LAKELAND, Fla.—The No. 1 seeded and top-ranked Southeastern women's basketball team is set to face Johnson & Wales in the Sun Conference Tournament semifinal round on Friday night.
Game Info:
TSC Tournament Semifinal #1
No. 1 Southeastern (27-0, 18-0 TSC) vs. No. 5 Johnson & Wales (13-15, 8-10 TSC)
Date: Friday February 23, 2018
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Location: The Furnace- Lakeland, Fla.
The Fire:
After clinching their second consecutive undefeated regular season with a 45-point rout of St. Thomas, the Fire earned a first-round bye in the Sun Conference Tournament as the No. 1 seed.
Southeastern comes into the tournament riding a 40-game win streak against conference opponents. Over the stretch that dates back two years, the Fire have outscored their competition by an average of 31.8 points.
A major reason for the success versus TSC teams this season has been the play of the starting five.
Ana Richter,
Emma Karamovic,
Jaycee Coe,
Halee Printz, and
Marlena Schmidt all increased their scoring averages once conference play began.
Richter, who leads the NAIA in scoring (23.5 ppg) and field goal percentage (67.7%), captained the Fire during their thrashing of the Bobcats. The senior scoring a game-high 25 and grabbing 13 boards, earning her eighth TSC Player of the Week Award of the 2017-2018 campaign.
Printz and Schmidt lead all Sun Conference players in assists and blocks, respectively. If those statistics hold, the Fire will have the top scorer, assister, and blocker in the conference for the second straight year. Printz averages just over six helpers per game, ranking her fourth in the nation, while the 6'6" Schmidt rejects 2.7 shots per game (third in the NAIA).
Though Southeastern has many threats from downtown, Coe and Karamovic are the most prominent from behind the arc. Coe ranks seventh in the country in 3-pt field goals per game (3.3) on 43.8% shooting and has drained a shot from deep in every game this season. Over the past eight contests, Karamovic has caught fire from three, shooting 47.5% on 3-pt attempts. The pair of players each recorded a game with seven made threes during the year.
The Wildcats:
Johnson & Wales upset the No. 4-seed Ave Maria on the road by a score of 66-63 Tuesday night to capture a bid to the Sun Conference Tournament semifinals with their fifth consecutive victory. This marks the Wildcats' first trip to the semifinal round in program history.
Against Ave Maria, JoNae Gonzales carried the Wildcats with a 20-point performance. The junior, who is averaging 10.2 points per game, shot a season-high 70% (7-10) from the field, knocking down all four of her attempts from beyond the arc.
Look for Diamond Williams and Tianna Ayulo to also have an impact for Johnson & Wales. Both Williams and Ayulo average over 16 points per game to lead the Wildcats. Williams, a senior from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, influences the game on the defensive end of the court, stealing the ball 2.5 times per contest (ranks 33
rd in the NAIA). Ayulo captains JWU in points (16.9 ppg), rebounding (8.1 boards per game) and in blocks (12) as a freshman.
All-Time Meetings:
The Fire and the Wildcats have met a total of 18 times, with Southeastern reigning victorious in 17 of the matchups. SEU has controlled the meetings after its first year of Sun Conference play, winning the past 16 contests between the two schools. In their competitions this season, the Fire came out on top by scores of 94-54 and 86-59 respectively. The two teams have never met in postseason play, while the Wildcats have not beaten the Fire in the Furnace.
Game Coverage:
The game will be streamed with live video and live stats at seufire.com/watch
Follow @SEUFireWBB on Twitter for in-game updates
