No. 3 Southeastern Contains RV Ave Maria to Continue Rhythm in Conference Play
LAKELAND, Fla. – The defensive prowess of Tim Hays’ squad was on full display in The Furnace tonight. The No. 3 Southeastern University women’s basketball team upended the receiving votes Ave Maria University Gyrenes 78-44. This marked the third time in the last four contests that SEU has held its opponent under 50 points.
The Gyrenes kept pace with the Fire throughout the first quarter, as leading scorer Sarah Miller (19 ppg) totaled seven points in the first 10 minutes of play to give Ave Maria a 15-14 lead over Southeastern at the end of the first.
However, the Fire contained Miller throughout the remainder of the contest, limiting her to just four points in the rest of the game, including just one second-half point.
SEU vaulted ahead of AMU in the second quarter, outscoring Ave Maria 20-9 in the period. The Fire forced six Gyrenes’ turnovers during the 10-minute stretch of play.
“I felt like we got off to a slow start tonight but was proud of some of the efforts I saw on the defensive end that got us going…Overall it was another unselfish effort across the board,” shared head coach Tim Hays.
Senior small forward Elsa Paulsson-Glantz turned in another impressive scoring performance, totaling 14 points in the first half and 11 in the second to post her sixth 20 plus point game of the season.
Senior small forward Emma Karamovic came off the bench in the first half to provide a spark, recording 8 of her 12 points in the first 20 minutes of action.
Southeastern led Ave Maria 34-24 at the half.
Junior center Marlena Schmidt notched four of her season-high five blocks in the second half. Schmidt has now registered a block in 25-straight games.
“Marlena Schmidt has some big time blocks and really set the tone throughout the game that we were going to protect our paint,” added Coach Hays.
SEU closed out the third quarter on an 8-0 run to take 24-point lead (58-34), the team’s largest lead of the contest at that point.
Senior guard Jaycee Coe was also a double-digit scorer, totaling 10 points. Senior guard Halee Printz led all players in assists with seven.
As a team the Fire scored 28 points off of 23 Gyrenes’ turnovers and outscored Ave Maria 54-12 in the paint.
The Fire are back in action Tuesday December 18, as they welcome Trinity Christian College to The Furnace. Game time is set for 5 p.m.