Box Score THOMASVILLE, Ga. - The No. 2 Southeastern women's basketball team beat Sun Conference opponent Thomas 86-29 this Saturday afternoon. The Fire now advance to 6-2 overall on the season, and remain undefeated in conference play.
The first basket of the game was made by senior center Marlena Schmidt, who earned two points for the Fire with 1:35 into the game.
Southeastern went on a 13-point run to take a 13-0 lead against the Night Hawks. With 2:45 remaining, Thomas' senior guard Samantha Gilbert would record their first and only points scored by TU in the first frame.
Finishing the remainder of the first quarter, the Fire went on a seven point run to take have a 20-2 advantage over Thomas.
Leading the Fire's offense was Taylah Simmons with eight points and two rebounds. Simmons was 4-6 in the field. Following her was Haley Howarth with five points, shooting 2-2.Â
SEU finished the first frame shooting 60% in the field, compared to TU who were shooting 9.1%. The Fire were also shooting 66.7% beyond the arc. Thomas were unable to make one of their eight attempts from the three-point line.
Both teams remained quiet in the first three minutes of play in the second quarter. Until a single free throw made by Gilbert gave the Night Hawks another point. After 13 minutes of play, Gilbert attained all of TU's points.
M'caela Sellers would break the silence for the Fire in the fourth minute of the second, as she secured two points to advance SEU's lead to a 17-point advantage.
At the intermission, the Fire led 35-11, having a 24-point advantage over the Night Hawks which at that point was the biggest lead seen. SEU finished the first half of the game with 27 rebounds, in contrast to TU's 14.
Coming back from the break, the Fire started the third quarter with a seven-point streak, furthering their lead to 32 points.
A tip-in by Thomas player Aisha Clayton broke the Fire's streak, however it wouldn't take Southeastern too long to get back into their groove, as SEU went on another seven-point run to take a 50-13 lead over the Night Hawks.
The Fire outscored Thomas 25-9 in the third, and as both teams were headed into the last ten minutes of play, SEU held a 40-point advantage over TU.
Southeastern looking to continue their momentum in the final quarter, mirrored what they did in the third quarter, and outscored their opponents 26-9. At the final whistle, Southeastern defeated Thomas 86-29 to earn it another conference victory.Â
Simmons finished with 25 total points. The junior-forward from Australia made all her free throw attempts, she was 5-5. Raegan Linster was second on the team in points with 11.
In total, the Fire obtained 17 total assists on the afternoon, Simmons and Eliza West lead the Fire with four each.
Defensively, Southeastern earned a total of nine blocks. Schmidt tallied four of the nine.
SEU will be back in action on Friday November 29th, as they host the Thanksgiving Tournament and face off against No. 24 ranked Loyola University New Orleans at 2:00 p.m.
