SHAWNEE – A speedy, athletic Southern Nazarene squad ramped up its offense and claimed an 84-61 Great American Conference win over Oklahoma Baptist on Monday at the Noble Complex.
SNU made 48 percent from deep, notched a season-high 12 three-pointers and made 55 percent overall from the field. And to boot, they turned it over just six times.
Five different players scored in double figures led by Hannah Giddey's 16. Additionally, Lauryn Reither notched 11 points and a game-high nine assists.
Pacing the way for the green and gold were
Jaedyn Getman and
Melissa Southard who each tallied 12. Plus,
Madison Chambers tallied 11 points and seven assists while
Sierra Copeland posted eight points and five rebounds.
SNU's first half was efficient as it hit above 40 percent from both the field and three-point line.
The Crimson Storm started the game scoring eight of the first 11 points with Cassandra Awatt providing a right-wing three to make the tally 8-3. That early scoring eventually vaulted to a 20-10 lead with 2:49 left after a turnaround jumper from Lexie Reihm.
OBU did close to within seven, 22-15, by quarter's end after a couple buckets from Southard and
Sierra Copeland.
Second-quarter action saw the green and gold do a solid job defensively in a 2-3 zone. Down 31-21, the Bison reeled off a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to four. Copeland scored and added a nifty back-door pass to
Kayla Highfill at 1:13 to bring the scoreboard to 31-27.
However, SNU followed with a 7-0 stretch to take a 38-27 halftime lead.
After the break, the Storm did not take their foot off the offensive gas. Following a 46.9 percent shooting performance in the first half, the visitors connected on 64.2 of their shots in the second.
With that, it helped SNU pull away from the host Bison. OBU was able to crack the double-digit deficit just once early in the third when Chambers hit a layup.
Next on the schedule is another home date against Southern Arkansas on Jan. 26 at 5:30 p.m.
