Kobiske, Warden Lift Southeastern to Win over SAU

DURANT, Okla. – Caitlin Kobiske and Kenzli Warden each hit the 20-point plateau as Southeastern shot 52.9 percent for the contest en route to a 74-56 win over Southern Arkansas on Saturday afternoon in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
 
The win lifts the Savage Storm to 15-7 overall on the season and 12-4 in Great American Conference play.
 
Kobiske led all scorers with 25 on the night, turning in her second-straight 20-plus point effort and her third such performance in the last four outings. She finished 8-of-13 overall from the floor and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.
 
Warden dropped an 8-of-14 shooting effort overall and was 3-of-6 from long range on her way to 20 points on the contest.
 
Ashton Hackler also reached double figures with 11 on 4-of-6 shooting.
 
Holli Lindley was just shy of double-digits with eight points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting performance.
 
Lindley led all players on the boards with seven rebounds, while Kobiske and Warden each pulled down six.
 
Stevie Stinchcomb dished out a game-high four assists while Hackler handed three.
 
SE got off to a slow start, allowing the Muleriders to score the first seven points of the game before reeling off its own 7-0 run to tie the game early.
 
SAU responded by scoring the next seven-straight points and ultimately extend its lead to 20-12 after one quarter as Southeastern finished the frame shooting 35.7 percent from the floor.
 
That percentage improved decidedly in the second quarter as back-to-back Warden threes followed by a Connie Hughes three erased the deficit and staked SE to its first lead of the day at 21-20.
 
The continued, peaking on a Kobiske three that capped a 22-6 run with 2:48 to go, it would be the final points of the frame as the Storm carried a 34-26 lead into the halftime break.
 
SE finished the second quarter hitting 50.0 percent from the floor and would only see that improve in the second half.
 
The Storm lead extended to as many as 15 points in the third quarter as the Storm shot 58.3 percent from the field, taking a 52-40 lead into the final 10 minutes.
 
Southeastern saved its most efficient quarter for the last, slowly pushing the lead to 20 points, taking a 68-48 advantage on a pair of Hackler free throws with 4:38 to play.
 
SAU closed the gap to 14 points over the next three minutes, but that was as close as it would get as SE shot 72.7 percent overall I the final quarter to pull away with a 74-56 victory.