Kobiske Powers SE to Season-Opening Win

ALVA, Okla. – Caitlin Kobiske exploded for 35 points in the season opener as Southeastern held on for an 87-85 victory over Minnesota Duluth on Friday night at the GAC-NSIC Challenge in Alva, Okla.
 
The win moves the Savage Storm to 1-0 to open the season with game two of the challenge set for 3:30 p.m. versus Winona State on Saturday afternoon.
 
Kobiske was 14-of-19 from the floor for the contest and added a 6-of-8 effort from the free throw line on her way to 35 points while adding two rebounds and an assist.
 
Kenzli Warden and Holli Lindley joined her in double figures, with Warden turning in 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting while Lindley turned in 12, half of them on a 2-for-3 effort from beyond the arc. Warden would also chip in five rebounds.
 
Stevie Stinchcomb finished with eight points in her SE debut while adding team-highs in rebounds with six and assists with four.
 
Abbie Barr would add five points and three assists, while all five Storm subs would score in the contest.
 
The Storm would finish the night shooting 52.2 percent overall from the floor and hit 36.8 percent of its threes, going 7-of-19 from long range.
 
Southeastern would jump out in front early, pushing its lead to as many as seven points in the first quarter at 18-11 on a Stinchcomb three-point play at the 5:34 mark of the opening frame.
 
UMD would rally, taking a brief lead before the teams settled on a 23-23 tie at the half.
 
It was back-and-forth to open the second quarter, with the Storm using a late 7-0 run capped by a Kobiske jumper to take its biggest lead of the quarter at six points before ultimately taking a 50-46 lead to the locker room at halftime.
 
Southeastern would extend its lead early in the third, pushing out to a 65-54 lead by the 5:06 mark of the frame on a Lindley layup.
 
UMD would close the quarter on a 13-2 run to knot the score at 67-67 heading to the fourth.
 
The Storm would again take the lead early and push ahead, extending the lead to double-figures at 83-73 on a Kobiske layup at the 4:31 mark.
 
The Bulldogs would score the next nine points to close the SE lead to one point, but a Bri Wietelman three would put the Storm ahead by four points with 1:55 to play.
 
UMD would again close the ga to one point with 29 seconds, but the Bulldogs would miss a free throw and a jumper attempt before sending Kobiske to the line with four-tenths of a second to play where she hit one and missed the second intentionally to start the clock and run out the 87-85 win.