Kemp Leads Storm to Key Win over OBU

DURANT, Okla. – Chandler Kemp put up a season-high 19 points to pace Southeastern as it kept its postseason hopes alive with a 71-53 win over Oklahoma Baptist on Friday night in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
 
The win lifts the Savage Storm to 11-16 overall and 9-12 in Great American Conference play heading into a Saturday night matchup with Northwestern Oklahoma State at 5:30 p.m. back in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
 
To earn a trip to the GAC Tournament, SE would need to pick up a win over the Rangers on Saturday night as well as seeing Oklahoma Baptist or Arkansas Tech take losses in their matchups.
 
"We hit shots in this game tonight," said head coach Darin Grover. "And we've been missing those shots most of the year to be honest with you. We work on shooting a ton. And kids come in extra and get shots up, so why we've struggled so much from the field this year, I don't know."
 
"It's been one of our better defensive years," he continued. "Kalifa Ford is an outstanding player, and our kids did a great job on her. They did a great team defensive job, but also a great individual defensive job. We forced some turnovers, and we kept her at bay."
 
Kemp turned in an 8-of-10 shooting effort form the floor on her way to a game-high 19 points, while also leading the team in assists with six and matching a team-high with five rebounds.
 
Briley Moon was next in line with 16 points and was perfect from the floor, hitting 6-of-6 overall and 2-of-2 from three-point range, with her only misses coming at the free throw line. She also matched the team-high with five rebounds.
 
Kamryn Cantwell hit double-digits with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting while also handing out two assists and grabbing two steals.
 
Aimee Alverson added six points and three assists.
 
The Storm would shoot 52.8 percent overall as a team and connected on 31.3 percent of its three-point shots.
 
OBU jumped ahead early, taking a 4-0 lead and despite SE rallying to tie the game, the Bison would use a pair of threes to stretch the lead to 12-6 by the 4:42 mark of the first quarter.
 
Moon would answer with a three, but an OBU bucket would give the visitors a five-point lead with 2:36 to play in the quarter.
 
Southeastern closed out the quarter on an 8-0 run, with Cantwell grabbing a steal and converting a layup at the buzzer to take a 17-14 lead at the first quarter break.
 
After briefly pushing its lead to five, the Storm would see that lead shrink down to just one point by the 7:20 mark.
 
The Storm reeled off the next 10 points, capped by a Kemp free throw to take a 29-18 lead with 3:34 to play in the half.
 
The Bison would close the gap to six points, but Moon would answer with a bucket and Aimee Alverson would hit the last two for the Storm on the way to a 35-23 lead at the half.
 
The game would see-saw in the third quarter, with SE pushing its lead into double figures, only to have OBU trim the deficit back to single digits, ultimately closing the Storm advantage to 51-42 heading to the fourth quarter.
 
In the final frame, Kemp would get things rolling with a three-point play that triggered a 9-0 run that pushed Southeastern's lead to 60-42 following a Cantwell layup.
 
That lead would eventually reach 20 points on a Moon layup with 3:40 to play before OBU closed the gap in the final minute to a 71-53 final.