Second-Half Rally Loses Steam in SE Loss

ARKADELPHIA, Ark.  – Southeastern put four players in double-figures but saw a second half rally run out of steam in the fourth quarter in a 68-59 loss at Henderson State on Thursday night in Arkadelphia, Ark.
 
The loss drops the Savage Storm to 7-17 overall and 5-14 in Great American Conference play heading into a Saturday afternoon road matchup with Ouachita Baptist at 1 p.m.
 
Grace Alverson led SE with 17 points, hitting 7-of-12 overall with a pair of threes.
 
Caitlin Kobiske recovered from a slow start to finish the night with 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting with a perfect 6-for-6 effort at the free throw line.
 
Abbie Barr checked in with 12 points on a 50.0 percent shooting effort, while Briley Moon rounded out the group with 10 points.
 
Moon would polish off a double-double with a game-high 12 rebounds while also handing out a team-best four assists on the contest.
 
Alverson opened scoring and the teams would trade buckets early before HSU would use a 9-2 run to push the lead to 13-7.
 
The teams would finish the quarter by trading layups with the Storm trailing 15-9 at the end of one quarter.
 
SE would rally with a 6-0 run to close to within 17-15 just over two minutes into the second quarter, but the Reddies would respond with a 10-2 run to push its lead to 27-17.
 
A Kobiske layup and an Elverson three would cut that deficit in half and the Storm would head to the half trailing 31-24.
 
HSU would push kts lead back to 10 points early in the third, but a 7-0 Southeaster run capped by a Barr layup would narrow the gap to 36-33 with 4:59 to play in the quarter.
 
The Reddies answered with six-straight points, but an Alverson three would end that run and the Storm would score 10 of the final 14 points to close to within 46-43 at the end of three quarters.
 
A Kobiske three-point play to open the fourth quarter would bring the SE all the way back and knot the game at 46-46 just 29 seconds into the final frame.
 
However, HSU would reel off a 12-2 run to push ahead to a 58-48 lead with 5:05 to play.
 
A Lauryn Scalice three would end the run and would trigger a 7-2 run to trim the deficit to 60-55 with 1:01 remaining, but that was as close as it would get as the Reddies would hit eight free throws in the final minute on its way to a 68-59 final score.