Tweet #theGAC  BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Southern Nazarene pulled away from Southeastern Oklahoma State in the second half to register a 71-56 victory in Friday’s second Great American Conference Women’s Basketball Championship quarterfinal from Bruin Fieldhouse.
 
Leading 25-22 at the intermission, the Crimson Storm (17-12) nearly doubled their scoring output in the third quarter as a 24-point outburst pushed their lead against the Savage Storm (14-13) to 10. Southern Nazarene hit 7-of-10 shots in the fourth quarter to shoot 64.0 percent in the second half. The win represented the first postseason win for the program since they became a full-fledged Division II member.
 
Adrienne Berry shouldered the scoring load as the poured in 26 points, the high for an individual during the quarterfinal round. She went 10-for-18, including 5-for-9 on her 3-point tries. In the two regular-season meetings with the Reddies, she averaged just 6.0 points per game and connected on only 1-for-9 from the 3-point arc.
 
Alexus Jones joined Berry in double figures. She totaled 14 points, including 12 in the second half. She pulled down seven rebounds and picked up five steals. As a team, the Crimson Storm forced 15 turnovers and they converted those turnovers into 18 points. Conversely, Southeastern scored only three points off of Southern Nazarene’s 11 turnovers.
 
Four scored in double figures for the Savage Storm. Alix Robinson led the team with 13 points, followed by 12 points from GAC Freshman of the Year Briley Moon, 11 from Katie Branam and 10 from Tracy Johnson.
 
With the win, the Crimson Storm advances to the GAC semifinals to face defending champion Arkansas Tech in Saturday’s second semifinal, scheduled for a 2:15 p.m. start. During the regular season, the Crimson Storm swept the Golden Suns as they won 68-54 in Russellville and 72-59 in Bethany. Only two GAC teams, the 2013-14 and 2016-17 Harding Lady Bisons, have won both regular-season meeting with the Golden Suns and also eliminated them from the GAC Championships.