SIOUX CITY, Iowa—The Fire found another gear in the second half for the second day in a row.
Southeastern (28-0) outscored Northwestern College (Iowa) 47-25 in the second half to advance to the national quarterfinals for the first time in program history with an 87-55 victory.
Bailey Hooker scored a team-high 24 points, and dished out five assists to help the Fire advance to the Elite Eight. The senior connected on five 3-pointers, and was a perfect 9-for-9 at the free throw line.
The third quarter is where the Fire put some distance between them and Northwestern. Holding a 10-point lead at halftime, SEU hit seven of its first 10 shots of the quarter, and outscored the Red Raiders 31-14.
The defense stepped up as well, holding Northwestern (20-12) to just 8-of-23 from the field in the second 20 minutes, and 0-for-9 from 3-point range. The Red Raiders hit just 8% from beyond the arc for the game a night after going 38% from long range.
SEU also held leading scorer Kassidy De Jong to 12 points.
Once again, it was
Sarah Green that set the tempo early for Southeastern, scoring eight of the first 13 points in the first six minutes of the quarter, helping the Fire lead 18-14. Green finished with a career-high 22 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and swatted five shots.
The Fire also got double-digit scoring performances from
Ana Richter,
Christin Strawbridge, and
Cassidy Block, who all had 11. Richter added a team-high eight rebounds.
Alyssa Ramos dished out six assists and had three steals.
The Fire will take on either Marian or IU East on Saturday at 7 p.m. Eastern for a trip to the semifinals.
