Storm Come Up Just Shy in GAC Opener

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern went toe-to-toe with No. 9 Southern Nazarene in the Great American Conference opener, with Caitlin Kobiske turning in 18 points to lead the way, but the Savage Storm were unable to pull off the upset, dropping the league opener 68-62 on Thursday night in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
 
The Savage Storm slip to 4-3 overall and 0-1 in the GAC play while SNU remains undefeated at 7-0 and 1-0 in the conference.
 
Southeastern will next be in action when they travel to Weatherford, Okla., for a 1 p.m. contest against Southwestern Oklahoma State.
 
"Up and down," said head coach Darin Grover when asked about his team's play. "One mistake you always make is to make these assumptions after a game from what you saw live, and you've got emotions running through you. Sure enough, you look at the film and it's neither as good nor as bad as you thought it was. I was proud of our fight. The first half we turned it over way too much. We didn't handle their pressure; they really get out in passing lanes and deny. Second Half was much better on that front, but we didn't defend."
 
Kobiske's team-high 18 points came on 8-of-16 shooting overall, including knocking down the only three she took.
 
Ashton Hackler was next in line with 12 points, hitting 5-of-10 from the field, while Grace Alverson just missed double-figures with nine points on a trio of threes.
 
Aimee Alverson led the team with three assists while chipping in eight points.
 
Holli Lindley paced the team on the glass with seven rebounds while tacking on seven points.
 
SE would push out to an early 7-2 lead over the first four minutes, capped by a Grace Alverson three, and the Storm would lead for the entirety of the quarter, hanging onto an 11-10 edge after the first 10 minutes.
 
SNU would push out to a lead in the second quarter, but the Storm would erase a two-score deficit and knot the game at 22-22 on a Hackler bucket with 3:50 to go in the half.
 
The Crimson Storm would score the next six points and eight of the final 10 points in the half to leave SE trailing 30-24 at the halftime break.
 
Threes by Kobiske and Lindley to open the second half would tie the game up at 30-30 quickly, and an Aimee Alverson transition bucket would help push Southeastern out to a 36-33 lead by the 6:38 mark of the third quarter.
 
However, SNU would respond by erasing a 41-40 lead by the Storm and use an 11-2 to take a 51-43 lead after three quarters.
 
The gap would reach 10 points early in the fourth, but SE would come roaring back, using a 15-5 run to erase the deficit and knot the game on a Kobiske layup with 3:57 to play.
 
However, the Crimson Storm would close the game on a 10-4 run to hand SE a 68-62 loss.