Storm See Lead Slip Away Late in Road Loss at OBU

SHAWNEE, Okla. – Caitlin Kobiske posted 19 points to help Southeastern climb out of an early deficit, but a cold-shooting fourth quarter would sink the Savage Storm as Oklahoma Baptist would swipe Saturday night's matchup by a final score of 69-62 in Shawnee, Okla.
 
The loss drop the Savage Storm to 3-5 on the season and 1-2 in Great American Conference play heading into a week long break before taking the court on Dec. 17 at 5:30 p.m. in Bloomer Sullivan Arena to host Northwestern Oklahoma State.
 
"The bad start is becoming a habit," said head coach Darin Grover. "So that digs you into a hole. You've got to come out of that hole. We did. And then foul trouble. We were able to, against their zone. Whenever I saw their starting lineup, I figured they were going to zone, they did. If you look at the offensive stats, we played well enough to win. We were getting it to her [Caitlin Kobiske] in the high post and she was going to work from the high post. Once we lost that threat it kind of sunk us."
 
Kobiske's 19 points led all scorers on the night as she finished 8-of-15 from the floor while also dishing out three assists on offense, while pulling down a team-best six boards.
 
Briley Moon finished with 10 points on the night and in the process passes Jessica Hocker on Southeastern's career scoring list, moving into third-place on the list with 1,451 career points, trailing second-place Katie Webb by 198 points.
 
Grace Alverson also reached double-digits, turning in 11 points with a trio of threes.
 
Aimee Alverson handed out a game-high six assists, with Kobiske and Moon finishing with three apiece.
 
Grace Alverson was right behind Kobiske in rebounds with five.
 
SE shot under 30 percent in the first quarter, and while the teams traded threes to open the game and the Storm even held a 7-5 lead early, the Storm would see the Bison reel off a 14-4 run over the final six minutes of the first quarter, leaving Southeastern down 21-11 at the first break.
 
The script flipped in the second quarter used a 17-6 run over the course of the frame to erase the deficit and take a 28-27 lead off a Beason three with 1:29 to play in the first half.
 
OBU would connect on a pair of free throws inside the final 30 seconds to take a 29-28 lead into he halftime break.
 
The hot Storm shooting would carry over to the third quarter, hitting 9-of-17 overall and draining three more threes.
 
The teams traded the lead early in the third before the Bison pushed its edge out to two possessions where it would sit until a pair of Kobiske free throws with 2:56 to play in the quarter.
 
A Grace Alverson three with 2:18 remaining would put the Storm in front 46-45 and the teams would trade the lead on ensuing possessions until OBU held a 50-49 lead in the final seconds before Kobiske hit a putback at the buzzer to give Southeastern a 51-50 lead at the third quarter break.
 
SE extended its lead to 53-50 on its opening possession of the fourth quarter, but OBU would answer with a three to knot the game up at 53-53.
 
The teams would trade buckets once more to a 55-55 tie at the 6:27 mark before the Bison would reel off a 9-0 run to take a 64-55 lead with 3:13 remaining.
 
The Storm would close the gap slightly, getting to a five-point deficit with 16 seconds to play, but OBU would hit a pair of free throws to make the final score 69-62.