Lakeland, Fla. – The (RV) Southeastern women's basketball team defeated the Ave Maria University Gyrenes 88-62 to win their Sun Conference opener. With the win, the Fire are off to their third straight 4-0 regular season start.
The first quarter was tightly contested between the two squads. The Gyrenes scored 15 of their 16 points in the quarter off three pointers. Six different players scored a basket for the Fire to give them the slight 17-16 lead at the end of the first.
SEU opened up the second quarter on a 13-3 run in the first five minutes that was fueled by six points and two rebounds by senior forward
Christin Strawbridge.
Strawbridge finished the game with 16 points and 10 rebounds, notching the 18
th double-double of her Southeastern career.
The Fire outscored the Gyrenes 29-11 in the second quarter to take a 46-27 lead into the half.
"We just needed to finish some of the high percentage shots that we had created. We also found our rhythm defensively which allowed us to put a solid run together," shared Head Coach
Tim Hays.
SEU continued that defensive rhythm in the second half, forcing five turnovers in the third quarter. Senior guard
Bailey Hooker scored 13 of her team high 17 points in the second half to help grow the Fire lead to as high as 29.
Ave Maria had no answer for the Southeastern interior game. The Fire outscored the Gyrenes 48-16 in the paint.
Another top performer for the Fire was senior guard
Alyssa Ramos. The Carlsbad, Calif. native recorded 15 points and four assists. She now leads the conference in assists with 22 on the season.
SEU will continue Sun Conference action on the road, as they travel to Babson Park to take on Webber International University on Saturday night. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
