Tweet #theGAC  DURANT, Okla. – Trailing by seven points with 2:12 left in the game, Southern Nazarene scored the game’s final nine points to claim the 2021 Great American Conference Women’s Basketball Championship title, 58-56, against Southeastern Oklahoma State on Sunday from Bloomer Sullivan Arena.

Tournament MVP Cassandra Awatt capped the rally for the Crimson Storm (12-7) with two free throws with 2.3 seconds left. Out of timeouts, Southeastern Oklahoma State (13-8) had to in bound the ball from under their own basket. Southern Nazarene’s Kennedy Gillette tipped away the pass and held on as time expired.
 
A Katie Branam 3-point field goal gave Southeastern a 56-49 lead with 2:12 left. Awatt started the comeback with a layup. After a turnover, Payton Jones converted a pair of free throws to pull the Crimson Storm to within three, 56-53. Another Savage Storm turnover led to the game-tying 3-pointer by Jones with 23.6 seconds left.
 
A bad inbounds pass resulted in Southeastern’s third consecutive turnover. Awatt got fouled on a 3-point try and made the final two attempts. She finished with a game-high 21 points and added 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.
 
Jones and Abby Niehues joined Awatt on the All-Tournament Team. Jones scored 14 points on Sunday and averaged 17.0 per game for the tournament. Niehues, the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, added 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting. She blocked two shots against Southeastern and 12 for the tournament.
 
Branam and Kamryn Cantwell garnered All-Tournament honors. Branam led Southeastern with 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting. She went 3-for-5 from the 3-point arc. Cantwell, the 2020 GAC Championship MVP averaged 17.0 points per game in her three games.
 
Southwestern Oklahoma State’s Makyra Tramble, the GAC’s Player of Year, Arkansas Tech’s Hannah Villines and Ouachita’s Eden Crow filled out the eight-member All-Tournament Team. Tramble averaged 17.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.5 steals in her two games. Villines pulled down 18 rebounds on Friday against Southeastern. Crow hit the game-winning basket against Southern Arkansas on Monday and averaged 20.5 points on 70.4 percent shooting for the tournament.
 
The Crimson Storm will head to Canyon, Texas for the NCAA Division II South Central Regional. They will learn their opponent during Sunday night’s selection show. It streams at 9 p.m. on NCAA.com. Southwestern Oklahoma State, Arkansas Tech and Southeastern all hope to earn at-large spots.