LAKELAND, Fla.—Up 17 with just under two minutes to go in the first half, it looked like the Fire were about to cruise to their 15
th straight win.
A late run by St. Thomas put the game in doubt, but Southeastern was able to hold on for a 69-62 win.
Outside shooting helped Southeastern (15-0, 7-0 TSC) come away with the win. Senior
Bailey Hooker made four 3-pointers, finishing with a game-high 18 points, and
Alyssa Ramos and
Cassidy Block each had three 3's.
In the fourth quarter, the Bobcats outscored the Fire 21-16, and trailed by just three with 3:47 left, but missed a shot to tie the game. On the next possession, Ramos buried a 3-pointer to put the Fire back up two possessions.
St. Thomas (6-9, 3-2 TSC) made its living inside, scoring more than half of its points (32) in the paint. Leading scorer Supavadee Kunchuan was held to just two points in the first half, but finished with 15.
The Fire took a 21-8 lead in the first quarter, hitting half of their shots. A 3-pointer by Block with 1:59 left in the second gave the Fire their biggest lead of the night (31-14), but the Bobcats ended the half on a 9-3 run to get back in the game, down 34-23 at the half.
Both teams came on strong in the third quarter, with Hooker making two 3-pointers in the first 47 seconds to push the lead back to 15. Four turnovers in the period allowed the Bobcats to hang around.
Christin Strawbridge chipped in 13 points and nine rebounds to the winning effort, making 50% of her field goals. Block finished with 12 points, and added eight rebounds. Ramos was also in double figures with 10 points, and had 10 assists.
The Fire return to action on Saturday, hosting Keiser at 2 p.m.
