Alva Review-Courier -

SHAWNEE, Okla. — Southern Nazarene snapped its 10-game losing streak Monday, as it defeated rival Oklahoma Baptist 73-70 in a nail biting finish.

The Crimson Storm (8-16, 7-14 GAC) forced 17 turnovers from the Bison (13-14, 8-13) and also pulled down 19 offensive rebounds in the game. SNU shot 38.3 percent from the floor, and made 4-of-11 shots from three-point range. The Storm turned the ball over just eight times, and outscored OBU 18-2 in second chance points.

Kennedy Gillette led the way for Southern Nazarene as the freshman scored a game-high 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting. She also pulled down seven rebounds on the night. Alexus Jones chipped in 15 points and also dished out five assists for SNU, while Adrienne Berry scored 14 points and knocked down a couple of threes.

Kandyce Freeman added nine points off the Storm bench, while Abby Niehues scored four points, grabbed six rebounds, and swatted five shots.

Oklahoma Baptist jumped out to a 17-7 lead midway through the first quarter, as the Bison would go on to score 29 in the opening quarter to lead by 12. OBU extended their lead to 14 at one point in the second quarter, before the Storm closed the period on a 14-4 run to trail 42-38 going into halftime.

The lead changed hands twice in the third, as Southern Nazarene outscored the Bison 20-13 to take a 58-55 lead into the final quarter. The Storm pushed their lead to six midway through the fourth, but OBU was not going down without a fight as they tied the game at 68-68 with 3:08 to play.

SNU got a couple of layups from Jones and Berry in the final two minutes, and got a crucial defensive stop with 20 seconds left to seal the victory.