loss on Thursday night in Weatherford, Okla.
 
The loss drops the Savage Storm to 6-5 on the year in Great American Conference Western Division play heading into a Saturday afternoon matchup against Oklahoma Baptist at 2 p.m. in Shawnee, Okla.
 
"We limit our chances to shoot the ball when we turn it over," said head coach Darin Grover. "Its really as simple as that. Turnovers limit our shot attempts and then second chance shots increase their shot attempts. We probably defended them better than they defended us. We had better overall shooting percentage, better three-point percentage, better free throw percentage. Went to the line relatively close to the same amount of times. But you can't give them more shots"  
 
Cantwell collected 24 points on the night and nearly turned in a double-double with nine rebounds.
 
Briley Moon just missed her third-straight 20-point game, finishing with 18 points on the strength of a 4-of-8 three-point shooting night. She also added seven rebounds and handed out three assists.
 
Katie Branam and Jordan Benson each finished with eight points, while Benson also hauled in eight rebounds and handed out four assists.
 
SE held an edge in shooting 41.0-to-37.3 percent and from beyond the arc at 43.5-to-32.3 percent, however lost the turnover battle 15-to-4 which led to a 17-0 edge for the Bulldogs in points off turnovers.
 
The Storm hit four threes in the opening quarter as Moon put up eight points, while Cantwell and Aimee Alverson added five each.
 
SE fell behind by four points early, but an 11-2 run would give the Storm a five-point lead by the midway point of the quarter.
 
The Storm maintained that five-point edge until the 1:11 mark as SWOSU would score the final four points and SE would lead 18-17 after one quarter.
 
The second quarter was a defensive struggle as Cantwell and Mon combined for 10 of the team's 12 points, while the Storm held the Bulldogs to 15 points and would trail 32-30 at the half.
 
The third quarter featured a pair of ties and a pair of lead changes as Cantwell paced the club with eight points and Branam added six, but SE was unable to close the gap and trailed 51-48 after three quarters.
 
 Southeastern would take a trio of leads in the fourth quarter, the last coming on a Benson three with 3:29 to play at 60-59.
 
The teams would play to a 62-62 tie with 2:03 remaining, but SWOSU would finish the game on a 12-5 run to fashion the 74-67 final score.