http://theGAC DURANT, Okla. – Briley Moon and Kamryn Cantwell each reached the 20-point plateau to lead Southeastern to a 73-55 win over Harding on Wednesday night in Bloomer Sullivan Arena in the quarterfinals of the Great American Conference Tournament.
The win lifts the Savage Storm to 12-7 on the year and moves them into a semifinal matchup against the East's top-seed in Arkansas Tech on March 5 in Russellville, Ark., at 5:30 p.m.
"Briley," said head coach Darin Grover, "What a half in the first half. She carried us for a while there. I was a little surprised at some of the shots they let her take, but we'll take that."
"We've played against each other for the last 10 years," said Grover of Harding. "Fantastic program, fantastic coach. We talk about the offense, but I'm most proud of the defense. Defense won the game today. I thought our post players, Katie Branam and Chandler Kemp were physical with their post players which is their strength. I felt like Haiden Williams came in and did the same thing. I firmly believe the difference in the game was Casey Monk coming in and bothering them from the start."
"Usually when I see the first one go in," said Moon of her performance, "It gives me a lot of confidence for the rest of the game. My teammates kept finding me open and luckily they went in."
Moon led all scorers and just missed her career high, finishing with 27 points on 9-of-17 shooting overall and 6-of-9 from beyond the arc.
Cantwell finished with 20 on 6-of-15 shooting with a 6-of-6 effort at the free throw line.
Chandler Kemp just missed double-figures with eight points.
Cantwell and Moon each hauled in six rebounds to lead all players on the boards, while Moon handed out a team-high four assists with Cantwell and Haiden Williams dishing out three apiece.
Jordan Elder was the only double-digit scorer for the Bisons, finishing with 13 on the strength of a 4-of-8 effort from three-point range, while Kelli Lampo was next in line with eight.
Lampo, Brooke Bradley, and Kylee Coulter each pulled down five rebounds, with Lampo and Carissa Caples each handing out three assists.
Moon dropped 22 first-half points on the strength of a 5-of-8 three-point shooting effort, while Cantwell turned in nine over the first 20 minutes.
Kellie Lampo led the Bisons over the first half with eight points, doing the bulk of her scoring at the free throw line where she was 6-of-6.
The teams traded buckets out of the gate, with the Bisons building the first multi-possession lead, reeling off a 7-0 run to erase a deficit and take a 14-10 lead with 2:01 to go in the first quarter.
The Storm would answer with threes from Moon and Benson in the final minute however to regain a 16-14 lead at the first quarter break.
SE carried that run into the second quarter, opening with the first five points as part of a 24-9 run capped by five-straight Cantwell points, including a three with 2:16 to play in the half to take a 40-23 lead.
The Bisons would get a free throw and a jumper to cut the deficit to 14 points, but a Maci Bookout three with 28 seconds to play would set the halftime lead for the Storm at 43-26.
HU opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run, trimming the Storm lead to 43-34 by the 8:27 mark.
A Cantwell layup would end the Bisons run and kick off an 11-2 run capped by a Cantwell three to take a 54-36 lead with 4:07 to go in the third.
HU would chip the advantage back to 13 points, but Southeastern would score the final four points of the quarter to lead 58-41.
A Moon three with 6:53 to play would push the Storm lead to 21 points at 65-44, while the lead would reach its largest margin with 3:03 to play on a pair of Cantwell free throws to put SE up 71-47.
Harding would finish the game on an 8-2 run to fashion the final score of 73-55 in favor of SE.
Harding Recap