Storm Women Knock Off No. 10 Harding in OT

DURANT, Okla. – All five starters scored in double-figures as Southeastern knocked off 10^th-ranked Harding, 75-65, in overtime on Saturday afternoon in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
 
The win lifts the Savage Storm to 14-12 overall on the season and 11-9 in Great American Conference play heading into the final week of the regular season.
 
Kenzli Warden turned in her second-straight 20-point game with 22 points on 7-of-17 shooting while adding an 8-for-8 effort at the free throw line. She also added seven rebounds.
 
Tori Kilburn followed with 16 points and completed her second-straight double-double with 12 rebounds.
 
Mackenzie Espinosa turned in 13 for the contest and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds.
 
Stevie Stinchcomb was next in line with a highly efficient 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting overall and a 3-for-3 effort from beyond the arc.
 
Katie Allen rounded out the double-digit scoring with 10 points on the strength of a pair of threes.
 
Stinchcomb also handed out a game-high six assists, while Kilburn finished with four.
 
Defensively, Akiera Hawk blocked three shots and Kilburn added two, while Kilburn and Stinchcomb each had two steals.
 
The teams traded buckets over the first seven minutes of the first quarter with the Storm being the first team to take a multi-possession lead on a Warden layup with 2:32 to play in the first, going ahead 11-6.
 
SE led by five again on another Warden layup before the Bisons trimmed the gap to 13-10 at the end of the first quarter.
 
The lead reached five points again early on Warden free throws to open the second quarter, but HU followed with a 12-2 run over the next 6:38 to take a 22-17 lead with 3:07 remaining in the half.
 
SE followed with the final six points of the half, first on a Chloe Eversole jumper followed by a Stinchcomb three and a Kilburn free throw to lead 23-22 at the break.
 
Harding scored the first six points of the second half and regained the lead, but a Kilburn layup triggered a 10-0 run capped by an Espinosa jumper to put the Storm in front 35-28 with 5:34.
 
The Bisons answered with a 16-5 run over the final five minutes of the third quarter to take a 44-40 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
SE kept it close in the early going, retaking the lead on a Warden bucket at the 6:10 mark of the fourth quarter.
 
The teams traded the lead twice until they found themselves knotted at 51-51 with 3:17 to go in regulation.
 
Twice over the final three minutes the Bisons pushed their lead to three points and the Storm answered on each ensuing possession, eventually taking a 57-56 lead on a pair of Kilburn free throws with 49 seconds remaining.
 
HU regained the lead on a pair of free throws with 19 seconds left, but Kilburn converted a three-point play on the other end with six seconds left to give SE a two-point lead.
 
However, Harding connected on a layup with three seconds to go to send the game to overtime tied at 60-60.
 
Espinosa drained a three to open scoring in the overtime period, with the teams trading buckets over the first 1:49 as the Storm held a 65-63 lead.
 
Stinchcomb then knocked down a three with 2:51 to play and the Storm scored the next 10 points while holding the Bisons scoreless, shooting 0-for-2 with a turnover as SE pushed its lead to 73-63 with 1:36 to play in OT.
 
HU scored with 1:19 to play, but a pair of Warden free throws with 1:07 to play pushed the lead back to 10 points which is where it would stay I the 75-65 Southeastern win.