Storm Hang on in OT Thriller over ECU

ADA, Okla. – Tori Kilburn posted career-highs as her 27 points and 13 rebounds propelled Southeastern to a 64-62 overtime victory on Thursday night over rival East Central in Ada, Okla.
 
The win gets the Savage Storm back in the win column at 6-11 overall and 3-8 in Great American Conference play heading into a rescheduled Monday road trip to take on No. 25 Northwestern Oklahoma State in Alva, Okla.
 
The win is the fifth-straight in the series with ECU and the second-straight game to go to overtime in Ada.
 
Kilburn was 11-of-19 from the field to lead all scorers with 27 points while adding a game-best 13 rebounds and leading the Storm with three assists.
 
Stevie Stinchcomb matched her best scoring effort of the season thus far with 15 points, including hitting a trio of threes.
 
Kenzli Warden just missed the double-double as she put up nine points and grabbed 12 rebounds, including a game-best five offensive boards.
 
Mackenzie Espinosa drained a pair of threes with finish with six while Akiera Hawk chipped in five points off the bench in her first action of the new year.
 
Kilburn scored the team's first 10 points, six of those coming in a slow scoring first quarter that saw SE go 0-for-10 to open the contest, ultimately settling on a 13-6 deficit at the end of one quarter.
 
Kilburn added the first four points of the second quarter followed by Warden's first bucket of the night had the Storm to within 15-12 by the 5:58 mark.
 
ECU answered with a bucket, but Stinchcomb followed with the team's first three and less than a minute later Espinosa connected on the second to give Southeastern its first lead at 18-17 and cap a 12-4 run to open the period.
 
The teams traded buckets for the remainder of the quarter with the Tigers holding a 24-22 lead at the halftime break.
 
SE tied the game up two minutes into the third quarter, scoring the first points of the period in the process, and would see the teams trade buckets over the final eight minutes of the quarter and featured eight ties and nine lead changes to make the score 46-45 ECU heading to the fourth quarter.
 
The Storm found itself down four with 4:22 to play, but Kilburn connected on the next six points and put Southeastern in front with a three at 55-53 with 1:50 to play.
 
That lead stretched to three points with 1:05 to play, but a Tiger three with 16 seconds to play sent the game to overtime.
 
SE scored first in the overtime session, but an ECU three gave them a 59-58 lead with 2:40 to play.
 
Kilburn put the Storm back in front with a layup with 1:49 to go and a Stinchcomb free throw with 1:20 to play left SE up 61-59.
 
The Tigers tied the game at 61-61 with 1:05 to play, but another Stinchcomb free throw put the Storm up once again at 62-61 with 45 seconds to play.
 
The Southeastern defense forced a miss on the next possession and Kilburn snagged a steal after an offensive rebound and Stinchcomb would find herself at the free throw line one last time with 12 seconds to play, hitting both to take a 64-61 lead.
 
The Tigers connected on one of two free throws to close the gap, but after a pair of missed Storm free throws the Tigers found themselves at the line with a chance to tie with 0.4 seconds on the clock, but a pair of misses preserved the Southeastern 64-62 victory.