Women's Basketball Wins Home Opener Against Bobcats

LAKELAND, Fla. - The No. 2 ranked Southeastern women's basketball team won their home and Sun Conference opener this Saturday afternoon against St. Thomas 105-50.

In the first two minutes of play, the Fire took a quick 6-2 lead against the Bobcats. However, in the next three minutes of play, Southeastern went on a 15-point run, extending their lead to 21-2. Southeastern finished the first quarter with a  29-11 advantage over the Bobcats.

After 10 minutes of play, Southeastern were 9-11 in the field and shooting 82%, while STU was 3-12 and shooting 25% from the field.

Leading the Fire's offense was Taylah Simmons with nine points, and M'caela Sellers with six points.

Southeastern opened the second quarter with a 14-2 run, before STU forward Gianni Domond scored for the Bobcats, haltering the Fire's rally.

At the midway point in the second quarter, SEU held a 30-point advantage over St. Thomas. Going into halftime, the Fire extended their lead to 61-24 over STU, outscoring STU 32-13 in the second frame.

Simmons added 10 more points to her name in the second, leading the Fire with 19 total points. Sophomore Raegan Linster recorded 13 points after two quarters of play. 

After the break, the Fire looked to continue their momentum. Southeastern increased their lead by 29 points, outshooting their opponents by 17-points. The Fire were shooting 75% in the field, and earned 11 rebounds. By the end of the third quarter, SEU lead 90-36.

The biggest lead was seen in the last quarter, the Fire held a 100-37 lead over the Bobcats with 5:23 left to go. The Bobcats score a total of 13 more points until the final whistle, ending in a 105-50 victory for the Fire.

Simmons lead the Fire with a total of 35 points, 10 rebounds, and three steals. Simmons broke the single game program record with points scored this afternoon.

Coach Hays commented "I have never seen a four-man with so much versatility. She can get a rebound and go end-to-end but she can also stretch it and shoot it. She's just absolutely tenacious when it comes to rebounds and putbacks. She never gives up on a possession on either end of the floor".   

Defensively for the Fire, senior-center Marlena Schmidt earned three total blocks and was second on the team in rebounds with seven.

Coach Hays also comments on the team performance, "One thing that has been different about this group compared to previous years is that the motor of this team is so high. We don't seem to run out of gas. And so to sustain the big runs that we did is the biggest different this year."

The Fire are now 4-2 overall, and 1-0 in conference play.

Southeastern will be back in action on November 21st, as they play Coastal Georgia in Brunswick, Ga. The game is set to start at 5:30 p.m.