Box Score JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- A traffic accident on I-95 on the way to the game was the only thing that slowed up Southeastern as they helped head coach Jody Martinez earn his 400th career win with an 85-44 victory at Trinity Baptist College Tuesday evening.
Martinez won his first 384 games as the head coach at Bethel College (Ind.). "The first thing that comes to mind is the dedication of my assistant coaches, former players, and managers," said Martinez. "Seventeen years kind of goes by quick, but it was a special moment. I have a lot of friends and family that weren't able to be here, but they're definitely in my heart and I was thinking about every one of them today."
The Fire (16-5) cruised to a 15-0 lead to start the game, and held the Eagles without a basket until the 14:16 mark of the first half. The advantage hit 20 for the first time when Alyssa Ramos converted a steal by Tiara Young into a basket at the other end to give SEU a 26-5 lead with 10:44 to go.
"I miss my family not being here, but I know they were praying for us; Sonya, my wife, has been by my side since Day One since we took over at Bethel in 1998," said Martinez. "Sonya and my girls motivate me every day to be the best and I try to instill it with all of my teams to be the best in life."
With 4:46 to play, the Fire took a 30-point advantage with an 8-0 run, with Hannah Demarest converting a layup to make it 38-8 SEU. After 20 minutes, Southeastern's lead was 45-16.
The Fire pushed their lead to 44 with 6:34 left in the contest on a put back by Demarest to go up 71-27.
"We rebounded very well, didn't necessarily shoot well, but considering we were delayed and didn't get a good warmup in, we'll take the win and get ready for St. Thomas on Thursday," said Martinez.
The Fire collected a total of 65 rebounds, and forced 18 turnovers.
Defensively, the Fire led the Eagles to just 25% from the field, which included hitting just 5-of-27 in the first half. Southeastern hit 41% from the field, but struggled from the outside, connecting on just 6-of-41 from bonus range.
Bailey Hooker led the Fire offense with 16 points, and also hauled in seven rebounds. Kristen Scholl added a double-double of 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Cassidy Block added 13 off the bench, and Jackie Sweasey and Lauren Wilson each had 11.
Southeastern returns to Sun Conference play on Thursday when they host St. Thomas University at 5:30 p.m.
