Women's Basketball Welcomes Peach State Teams into The Furnace

LAKELAND, Fla.- The No. 1 Southeastern University women's basketball team fended off a road test from Sun Conference foe Ave Maria 70-54 this past Saturday to remain undefeated in TSC play. SEU is now at the halfway point of conference play, with nine Sun Conference regular season contests remaining. Up next, the Fire welcome Thomas and Coastal Georgia from The Peach State into The Furnace.

GAMES:

No. 1 Southeastern (17-2, 9-0 TSC) vs. Thomas (2-9, 1-8 TSC)
Thursday | 5:30 p.m. | The Furnace | Lakeland, Fla.

No. 1 Southeastern (17-2, 9-0 TSC) vs. Coastal Georgia (12-5, 6-2 TSC)
Saturday | 5:00 p.m. | The Furnace | Lakeland, Fla.


COVERAGE:


WATCH   LIVE STATS

FIRE FOCUS: 

• Junior forward M'caela Sellers is coming off a top-tier performance versus Ave Maria in which she went 10-11 from the field, scored 22 points, hauled in four rebounds, and dished out three assists.
• Sellers is shooting 68.97% (20-29) from the field over her last three games played.
• Junior forward Taylah Simmons remains the NAIA DII women's basketball leading scorer, averaging 23.8 points per game.
• Offensively, the Fire rank NAIA DII top-10 in six statistical categories, including team field goal percentage (.498), first in scoring margin per game (34.42), and fourth in assists per game (19.1).
• Defensively, SEU ranks NAIA DII top-10 in 10 statistical categories, including first in field goal percentage defense (.313), third in rebound margin per game (10.789), and third in points allowed per game (53.526).
• SEU has won 71-straight games against Sun Conference opponents.
• The last time the Fire lost to a TSC team was February 10, 2016 against Thomas (70-64).
   

 
ALL-TIME SERIES:

• The Fire and the Mariners have met seven times in their history with Southeastern taking all seven of the matchups.
• Since the 2013-14 season, the Fire and the Night Hawks have met 14 times. Of the 14 meetings, SEU has taken 12 of them. In the seven competitions that have been played in Lakeland, Southeastern is 7-0 against Thomas.

• Southeastern defeated Coastal Georgia 88-40 and Thomas 86-29 in road games earlier this season.

 
THE NIGHT HAWKS:

• Thomas earned its first Sun Conference win of the season this past Saturday at home versus Warner 65-58.
• Four of the Night Hawks' eight TSC losses have come by a deficit of eight points or less.
• TU is shooting just 36% from the field as a team this season, including 25.7% from three-point range.
• Junior guard Alexis Powell has been the spark for Thomas as of late. Averaging a team-best 12.25 points per game this season, Powell has averaged 17.3 points and 3.8 threes made with a 46.9% (15-32) shooting percentage from behind the arc over her last four games.

 
THE MARINERS:

• Coastal Georgia is red hot in Sun Conference play, having won five-straight conference contests to propel themselves into third place in the league standings.
• During their six-game season win streak, the Mariners have not allowed an opponent to surpass the 63-point mark.
• The elite play of the Coastal Georgia defense as of late is reflected in the national rankings, as they sit at 16^th in NAIA DII in team field goal percentage defense (.360) and 17^th in three-point field goal defense (.271).
• Junior guard Solrun Gisladottir has continued her reign as one of the premier perimeter shooters in The Sun Conference, ranking 13^th in NAIA DII in three-pointers made per game (2.9). Gisladottir has made a three-pointer in 27-straight games.

 
 
TALE OF THE TAPE:

SEU
Points per Game: 87.9
Opponents Points per Game:
Field Goal %: .498
3PT %: .342
FT%: .664
Rebounds per Game: 45.6
Turnovers per Game: 16.9
Individual PPG Leader: Taylah Simmons (23.8)
Individual Rebounds per Game Leader: Marlena Schmidt (8.2)
Individual Assists per Game Leader: Eliza West (5.7)
Individual Steals per Game Leader: Taylah Simmons (2.9)
Individual Blocks per Game Leader: Marlena Schmidt (2.4)
 
TU
Points per Game: 56.6
Opponents Points per Game: 68
Field Goal %: .360
3PT %: .257
FT%: .628
Rebounds per Game: 35.5
Turnovers per Game: 22.3
Individual PPG Leader: Alexis Powell (12.3)
Individual Rebounds per Game Leader: Destiny Reed (6.4)
Individual Assists per Game Leader: Ashley Bostick (2.8)
Individual Steals per Game Leader: Alisha Clayton (2.3)
Individual Blocks per Game Leader: Samantha Gilbert (.4)
 
CCGA
Points per Game: 66.6
Opponents Points per Game: 62.2
Field Goal %: .404
3PT %: .295
FT%: .594
Rebounds per Game: 36.6
Turnovers per Game: 18.5
Individual PPG Leader: Quira Porter (12.1)
Individual Rebounds per Game Leader: Lynsey Washington (7.5)
Individual Assists per Game Leader: Ariel Crump (2.1)
Individual Steals per Game Leader: Ariel Crump (2.1)
Individual Blocks per Game Leader: Quira Porter/Tanisha Clarke (.4)


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