LAKELAND, Fla. - The Fire women's basketball team is constructing a season that is awe inspiring nonetheless. Thus far 12 teams have fallen victim to the Fire who rank third in all of DII NAIA basketball in scoring margin (25.75). This week two conference opponents will take to the hardwood against a Fire team that is downright electrifying. Action will begin as the Fire travel to North Miami on Thursday, January 5th to face Johnson & Wales University at 7 p.m.
Game 13: Southeastern University (12-0, The Sun Conference 4-0) at Johnson & Wales University (2-14, The Sun Conference 1-2)
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Game 14: Southeastern University (12-0, The Sun Conference 4-0) vs. Ave Maria University (5-6, The Sun Conference 2-2)
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In Game Adjustments: While the Fire are a talented team, what makes them so successful is their ability to make timely in game adjustments based off of what opponents are doing on defense. The Fire's perimeter shooting led by Alyssa Ramos, Bailey Hooker, and Jenny Dee can be near impossible to defend when they are consistently finding the bottom of the net. As teams begin crowd the three-point line, the Fire then can rely on their dominant paint players such as Christin Strawbridge and Sarah Green to generate the necessary scoring.
Record Holders: The Fire currently have two active players that hold school records. Both Strawbridge and Ramos have their names at the top and in the mix of several records.
Strawbridge holds the record for field goal percentage in a single season with 63% coming in her 2015-2016 campaign. She also ranks 7th on the single season points list with 498 points which also came in last year's season.
Ramos has her name in the mix of 10 school records and currently holds the records for three pointers in a single season and career three point field goals. She is also a member of the 1,000 point club totaling 1,354 points in her career.
The Fire Wall: Defensively, the Fire can be a solid as a rock. Ana Richter is coming off of a season high 12 steals against St. Joseph's College and, as it stands, leads the team with 34 steals. The junior transfer from Miami of Ohio ranks 9th in all of NAIA DII in steals per game (3.091).
Green, the UCF transfer, has been an impressive shot blocker for the Fire. The 6'2 senior leads the team with 25 blocks and ranks 9th in all of NAIA DII in blocks per game (2.083).
Along with the help of these two women, the Fire as a collective group have outrebounded opponents 460 to 396.
An offense is as only good as its defense and with exceptional defensive play the Fire are able to generate scoring chances off of the many turnovers they are able to force.
The Wildcats: Kymberly Hope leads the Wildcats in her second season as head coach. Although it has been a rocky road for the Wildcats, the team was able to capture a win over conference foe Warner University in early December. Now on a four game losing streak, the Wildcats take on, arguably, their toughest challenge of the season.
The Wildcat offense is led by junior point guard Diamond Williams. The Ft. Lauderdale, Florida native averages 17.1 points per game and also leads the team with 56 assists. On the defensive front, Williams has tallied 25 steals as well 100 rebounds.
Two other Wildcats, Bevin Davis and Kwannita Janvier, average double digit points as well. Davis, prepped at Southeast High School is averaging 12.7 points per game along with shooting 47 percent from the floor.
In 497 minutes of work, Janvier leads the team in rebounding with 109. The 5'9 senior averages 11 points per game and is shooting 47 percent from the field.
Throughout the season the Wildcats have been outscored 1260-963 and have had a team field goal percentage ten points less than opponents. All-in-all the Johnson & Wales will have to play flawless basketball and rely on home court advantage, if they wish to have a close game against Southeastern.
The Gyrenes: Ave Maria is home to the Sun Conference leader in rebounds in the form of Sarah Miller. The freshman from Canton, Ohio has collected 97 boards and has done her fair share on offense shooting 45 percent from the floor.
The Gyrenes are a "live by the the three, die by the three" type of team. As a whole, 84 percent of the shots taken by the Gryrenes are three pointers. However, they have not fared to well from beyond the arc shooting only 27.5 percent from downtown.
Leading the offensive charge for Ave Maria is the junior guard Lauren Gillingham. Prepped at Ft. Myers high school, Gillingham is one part of a duo that heads the offense averaging 16.3 points per game. She is the team's leading facilitator with 38 assists and has collected 75 rebounds.
Making up the second half of the offensive duo is Jasmine Bateman. Bateman a native of Orlando, Florida averages a solid 14.9 points per game and is shooting 42 percent from the floor. She is also a consistent foul shooter shooting 81 percent from the charity stripe.
Closing Thoughts: The Fire have the ability to continue their historic run with a pair of wins against Sun Conference foes this week. A high powered Fire team is tough to stop for any opponent but with the magnitude of conference play opponents must really dig deep if they hope to find a way to beat an undefeated Fire team.
