From SOSU Sports Information
DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern got 19 points from Emily Williams and shot just under 50 percent from the field as a team to get back in the win column with a 77-67 victory over Southern Nazarene on Saturday night in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
The Savage Storm improve to 6-9 on the season and 4-5 in Great American Conference play while dropping SNU to 8-8 on the season and 5-5 in league play.
Southeastern will be back in action on Jan. 24 at 5:30 p.m. when it travels to Ada, Okla., to renew its rivalry with East Central.
SE had four players in double figures on the night with Williams’ 19 leading all scorers, while Haley Schaefer chipped in 15, Bailey Welch added 12 and Ronay English finished with 11.
Williams was an impressive 7-of-12 off the bench from the field and added a 5-of-6 outing from the free throw line.
As a team, the Storm posted a 30-of-61 effort from the field, was 5-of-12 from long range and just 12-of-22 from the charity stripe.
SE dominated the points in the paint with a 50-24 edge despite being outsized.
Welch posted a big all-around night, getting within sight of a triple double by turning in a game-high eight assists to go with her 12 points and seven rebounds.
Welch matched Haley Schaefer for high rebounding mark, however SE was outrebounded as a team by a 48-to-35 margin. The bulk of that difference was SNU posting 21 offensive rebounds and holding a 17-7 edge in second chance points.
The game got off to a slow start, but Southeastern would grab a lead early and by the 13:45 mark pushed it out to 15-9 on a Welch three pointer.
SNU would answer with a 6-0 run to tie the game, but a Williams layup would put the Storm back on top until a Samantha O’Shields three pointer put SNU up 20-19 with just under 10 minutes to play.
Southeastern would answer on its next possession with a Shelby Hill three to go up 22-20.
The Crimson Storm would tie the game at 22-22, but an 8-2 SE run capped by an English layup would put SE in front and spur them to a 40-29 advantage at halftime.
The lead would continue to grow in the second half, reaching 20 points on a Welch layup with 16:00 to play in the game and eventually hit a game-high of 25 on a Schaefer layup with 13:34 to play.
SE would still hold a 22 point lead at 67-45 with 7:32 to play before the Crimson Storm mounted an 11-0 run to trim the deficit to 67-56 with 4:30 remaining.
Southeastern would stop the bleeding and the teams would trade buckets until SNU would cut the score to its closest point since the first half at 73-66 with 1:26 to play.
The teams would trade free throws from then on out, however, and with Williams draining a pair with 16 seconds to play it would solidify the 77-67 SE win.
Matt Thomas is the Sports Information Director at Southeastern Oklahoma State University.