Fire Women’s Basketball Turns In Historic Shooting Day in Dominant Win over Trolls

LAKELAND, Fla. – The scoreboard in The Furnace reached historic heights this evening. The No. 2 Southeastern University women’s basketball team cruised to a 135-43 win over the Trinity Christian College Trolls. The 135 points and 92-point margin of victory were the highest marks in program history. The 135 points scored were also the fifth-most scored in by a team in NAIA history.
The Fire were dominant from the onset of the contest, opening up the game versus Trolls on a 28-2 run. After surrendering a basket to the Trolls with 8:00 to go in the first quarter, SEU did not surrender a point to TCC till 2:16 to go in the opening period.
Tenacious defense set the tone for SEU to dominate in transition. The Fire forced 23 of the Troll’s 37 turnovers in the first half, scoring 16 points off takeaways during that stretch.
Senior guard Jaycee Coe had a dynamic start to a special shooting day. Coe knocked down her career high for three pointers made in a single game in the first half alone, successfully converting seven shots behind the arc throughout the first 20 minutes of play.
“We had the majority of our team hitting shots that we see them make every day in practice,” shared head coach Tim Hays. “I believe we got to see some of the potential of our team tonight.”
Senior guard Makenzie Cann and senior forward Elsa Paulsson-Glantz totaled 17 and 14 points respectively in the first half.
The Fire took a 76-14 lead over the Trolls at the intermission. The 76 points were the second-most scored by a team in a single half in NAIA history.
SEU grew its lead to as many as 94 in the second half.
Coe finished with a career-high 34 points (10-15 3PT). This marked the most points scored by an SEU player since Bailey Hooker dropped 33 versus Webber on 1/21/17. Coe also recorded six rebounds and eight steals.
Cann also had a career day with 31 points. The fellow Kentucky transfer also recorded 12 assists and was two steals away from a triple-double.
Glantz finished the day with 20 points. Senior guard Emma Karamovic and freshman guard Raegan Linster totaled 13 and 10 points each off the bench. Junior center Marlena Schmidt also registered 10 points to go along with four blocks.
The Fire assisted 43 of their 52 field goals made.
“This team is so unselfish and willing to give up the ball for a teammate to have a better opportunity,” added Hays.
The Fire are back in action in The Furnace this Thursday as they host No. 4 College of the Ozarks in a monumental NAIA contest. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.