SNU Athletics
SHAWNEE – Another dominating performance from the Crimson Storm lifts them over the Oklahoma Baptist Bison. The No. 4 ranked Storm picked up their ninth road win after defeating the Bison, 63-46.
The Storm (17-0, 11-0 GAC) continued to prove why they are the lone undefeated squad as they faced off with the Bison (8-9, 5-6 GAC). Southern Nazarene has claimed the previous four meetings with Oklahoma Baptist dating back to 2022. The Storm picked up right where they left off with the Bison in the previous year snagging their ninth win in a row against OBU.
SNU got to work early, opening the contest with a 9-0 run. The Bison finally got on the board before Abbie Jiles found a cutting Jena Bay to extend the SNU lead 11-2. OBU continued to respond, but Emily Monaghan hit a corner three to get the traveling SNU fans on their feet.
The two squads began to trade points back and forth before the clock ran out. Oklahoma Baptist tried to chip away, but were not successful and the Storm held on to their hefty lead of 20-9 at the end of quarter one.
Monaghan sparked SNU once more, opening up the third quarter with another long ball, leading to a 10-0 Southern Nazarene run. The Bison knocked down a three to halt the Storm at 30-12. Lauryn Reitehr made her way to the charity stripe hitting both free throws to extend the Storm lead even more.
The Storm continued to tack on the points as Hannah Giddey worked her magic in the paint. Reither then found herself at the charity stripe again knocking down two more shots, just before sinking a long ball to lengthen the SNU lead, 39-13. Giddey found Carley Gasaway who hit a long ball with 58 seconds left to play in the half. OBU snagged one last shot before the buzzer, as they trailed the Storm 42-17 at halftime.
The Bison began the third quarter at the foul line knocking down a few shots that sparked an 8-0. This cut the SNU lead 42-25 before Giddey made her way to the charity stripe to grab back some momentum. OBU tacked on a few more free throws before Giddey found Jiles for an open three. Oklahoma Baptist responded with a three of their own to cut the lead 46-30.
Southern Nazarene continued to utilize points in the paint before the Bison went on a 7-0 run to cut the SNU lead to 50-37. A few made free throws from the Storm maintained their hefty lead going into the final quarter, 52-37.
Oklahoma Baptist opened the fourth quarter with two quick jumpers to give the Storm their smallest lead of the contest, 52-41. Giddey found another open Crimson Storm member, this time Georgia Adams, who knocked down a three to push SNU back ahead by 15.
A Giddey jumper and another Adams three stretched the Storm lead once more, 61-43. Reither hit two final free throws as the clock ran down. The Bison squeezed in a few last shots, but it was not enough to hand the Storm their first loss of the year. The Storm cruised by to snag their seventeenth win 63-46.
Giddey continued to prove herself as one of the best in the paint, collecting her seventh double-double on the season. She was just shy of a triple-double, posting 16 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists. Monaghan and Reither also posted double-digit scoring with 15 and 13 points, respectively.
The Crimson Storm will return home to take on Southeastern Oklahoma State inside the Sawyer Center. Tipoff is set for Saturday, January 27 at 1 p.m.