No. 4 Southeastern Flexes Early Versus Coastal Georgia
LAKELAND, Fla.- Fueled by a prolific first-quarter start, the No. 4 Southeastern University women’s basketball team posted a 87-64 victory over the College of Coastal Georgia Mariners to improve to 22-2 on the season and 15-0 in Sun Conference play. With the win, the Fire have now recorded 57 consecutive victories over TSC opponents.
SEU was dialed in from the start of the opening whistle. The Fire outscored the Mariners 31-12 in the opening period of play. The Fire shot an astounding 65% (13-20) from the field in the first quarter.
“We knew that these guys were rolling and that coming out strong was a big key for us and that’s what we did. I was really excited to see that out of our team and I applaud our girl’s effort early in the game,” shared head coach Tim Hays.
Freshman guard Regan Linster totaled 10 of her 11 points in the first 10 minutes.
Once again, the active hands of Southeastern played a pivotal part in growing the Fire lead. SEU scored 14 points off 12 turnovers in the first half, allowing the Fire to grow the advantage to as many as 25 in the second quarter.
The Fire took a 51-28 lead over the Mariners into the half.
After a stellar first half of shooting 58.8% from the field (20-34), the Fire weathered a difficult second half, posting a 37.1% field goal percentage (13-35) and turning the ball over 13 times in the final 20 minutes.
Senior guard Jaycee Coe domineered in the paint in the second half as she did throughout the first. Coe totaled six second-half rebounds to push her total to 11 to accompany her 14 points. The double-double was her first in an SEU uniform.
After facing a 32-point deficit with 3:28 to go in the third quarter, the Mariners ended the period on a 12-0 run to trim the Fire lead to 68-48. However, the 20-point deficit was the closest Coastal Georgia got to catching Southeastern.
Senior guard Makenzie Cann led all scorers with 20 points to go along with six rebounds and seven steals.
Senior forward Elsa Paulsson-Glantz totaled 17 points, as well as eight rebounds, five assists, and six steals. Senior guard Emma Karamovic recorded her seventh double-digit scoring game in her eight outing, scoring 11 and hauling in eight boards.
The Fire are back in The Furnace Saturday afternoon, as they host the Thomas University Night Hawks. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
