BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – No. 8 Southeastern Oklahoma State sent top-seeded and nationally-ranked No. 11 Arkansas Tech home early by defeating the Golden Suns 84-72 on Friday in the opening round of the inaugural Great American Conference Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament.

After seven lead changes and three tie scores in the first half and a close back-and-forth battle in the first 10 minutes of the second half, the Savage Storm posted a 12-3 scoring run to grab a double-digit lead with 8:22 remaining in regulation. The Savage Storm held no lower than a seven-point lead throughout the remainder of regulation.

ATU’s Natalia Santos led all scorers with 22 points while also adding a game-high nine rebounds.

Southeastern placed five scorers in double-figures, led by Whitney Coffey’s 21 points, 15 coming on three-pointers. Bailey Welch added 18 points and seven rebounds.

Southeastern Oklahoma State improves to 11-16 overall and will face the winner of the Henderson State vs. Harding contest in the semi-finals on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. inside the Bruin Fieldhouse.

ATU drops to 22-4 overall. The Golden Suns were ranked No. 6 in this week’s NCAA Division II South Central Region Rankings, and will await a possible at-large bid into the NCAA regional tournament. That announcement will be made Sunday evening at NCAA.com.

STATS