Box Score FORT MYERS, Fla.— The Fire women's basketball team had the chance to upset NCAA Division I opponent Florida Gulf Coast University but Southeastern ultimately fell to the reigning Atlantic Sun Conference champions by a score of 76-66.
FGCU's defense prevailed early in the competition. The Eagles forced five turnovers in the first quarter, which enabled FGCU to jump out to an 18-9 lead after ten minutes of play.
Despite the turnovers, the Fire were able to limit their deficit with strong play on the defensive side of the ball, holding Florida Gulf Coast to just 37% shooting in the quarter.
A five-minute scoreless stretch by Southeastern in the second quarter allowed Florida Gulf Coast to open up a 16-point advantage over the Fire with a 10-0 run. However, SEU answered back with a 5-0 run of their own to cut the Eagles' lead to 11 going into halftime.
At the break Southeastern trailed FGCU 37-26.
In the first twenty minutes, the Fire committed 13 turnovers, which turned into ten more shot attempts and 18 points for the Eagles, but SEU responded with inspired basketball in the final half of play.
Southeastern found their groove in the second half, limiting turnovers and using periodic runs to outscore FGCU 18-17 in the third quarter and 40-39 in the half.
Efficiency from beyond the arc kept the Fire within striking distance for the entirety of the competition. SEU connected on nine of their 17 attempts from downtown, going five of nine in the second half. Jaycee Coe hit three of her four shots from three-point land and Emma Karamovic added three of her own from downtown.
The Fire used a 12-2 stretch over the span of four minutes to cut the deficit to five with 3:37 remaining in the third frame.
After FGCU extended their lead again, buckets by Karamovic and Maja Michalska trimmed the advantage to five once more with just nine minutes left in the game. Karamovic led all Fire players with 13 points on the day, while Michalska hit all four of her shot attempts in the second half to end the game with 11 points.
Four Southeastern players ended with double-digits in scoring, including Karamovic, Michalska, Ana Richter and Halee Printz. Richter finished with 12 points and tied Marlene Schmidt for the team-high in rebounds with seven. Printz contributed with ten points and grabbed six boards.
Southeastern made eight of their thirteen shots (61.5%) in the fourth quarter and connected on four of their five three-point attempts (80.0%) in the frame.
Though the Fire outscored the Eagles in the second half and shot better from the field in the game (47.3%-44.4%), their first quarter deficit proved too much for Southeastern to overcome.
A 25-point performance by Rosemarie Julien along with 18 from Erica Nelson, who went four of seven from three, kept the Eagles in the driver's seat as SEU dropped the exhibition by ten.
The No. 3 ranked Fire will be back on the court against (RV) Ave Maria on Saturday. Tip off is scheduled for 4 p.m. in Ave Maria.
