LAKELAND, Fla.—The Southeastern University women's basketball team extended their winning streak to seven games with two impressive wins in the SEU Thanksgiving Tournament. The Fire now move on to host Webber International on Thursday December 5th at 7:30 pm before hitting the road to take on Warner at 2:00 pm on Saturday December 7th.
The Fire took down the 24th ranked team in NAIA Division I Loyola University New Orleans by a score of 79-66, followed with an 82-34 win over Florida National.
Southeastern overcame a sluggish start against No. 24 Loyola, only leading by seven at halftime, to earn the 13-point win. Sophomore Raegan Linster helped the Fire by putting up a career-high in points with 24. The Fargo, N.D. native was dangerous from everywhere on the court, shooting over 50% from the field and hitting on five shots from beyond the arc. Marlena Schmidt and M'caela Sellers kept the Wolf Pack in check on the defensive end, combining to block nine shots.
Linster nearly matched her career-high the next day with 23 points in the victory against Florida National. The Conquistadors were overwhelmed by the Fire defense the entire game which led to 39 Florida National turnovers. Taylah Simmons also turned in a strong performance scoring 20 points, the sixth time this season she has reached 20 points in a game.
As a team, Southeastern is first in NAIA Division II in two defensive categories, scoring defense per game (48.9) and field goal percentage defense (30%). The Fire are also ranked third in scoring margin, outscoring their opponents by an average of 32.6 PPG, and fourth in total blocks with 45.
Webber International will come to The Furnace with an overall record of 4-4, going 1-2 in conference play so far this season. The Fire have an eight game win-streak against the Warriors dating back to the 2015-16 season. Webber started the year 4-1 but have lost three straight since. Sophomore Taniya Patrick is the player to watch for the Warriors as she leads the team in PPG (15.13), RPG (9), and BPG (2.13). Patrick's best performance on the year came in their last TSC game against St. Thomas. Patrick totaled 30 points and 17 rebounds in the 77-75 loss for Webber.
The Fire travel to play a Warner squad that sits at 1-8 on the season thus far, including an 0-3 record in TSC play. The lone win for the Royals came in their season opener against Johnson University-Florida. Southeastern took down Warner 95-46 in their last matchup thanks to 22 points from Marlena Schmidt. Junior Troi Grant is a key play for the Royals, she comes into this matchup leading the team in PPG (12.33) and SPG (2.67).
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