Box Score West Palm Beach, Fla. – The 20
th ranked Southeastern women's basketball team fended off a tough road test from the Keiser University Seahawks 78-65 to improve to 9-0 on the season and 4-0 in Sun Conference action.
The first quarter was a back-and-forth battle between the Fire and the Seahawks, with four total lead changes. For the first time this season, SEU trailed at the end of the first quarter. Keiser also held the Fire to their lowest first quarter point total of the season, as the Seahawks led 15-14.
The Fire began to find their rhythm on offense in the second quarter, stringing together a 9-0 scoring run midway through the period. Senior forward
Christin Strawbridge was the catalyst for the run, scoring four consecutive points. Strawbridge finished the outing as the leading rebounder and tied as the leading scorer for SEU, bringing down seven boards and knocking in 17 points.
Southeastern took a 36-27 lead into the half.
SEU grew their lead to as many 15 in the third quarter, mostly due to three straight made three pointers on three consecutive offensive possessions by senior guard
Bailey Hooker. However, the Seahawks showed resiliency, ending the quarter on a 13-5 run to cut the Fire lead to 58-56 heading into the fourth.
"I felt like tonight was extremely helpful for us to sharpen up in some areas. It's nice to have some things to be able to go back and watch film on that show potential areas of improvement," shared Head Coach
Tim Hays.
Southeastern closed things out well in the final period of play, limiting Keiser to only nine points scored. Junior guard
Jenny Dee heated up in the fourth, scoring eight points and recording two steals. The UC Irvine transfer finished the game tied as the team's leading scorer with 17 points.
This was the fourth straight game the Fire have forced 20 or more turnovers and recorded 10 or more steals.
"I am very excited about the direction of this team, we know the best is still ahead of us," commented Coach Hays.
Southeastern will travel to Winter Park to take on Rollins College in an exhibition game. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
