GIDDEY, STELLAR DEFENSE CARRY TOP-SEEDED CRIMSON STORM TO #theGAC SEMIFINALS
Courtesy SNUAthletics.com
SHAWNEE, Okla. - The No. 1 seeded Crimson Storm met the No. 8 Oklahoma Baptist Bison in the first round of the Great American Conference tournament. The Storm exploded in their quarterfinal matchup taking down the Bison 73-42.
The Storm (28-1, 21-1 GAC) met the Bison (12-17, 9-13 GAC) for the third time this season. SNU claimed the regular season sweep over Oklahoma Baptist after defeating them on the road and in Bethany. The Storm looked to take down the Bison in Shawnee to advance to the semifinals of the GAC tournament.
Hannah Giddey started things off for the Storm, dropping in an easy layup on a fast break. SNU took over from there, going on a 6-0 run. The Bison finally got on the board after a little over three minutes of play thanks to free throws.
A few more points in the paint for the Storm pushed their lead 10-2 before Jena Bay made her way to the foul line swishing two. Giddey continued to rule the painting dropping in one last bucket before the clock read zero giving Southern Nazarene a 16-5 lead after quarter one.
Emily Monaghan kept the Storm in control opening quarter two with a layup. Giddey then went on an 8-0 run of her own pushing the SNU lead 25-8. Carley Gasaway continued to fuel the fire, draining a long ball to extend the Storm's lead once more.
Both squads got one final shot in before the halftime buzzer as the Storm took the hefty 32-10 lead over the Bison at the break. The 10 points allowed represent the fewest given up in a half of any GAC Women's Basketball Championship game.
The Bison took the first points in the third quarter, but SNU was unphased. A few layups from the Storm pushed their lead to 40-14 with just over six minutes left to play in the quarter. OBU responded with a three-ball to stop the Southern Nazarene run. Giddey continued to dominate the Bison in the paint, knocking down a jumper inside the lane. She followed that up with two made free throws to push SNU ahead once again. Abbie Jiles and Lauryn Reither launched back-to-back threes giving them a 50-24 lead.
Another Giddey jumper and long balls from Bay and Gasaway left the Storm in a good spot heading into the final quarter leading, 58-28.
Southern Nazarene kept their foot on the gas going into the final quarter. Oklahoma Baptist dropped in a few points, but the Storm kept their hefty lead. Gasaway continued to shoot the ball well for SNU, sinking a three to push the lead to 30.
The Bison continued to chip away, but Gasaway dropped a few more long balls in to halt any OBU momentum. The Bison tacked on a few more buckets before Hannah Duncan kept the SNU scoring going with a three.
The Storm got the final shot of the contest as Umi Otsuka sank one final jumper to allow SNU to claim the victory 73-42.
Southern Nazarene was led by an outstanding career-high performance from Hannah Giddey who dropped 30 points and 12 rebounds. This marked Giddey's thirteenth double-double this season. Carley Gasaway also posted double-digit scoring with 12 points after shooting 4-5 from beyond the arc.
SNU will meet their next opponent on Saturday, March 9 in Shawnee in the semifinals of the GAC tournament. The Storm will await the winner of the quarterfinal matchup between Arkansas Tech and Henderson State. Tipoff for that matchup is set for 5:45 p.m.