SE Knocks Off Top Seed to Advance to Tourney Final

FORT SMITH, Ark. – Kenzli Warden dropped a career-high 30 points as No. 4 seed Southeastern knocked off top-seeded Southern Nazarene 71-70 on Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the Great American Conference Tournament in Fort Smith, Ark.
 
The win lifts the Savage Storm to 20-10 overall on the season and advances them to the finals where they will face off with the winner between second-seeded Harding and Sixth-seeded Northwestern Oklahoma State.
 
The final is set for Sunday, March 9 at 1 p.m. at Southside Arena in Fort Smith, Ark.
 
Of the seven times in the women's tournament history that the number one seed has suffered a loss, Southeastern has now been responsible for three of those seven early exits.
 
Warden finished the contest shotting 12-of-19 from the field and adding a 5-of-6 effort from the free throw line on the way to her career-best 30 points
 
Caitlin Kobiske followed with 19 points, including a trio of threes.
 
Holli Lindley and Stevie Stinchcomb each added seven points in the effort and Abbie Barr finished with six.
 
Kobiske pulled down a team best six rebounds, while Lindley hauled in five.
 
Stinchcomb dished out a team-leading four assists, with Lindley adding three.
 
The Storm defense forced 15 total SNU turnovers, including snagging 11 steals, led by four from Stinchcomb.
 
SE scored five of the first seven points in the game to take an early lead and maintained that advantage as the teams traded buckets throughout the quarter, with threes from Warden and Kobiske helping SE build a 17-13 lead at the end of one quarter.
 
SNU scored the first seven points of the second quarter, erasing the Southeastern lead and taking a 20-17 lead two minutes into the frame.
 
Warden stopped the run with a layup, but the Crimson Storm followed with back-to-back buckets.
 
Warden answered with back-to-back jumpers of her own, closing the deficit to 24-23 with 4:17 to play.
 
SNU reeled off the next six points, takin a seven-point edge with 2:47 to play in the half, but the Savage Storm closed the half on an 8-0 run, six of them from Warden and lifting the Storm to a 31-30 lead at the half.
 
Southeastern scored the first four points of the second half, but the Crimson Storm answered with seven-straight as part of a 9-2 run, taking a 39-37 lead by the 4:47 mark of the quarter.
 
SE got back-to-back buckets from Stinchcomb and Warden, but SNU answered with five-straight points to take a 44-41 lead with 2:15 to go in the third quarter.
 
With 2:01 to go, Kobiske knocked down a three and the Storm reeled off 11-straight to end the quarter, taking a 52-44 lead heading to the fourth.
 
Southeastern opened the fourth quarter on a 9-3 run, extending its lead to a game-high 14 points on a Barr fastbreak layup with 7:46 to play int e contest.
 
SNU would end the run and the teams traded buckets, with the Savage Storm advantage hovering at 11 points with 3:36 to play.
 
The Crimson Storm followed with eight-straight points over the next 2:22 to cut the Southeastern lead to 69-66 with 1:14 on the clock.
 
Warden picked up a pair of free throws with 47 seconds remaining, pushing the SE edge back out to 71-66.
 
SNU twice went to the free throw line in the final 42 seconds, hitting four free throws to close the Storm lead to 71-70 with 24 seconds to play.
 
Following a Southeastern turnover, Southern Nazarene put up a trio of shots over the final five seconds, all fo them off the mark to preserve the 71-70 Southeastern victory.