Box Score AVE MARIA, FL– Cold shooting in the first half looked like it would doom the Fire but 51% FG shooting in the second half put the game away as Southeastern (12-4, 4-1 TSC) comfortably beat Sun Conference Ave Maria (10-7, 1-4 TSC) 70-52.
In the first half, the Gyrenes held the lead for the last 14:24, mainly due to the Fire's 31% FG shooting and 1-14 shooting from the 3-point line. The halftime break looked to do the Fire plenty of good, as SEU stormed back to take a 33-32 lead on a 3-pointer from Alyssa Ramos with 16:45 left to play. After a couple of back and forth lead changes, the Fire went on a ferocious 20-1 run to put the game out of reach.
Ramos scored in the double digits for the fifth straight game, as she finished with 14 points and a season-high 10 rebounds. Jackie Sweasey scored 13 points as well on 5-8 FG shooting. Tiara Young also had a solid game as she hit on both of her 3-point attempts to finish with six points.
"Great road win tonight," said coach Jody Martinez. "We played a pretty good second half of basketball, we shot with more confidence in the second half as Tiara Young and Jackie Sweasey provided the spark."
What stood out tonight was the performance the Fire turned in on the glass. Southeastern put forth one of their best rebounding efforts of the season as they pulled down 41 rebounds to the Gyrene's 29.
"We did a much better job of rebounding too," commented Martinez.
For Ave Maria, Annie Artise led the scoring attack with a double-double, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The Fire have improved to 12-4 overall and 4-1 in conference play. They currently sit third in the Sun Conference standings, as they are still behind #25 Webber and St. Thomas. Their next game is Saturday afternoon as they host Sun Conference rival Thomas. Tipoff is set for 2pm at The Furnace.
