Goshen, Ind. – In a game in which the Fire found rhythm on offense and stifled their opponent on defense, the Southeastern women's basketball team defeated the Grace College Lancers 94-60 in its second game of the Goshen Challenge.
The game was a back and forth affair in the early goings, with six lead changes between the teams within the first five minutes of play. However, the Fire used a 14-5 run, fueled by eight points from senior guard
Bailey Hooker, to give them a 28-19 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Fire began to build separation from the Lancers in the second quarter, outscoring their opponent 14-5 to begin the period. The SEU defense also stepped up, forcing five turnovers in the quarter. A jumper from junior guard
Ana Richter with 42 seconds to go in the second quarter gave the Fire their largest lead of the half at 49-29.
SEU continued to grow its lead in the second half. Junior guard
Jenny Dee turned in a spectacular 13 point third quarter, where she sunk three 3 pointers. SEU led by as many as 36 points in the second have while Grace was only able to cut the Fire to as close as 21. Southeastern closed things out to preserve the 34 point victory.
Graduate guard
Cassidy Block was the top scorer for the Fire, scoring 16 and shooting an impressive 4-5 from behind the three point line. SEU shot an astounding 15-31 (48.4%) from three point range, the most three point shots made by the Fire since they converted 17 threes in a win over Webber on 02/18/15.
Other top performers for Southeastern included senior guard
Alyssa Ramos, who scored 14 and recorded her career best in assists with nine. Senior forward
Sarah Green led the team in rebounds with 8.
The Fire outrebounded the Lancers 39-31, held them to 30.7 percent shooting from the field, and forced 22 turnovers.
SEU will return to The Furnace for its 2016-17 home opener. The Fire are set to host the Taylor University Trojans on Monday night at 7 p.m.
