BOX SCORE || BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – In the first three years of the Great American Conference Women’s Basketball Championships, no school had reached the 90-point mark in a game. In Thursday’s first quarterfinal from Bruin Fieldhouse, both Southeastern Oklahoma State and defending champion Southwestern Oklahoma State raced past the previous record with the Savage Storm held on for a 101-92 win.
The Savage Storm (20-9) earned their first trip to the semifinals since 2012 thanks in large part to the stellar performance from two-time First-Team All-GAC guard Emily Williams. She produced just the second 30-point game in GAC Championship history as he hit on 10-of-17 shots, connected on three 3-pointers and went 10-of-12 from the free-throw line for 33 points – her league-leading fourth 30-point game of the season.
In the victory, Olivia Potter hit four 3-point field goals to establish a GAC single-season record for 3-pointers, 84. Both teams made 11 3-pointers to tie the GAC Championship single-game mark. Rachael Wallace added a career-high 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting with an 8-of-9 effort at the charity stripe. The Savage Storm finished 28-of-34 from the free-throw line as they reached the 20-win mark for the first time since the 2010-11 season.
The Lady Bulldogs (12-15) saw their run of three-straight finals appearances come to an end. Korina Chapman paced six in double figures with 17 points. She also grabbed 14 rebounds. Chelsea Bates added 13 points, five rebounds and five assists.
The Savage Storm will eye their first GAC Tournament finals appearance when they take on second-seeded Arkansas Tech in Saturday’s opening semifinal, set for Noon on GACSportsNetwork.com. Southeastern split with the co-regular-season champion Golden Suns during the regular season as each team won of their respective home floor.