Southeastern Holds on For Road Win over SAU

DURANT, Okla. – Kenzli Warden and Caitlin Kobiske powered a third quarter boom which would be vital as Southeastern held off a late Southern Arkansas rally for a 69-64 win on Thursday afternoon in Magnolia, Ark.
 
The win lifts the Savage Storm to 8-5 overall on the season and 5-2 in Great American Conference play heading into game two of the road swing on Saturday, Jan. 11 versus Arkansas-Monticello at 1 p.m. in Monticello, Ark.
 
Kobiske would finish the contest with a game-high 27 points, going 11-of-18 from the floor, hitting her lone three-point attempt and adding a 4-for-4 effort at the line.
 
Warden was next in line with 18 while hitting 6-of-9 from the floor, including a 4-of-6 effort from beyond the arc.
 
Abbie Barr and Ashton Hackler each finished with eight points, hitting two threes each.
 
Holli Lindley handed out a team-best four assists, with Barr and Warden dishing out three apiece.
 
Kobiske would lead the way on the boards with seven rebounds, while Lindley pulled down six and Hackler hauled in five.
 
The teams came out of the gates trading buckets, with the Storm opening up the first two-score lead following Warden three and a Kobiske jumper in the paint with 4:30 to go in the first quarter at 14-9.
 
SAU would score the next five points, and the Storm would take one more four-point lead before the Muleriders answered to knot the score at 22-22 at the first quarter break.
 
A Hackler three would open second quarter scoring and her second three of the frame with 5:50 to go in the half would push the SE lead to 30-24.
 
The Storm would maintain a lead until the 1:27 mark when SAU knotted the game at 33-33, but Warden and Kobiske would each drain threes in the final minute to give Southeastern a 39-33 lead at the break.
 
SAU would score first in the third quarter, but a Warden three would trigger a 16-0 run capped by a Barr three to take a 55-35 lead with 4:26 to play in the third.
 
The lead would extend to 22 points before the Muleriders closed with the final five points of the quarter to cut the Storm lead to 59-42.
 
Southeastern would weather a cold shooting fourth quarter as SAU rallied, cutting the SE advantage all the way down to one point at 63-62 with 2:36 to play.
 
Warden would end that run with a pair of free throws and after the teams traded a turnover and a missed bucket, Kobiske would drain a jumper with 41 seconds to play to push the edge to 67-62.
 
After a Mulerider layup Kobiske would drain two more free throws to second the 69-64 Storm victory.