AVE MARIA, Fla.—In the Sun Conference Women's Basketball Game of the Week, Southeastern routed an unbeaten Ave Maria University team 84-51 to improve to 12-0 (5-0 TSC) on the season.
To open up the game, the Fire connected on three of their first four 3-point attempts, led by two baskets from Jaycee Coe.
After Southeastern jumped out to a 12-4 advantage, the Gyrenes stormed back on 62.5% shooting to cut the deficit to two points (16-14).
SEU used a 14-0 stretch over the next five minutes to create separation. The run, which spanned from the end of the first quarter to the beginning of the second, featured eight points by Ana Richter.
Southeastern was able to pull away by outscoring the Gyrenes 22-9 in the second quarter and led Ave Maria 46-23 at the half.
As Ave Maria cooled down from the field and Southeastern remained consistent, the Fire continued to distance themselves from the undefeated Gyrenes.
Coe drained back-to-back threes and added nine more of her 20 points in the third quarter. The junior transfer finished the contest five of eight from downtown, while assisting on three buckets.
Defense and post play sealed the 38
th consecutive regular season victory for the Fire, as SEU forced 25 turnovers, converting the takeaways into 22 points. Southeastern outscored the Gyrenes 40-18 in the paint, while holding Ave Maria to just 33.3% shooting on the night.
Marlena Schmidt led all players with ten rebounds, while Richter grabbed eight boards. Richter added four steals on the defensive side of the ball, as Southeastern handed the Gyrenes their first loss of the season.
The Fire will be back in action when they face Viterbo University on December 18th. The contest is set to tip off at 8 p.m. at DME Sports Academy in Daytona Beach, Fla.
