From RSU Sports
Tim Hansen, Sports Information Director
DURANT – The Southeastern Oklahoma State Savage Storm tallied 29 first-period points to build a 13-point lead en route to a 67-53 win over the Rogers State women’s basketball on Monday night in nonconference action at Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
In a close and fast start for both teams in the first period, SE held only a one-point lead at 10-9 after a basket from Nikola Nedoroscikova about four minutes into the contest. After that point, the Savage Storm grew the margin to 14 at 27-13 with a 17-4 run over five minutes and were in front, 29-16, at the end of the first period.
The final three periods played fairly even with SE outscoring the Cats by only one point, however, the Savage Storm led for the rest of the contest in the 67-53 victory.
Natasha Kindred cut the deficit to only seven at 29-22 with 6:48 remaining in the second period on a layup, but the Savage Storm went up by as much as 15 in the second and held a 39-27 advantage at halftime.
In the second half, SE led by double digits or more the whole way, including its largest edge of 51-34 with 1:03 left in the third period. The Hillcats pulled to within 10 points four times in the fourth period, but couldn’t get any closer during the final stretch.
Senior Rachel Block posted a team-high 13 points and tallied seven rebounds. Kindred totaled 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds in 23 minutes. Courtney Smith finished with a team-high four assists.
The navy and red finished shooting 31.9 percent (23-72) from the field and only 3-for-27 shooting (11.1 percent) from 3-point range.
RSU registered a season-high 22 offensive rebounds and 46 rebounds overall.
SE’s Rachel Wallace scored a game-high 14 points, Olivia Potter tallied 12 points and Katie Webb posted 11 points for a balanced Savage Storm attack. Southeastern finished shooting 39.7 percent from the field as the 67 points is a season low for the Savage Storm.
The Hillcats continue their road trip at St. Mary’s on Saturday to start Heartland Conference play. The conference clash starts at 1 p.m. in San Antonio, Texas with coverage available on the Hillcat Network atwww.rsuhillcats.com/live.