Box Score LAKELAND, Fla. – The Fire improved to 6-0 and notched their first conference win this afternoon as they defeated the Royals of Warner University, 83-67.
A 12-1 run early in the first put the Fire up 14-5 with 15:21 to play. The Royals narrowed the gap as low as six in the first 20 minutes, but the Fire maintained the lead and enjoyed a 13 point cushion at half, 41-28.
The Royals came out strong in the second half, improving upon their first half total by 11 points, but that wasn't enough to overtake the Fire who maintained the lead and saw their largest at the 10:31 mark, up 23 points.
Carlie Newman was the leading Fire scorer for the second consecutive game, putting up 24 points and sinking six of the team's 14 three-pointers. Kristen Scholl followed with 19 points while Cassidy Block snagged a game high nine rebounds.
"I was really pleased with rebounding tonight," said Coach Jody Martinez. "We talked a lot about crashing the boards and that's what we did. Overall, I think we played 25 minutes of great basketball and I'm really pleased with the first conference game."
The Fire take the court again on Thursday against the University of Great Falls. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at the Furnace.
