Fire Best Bobcats in NAIA Top-5 Showdown

No. 2 Southeastern Tops No. 4 College of the Ozarks in High Profile Contest
LAKELAND, Fla.- In a contest that had an NAIA National Tournament pace, the No. 2 Southeastern University women’s basketball team earned an impressive 83-66 victory over the No. 4 College of the Ozarks Bobcats in The Furnace to notch their 64th consecutive regular season win.
The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair, with a combined six lead changes through the first 10 minutes of action.
Southeastern built separation from Ozarks in the second quarter, outscoring the Bobcats 24-12 during the period. The Fire scored 11 points off of six Bobcats’ turnovers during the 10-minute stretch of play.
Senior guard Makenzie Cann continued to have a hot hand for SEU, scoring all 16 of her points in the first half. Senior forward Elsa Paulsson-Glantz scored 10 of her 14 points in the first 20 minutes of play.
The Fire outscored the Bobcats 17-7 in the final 6:11 of the second quarter to take a 41-30 advantage at the half.
Southeastern opened up the second half on a 17-4 run to take a 58-37 lead with 3:41 to go in the third period.
SEU continued to buckle down defensively in the second half, forcing nine turnovers in the final 20 minutes.
Junior center Marlena Schmidt recorded five of her seven blocks in the second half. The total in blocked shots was a season high for Schmidt.
Senior guard Jaycee Coe came alive for SEU in the second half, scoring 14 of her 16 points in the final 20 minutes.
Paulsson-Glantz grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds to accompany her 14 points, her first double-double of the season. Schmidt finished the day with 12 points and eight rebounds.
Senior guard Emma Karamovic added 12 points off the bench for SEU.
The 13 three point field goals made by the Fire were the most surrendered by the Bobcats in a single game this season.
“We know were going to get challenged today with the skill set and unselfish system that Ozarks implements. They had several weeks to prepare for us and came in with some good looks offensively,” shared head coach Tim Hays. “Ultimately we made the adjustments we needed to, and were able to slow down some of their shooters. I think our size and ability to alter shots and rebound ultimately got us the stops we needed.
The Fire grew their lead over the Bobcats to as high as 28 in the fourth quarter.
Southeastern faces another NAIA Division II Top-10 battle in The Furnace tomorrow afternoon, as the Fire host the No. 6 Indiana Tech Warriors at 2 p.m.