Savage Storm Run Ends With Title Game Loss

FORT SMITH, Ark. – Despite a 25-point effort from Caitlin Kobiske Southeastern saw its Great American Conference Tournament run come up one win shy as the Savage Storm fell in the championship game to Harding 69-52 on Sunday afternoon in Fort Smith, Ark.
 
The loss drops the SE record to 20-11 on the season.
 
Kenzli Warden and Kobiske each picked up All-GAC Tournament honors for their performances over the weekend.
 
Kobiske posted her 25 points in the final on 10-of-27 shooting with a trio of threes.
 
Warden followed with 10 points on 5-of-13 shooting, while Abbie Barr turned in five points and Ashton Hackler added four.
 
Barr led the way with four assists, while Kobiske, Holli Lindley, and Stevie Stinchcomb each handed out two.
 
Warden led the way on the boards for the Storm with eight rebounds, with Barr next in line with five.
 
SE was streaky in its shooting over the course of the game and because of that finished the contest shooting 35.0 percent from the field, while the Bisons hit 46.2 percent for the day.
 
The Storm also found itself playing at a disadvantage as HU made 19 trips to the free throw line compared to just five for the Storm over the 40-minute contest.
 
Southeastern opened the first quarter hitting 5-of-8 from the floor, including its first two threes, on its way to building a 12-8 lead over the first four minutes of the game.
 
The Storm followed with an 0-for-7 run before Warden scored with 16 seconds to play in the frame, and SE trailed 22-14 at the end of one.
 
Southeastern's woes continued early in the second quarter, missing its first five shots as the Bisons pushed out to a 10 points lead, the same margin they would hold with 4:28 to play as a Kobiske three triggered a 9-2 run by the Storm over the final 4:13, ultimately closing the halftime deficit to 32-27.
 
After HU scored the first points of the second half, Kobiske answered with back-to-back buckets to close the gap to one possession.
 
Southeastern answered a Bisons bucket with a Stinchcomb three, and followed that by answered a HU free throw with a Hackler three to tie the game at 37-37 with 4:23 to play in the third.
 
However, Harding closed out the third with the final seven points to take a 44-37 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
Kobiske and Warden scored early in the fourth and closed the gap to three points once more following a Warden layup with 7:41 to play.
 
The teams traded buckets over the next three minutes as a Warden jumper made the score 53-50 with 4:58 remaining.
 
Harding scored back-to-back buckets and Warden answered with a jumper in the paint, but that was the end of the scoring for the Storm who were 0-for-5 over the final three minutes as the Bisons finished the game on a 12-0 run thanks to eight made free throws to make the final 69-52.