SE Drops December Finale vs SWOSU

DURANT, Okla. – Tori Kilburn finished with 20 points, but a lop-sided third quarter erased a halftime lead and ended with a 75-59 loss to Southwestern Oklahoma State in the Fall semester finale on Thursday night in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
 
The loss drops the Savage Storm to 3-8 on the season and 0-5 in Great American conference play heading into the Holiday break with the next action coming Jan. 3 on the road at Southern Nazarene in Bathany, Okla., at 1 p.m.
 
Kilburn finished with 20 points for the fourth time this season as she was 8-of-12 from the field with a career-high three three-point buckets.
 
Abbie Barr knocked down four first-half threes, a season high, and finished the contest with 12 points, matching her season-best scoring effort.
 
Chloe Eversole was next in line with seven, while Mackenzie Espinosa turned in six.
 
Akiera Hawk handed out a career-high seven assists, while Kilburn led the Storm on the boards with a game-high nine rebounds.
 
Barr knocked down a trio of threes in the first quarter and Southeastern ran out to an 11-0 lead over the first five minutes of the contest.
 
SWOSU got on the board with a pair of free throws at the 4:49 mark of the quarter, but the Storm would hold them to just four free throws and a field goal over the remainder of the period, outscoring the Bulldogs 9-6 over the second five minutes to take a 20-6 lead at the end of one.
 
Barr drained her fourth three of the night on the first possession of the second half to put the Storm up 23-6, but SWOSU responded with a 13-0 run, cutting the SE lead to 23-19 by the 4:48 mark of the second quarter.
 
Kilburn ended the run with a layup and the Storm would hold an 8-6 edge over the next 2:44 before both teams went cold to end the half with Southeastern holding a 31-25 lead at the halftime break.
 
The momentum swung the other way in the third quarter as the Bulldogs hit 10-of-13 from the field, including four threes, while the Storm offense went cold, connecting on 2-of-20, both threes.
 
SWOSU would ultimately outscore SE 33-6 in the quarter, erasing the Storm halftime lead and taking a 58-37 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
Southeastern returned to its first half form in the fourth quarter, shooting 50.0 percent from the field and outscoring the Bulldogs 22-17, but it was not enough to recover from the brutal third quarter, closing the final score to 75-59.