Warden Powers Southeastern to Quarterfinal Win

FORT SMITH, Ark. – Kenzli Warden put together a monster double-double with 23 points and 16 rebounds to power Southeastern to a 69-59 win over Southwestern Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals of the Great American Conference Tournament on Friday afternoon at Southside Arena in Fort Smith, Ark.
 
The win lifts the Savage Storm to 19-10 overall on the season and moves them into he semifinals where they will square off with top-seeded Southern Nazarene at Noon on Saturday, March 8 back in Southside Arena.
 
Warden finished the night as the top scorer and rebounder in the contest, hitting 50.0 percent from the field on her way to 23 points while pulling down a career-high 16 boards.
 
Holli Lindley joined her in double figures with 15 points, hitting 5-of-9 from the field, including a trio of threes.
 
Caitlin Kobiske added 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting, while Abbie Barr chipped in six points, with Stevie Stinchcomb, Connie Hughes, and Eryn Dolan each putting up four.
 
Southeastern finished the contest shooting 50.0 percent overall, with its slowest quarter being a 6-of-13 effort in the second.
 
The Storm drained seven threes, shooting over 30 percent from beyond the arc as a team.
 
SE opened scoring the contest on a Warden jumper, but the Bulldogs responded with a 9-2 run to take a 9-4 lead by the 4:42 mark of the first quarter.
 
The Storm answered, first with a Kobiske layup followed by a Lindley three to trigger a 13-3 run to end the quarter and take a 17-12 lead at the first quarter break.
 
Southeastern tacked on the first four points of the second quarter on shots from Warden and Kobiske, pushing the lead to 21-12 a minute into the second frame.
 
A 7-2 SWOSU run chipped at the Storm advantage, closing to a four-point edge, but a three from Lindley and a Warden free throw pushed the lead back to 27-19.
 
The Bulldogs closed the second quarter on an 11-4 run, trimming the Southeastern halftime lead to 31-30.
 
Southeastern picked up the first seven points of the second half on a Barr layup and free throw and a Kobiske three.
 
The Bulldogs answered with a three, but the Storm answered with a 13-5 run capped by a Kobiske layup with 4:35 to go in the quarter, taking a 50-38 lead.
 
SWOSU would hit a three and Connie Hughes added a free throw to account for all the scoring over the final four minutes of the third quarter, with the Storm taking a 51-41 lead at the quarter break.
 
Southwestern Oklahoma State opened the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run, cutting the Storm lead down to three points within the first two minutes of the period.
 
Stinchcomb and Warden answered with back-to-back buckets, but SWOSU would keep it a two-possession game, trailing by five points with 5:56 to play.
 
Over the final five and a half minutes of the contest, Warden put the game on her shoulders, outscoring the Bulldogs 10-7 on her own and helping the Storm pull away for a 69-59 win.