LAKE WALES, Fla. – Fire women's basketball secured their eighth Sun Conference win this evening over the Warner Royals, 63-48. With the win they advance to 17-4 overall and 8-2 in the league.
The Royals put the first points on the board, but Bailey Hooker and Alyssa Ramos had different plans. Back-to-back long balls from the juniors put the Fire up by four, and for good, at the 8:15 mark of the first quarter. Warner came as close as one in the first, down 11-10, but the quarter ended 14-11 in favor of the Fire.
A 17-7 Fire run to start the second quarter gave them their largest lead of the first 20 minutes, up by 13, 31-18 at the 2:39 mark. The Royals scored three unanswered points to end the half with Southeastern on top 31-21.
Warner scored first in the third and exchanged shots with the Fire for the next two minutes to make it 37-27 at the 7:59 mark. The back-and-forth effort was short lived, however, as the Fire pulled away with an 8-2 run for their largest lead of the game, up 16, 45-29.
Christin Strawbridge scored seven consecutive points to kick off the final quarter. She led all scorers with 20 points and 13 rebounds, good for her 11th double-double of the season.
The Fire enjoyed the same 16 point margin twice more in the fourth before the final buzzer and a 15 point victory to take home.
Carlie Newman backed Strawbridge with 11 points and a 3-for-5 effort from beyond the arc. Ramos ended the night with nine as she connected on three of her six 3-point attempts.
Collectively the Fire were 38% from the field, 47% from the 3-point line and outrebounded the Royals 50-38.
The Fire will take the court again on Saturday against the Bobcats of St. Thomas. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
