ATLANTA — The Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels continued to roll as they won their third straight Southern Athletic Association game after defeating the Warriors of Hendrix College by a score of 69-61 on Sunday. This followed a 76-64 victory over Hendrix last week on their home court.

The Petrels came out flying in the first quarter, going on a three-minute 12-0 run in the middle of the quarter where Oglethorpe shot a perfect 5-5 from the field including one three-pointer and going 1-of-1 from the free throw line. Thanks to Keimarya Rivera's 12 first-quarter points and Olivia Tucker's eight, the Petrels led the warriors 24-9 at the end of the first.

The Warriors responded to the Petrel's first-quarter performance in the second quarter outscoring them 18-10 and closing the quarter by scoring six straight points. Eight made free throws on 11 attempts in the second quarter for the Warriors allowed them to narrow the gap as Oglethorpe took the lead into halftime at 34-27.

A back-and-fourth effort in the third that featured a bit of scoring from beyond Hendrix's 3-point line saw the Warriors outscore the Petrels again 13-12 but not a large enough effort to take the lead as the Hendrix still trailed Oglethorpe as the third came to a close at 46-40. Oglethorpe went 6-10 from the field in the third. Freshman Malia Melton out of Buford, Georgia, led the team with six points in the quarter.

Redshirt sophomore Tucker took over in the fourth quarter. The Atlanta native had 12 points by knocking down jumpers and getting to the line. Oglethorpe as a whole shot 11-13 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. Both offenses were firing in the final quarter of action as the Petrels put up 23 points and the Warriors followed with 21 of their own. However, it was not enough to take the lead and Oglethorpe would go on to win 69-61.

Two Petrels finished the contest scoring over 20 points, Keimarya Rivera with 26 and Tucker with 22.  Alongside her career high-tying 26 points, Rivera grabbed 11 rebounds which was good for her fourth double-double of her freshman campaign.

Tucker's 22 points were a new career high for the sophomore guard. She also shot a perfect 9-9 from the free-throw line while shooting 60% overall from the field on 30 minutes of game time. Melton finished with eight points with nine rebounds just shy of her first career double-double, and Mahkayla Premo filled out the stat sheet with eight points, four assists, and a career-high five steals.

Oglethorpe was dominant on the glass, outrebounding Hendrix 37-28, while taking advantage of the Warriors' mistakes with 19 points off of Hendrix's turnovers. Both teams made their way to the charity stripe a good bit. The Petrels shot 85.7% from the free-throw line going 12-14 while the Warriors shot 22 but only knocked in 15 going 68.2% from the line. 

The Stormy Petrels have been picking up some momentum in the second half of Southern Athletic Association play, now on a three-game winning streak. Oglethorpe sits at 10-9 on the season and 4-5 in the SAA. Oglethorpe is currently in sixth for SAA standings, looking to close in on Millsaps and Rhodes in the fourth and fifth seed.

Up Next

Oglethorpe hosts its next Southern Athletic Association contest on Friday, Feb. 3. The Panthers of Birmingham-Southern pay the Petrels a visit, as Oglethorpe looks to avenge their loss to the Panthers in their first matchup of the season. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.