Box Score LAKELAND, Fla. – On senior day at the Furnace, Emma Loucks and Hannah Demarest played in their final regular season home game and helped the Fire to a 73-41 victory over Florida Memorial.
"These two seniors deserved a great season due to their dedication and effort in making this team one of the best in the nation," said Coach Jody Martinez.
The game began at snail's pace with nearly four minutes gone before the Lions put the first points on the board. The Fire responded with a pair of free throws each by Cassidy Block and Bailey Hooker to go up 4-2, but didn't connect from the field until the 13:38 mark when Carlie Newman finished in the paint to go up 6-2.
Momentum picked up with a 10-2 run by the Fire to take their largest lead of the half, up 16-4. They would realize the same 12-point margin twice more before heading to the locker room up 10, 30-20.
The Fire's signature outside shooting lagged in the first half as they connected on just three of 22 attempts. From the line, however, they shot with 69% accuracy scoring over a third of their first half points.
Looking more like themselves in the second half, the Fire hit seven from the long range. Four rolled off the fingers of Newman, including back-to-back crowd pleasers that ignited a 12-0 run to put the Fire up 48-30 with 12:53 to play.
Two straight 3-point buckets by Jackie Sweasey would display the final score and the Fire's largest lead of the game.
Hooker led all scorers with 18 points and eight rebounds while Newman finished with 17 and nine, respectively. Block was also a double digit contributor with 14 points on the afternoon.
"We played really tight in the first half and it was great to see the team play relaxed in the second," said Martinez. "Now we have to focus on the tournament and preparing to make a run for the title."
The Fire finish 25-5 on the season, 16-2 in The Sun Conference and head into post season play as the number two seed. They will take on seventh seed, Ave Maria, on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Furnace.
