Box Score DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – After a nine-day layoff, the No. 3 Southeastern University women's basketball team shook off any rust with a 68-35 win over the Viterbo University V-Hawks at DME Academy. The win pushed the Fire's regular season unbeaten streak to 38 games.
SEU had to overcome struggles with protecting the ball in the early goings of the contest, as the Fire committed eight turnovers in the first quarter. The V-Hawks built a lead as large as five in the first 10 minutes of play, however the Fire held a 16-15 advantage at the end of the period.
The second quarter was a defensive tug, as both teams combined to shoot just 34.8% from the field and amassed just 18 total points.
The Fire and the V-hawks totaled 30 turnovers in the first half. Southeastern weathered the flurry of possession changes to take a 27-22 lead into halftime.
The Fire were able to protect the ball, execute its offensive game plan coming out of the locker room, and create separation between them and the V-Hawks.
SEU outscored VU 23-6 in the third quarter. Senior guard Ana Richter led the charge for the Fire in the period, totaling nine points for her most productive quarter of the night. Richter's 27 points on the night notched her 10
th consecutive game with 22 or more points scored.
The Fire defense stifled the V-Hawks to just 16.7% shooting from the field in the third quarter.
Southeastern continued to lock down on defense entering the final period of play, as the Fire did not surrender a point to Viterbo for a stretch of 11:52 from the third quarter into the fourth.
Richter and junior shooting guards Jaycee Coe and Halee Printz each had three or more steals. Coe and Printz also tallied 11 points each.
The 29 turnovers by Viterbo on the night marked the ninth time this season that SEU has forced a team to commit 20 or more turnovers in a game.
The Fire now return to The Furnace for one more contest before breaking for the Christmas holiday. Southeastern hosts No. 20 Saint Francis University on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m.
