MONTICELLO, Ark. –
Tori Kilburn turned in a double-double and
Katie Allen recorded a career high as Southeastern used a 17-2 run in the fourth quarter to erase a 12-point deficit en route to a 57-52 win Over Arkansas-Monticello on Thursday night in Monticello, Ark.
The win is the fourth in-a-row for the Savage Storm and lifts SE to 9-11 on the year and 6-8 in Great American Conference play heading into a Saturday afternoon matchup with Southern Arkansas in Magnolia, Ark.
Kilburn logged 22 points and hauled in 14 rebounds to lead all players in both categories, while adding three assists and blocking a career-high five shots.
Allen, earning her first start, made the most of it with a career-best 19 points, hitting a trio of threes and finishing 6-of-11 from the field.
Akiera Hawk chipped in eight points off the bench, while
Kenzli Warden handed out three assists and snagged two steals.
Southeastern put up 24 points in the paint for the contest and used a 46.2 percent shooting effort it he fourth quarter to mount its rally while the defense held the Cotton Blossoms to a 14.3 percent shooting performance.
Turnovers pocked the opening frame for both sides leading to a slow start to the contest, with the teams trading buckets to open play before threes from Allen and Espinosa pushed the Storm out to an 8-3 lead early.
The lead remained five as Kilburn pushed the score to 10-5 with 4:02 to play in the first, but the Storm finished the quarter scoreless as the Cotton Blossoms added a jumper to cut the SE lead to 10-7 after one quarter.
Southeastern pushed the lead back to five points twice in the second quarter, the last time on an Allen three at the 4:32 mark of the second quarter.
The Cotton Blossoms finished the half on an 8-2 run and the Storm headed to the halftime break down 23-22.
UAM used a 12-2 run to open the second half and take a 35-24 lead, and combined with the Storm shooting just 3-of-12 in the quarter would see SE trailing 45-35 at the final quarter break.
The Blossoms pushed their lead to 12 points early in the fourth, but an
Akiera Hawk three kicked off a 17-2 run over the next seven and a half minutes with an Allen bucket tying the game and two free throws taking the lead before Hawk capped the run with a free throw with 14 seconds to play, taking a 53-50 lead.
The teams traded free throws over the final 10 seconds, with Kilburn going 4-for-4 at the line to preserve the 57-52 win.
