LAKELAND, Fla.—It was almost as easy as shooting it into the ocean.
The Fire women's basketball team shot 61% from the field, 68% from 3-point range, and 85% at the free throw line to cruise to a 107-43 win over Thomas Thursday night to move to 18-2 on the year and 10-0 in Sun Conference play.
Southeastern started hot, going 11-of-14 in the first quarter to lead 27-8 after 10 minutes of play. The Night Hawks (2-10, 1-9 TSC) didn't get on the board until the 3:38 mark of the quarter after the Fire had built a 16-point lead.
Although the offense cooled in the second quarter to the tune of 7-of-18 from the field, the defense stifled Thomas to just two field goals in the second quarter and six total points to lead 46-14 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Fire only missed two shots and were an incredible 6-of-7 from 3-point range to outscore Thomas 38-20. In the first 4:56 of the quarter, Southeastern went on a 26-6 run to build a 47-point advantage, doing so on a
Taylah Simmons layup.
Simmons led all scorers with 27 points on 13-of-18 shooting, which included her second 3-pointer of the season. She also had two steals, two assists, and a rebound.
Over the final 10 minutes, SEU outscored Thomas 23-9 and led by as many as 66.
Six players were in double figures with
Marlena Schmidt adding 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, and had nine rebounds, four blocks, two steals, and an assist.
Reagan Linster connected on five of SEU's 15 3-pointers for 15 points, and had seven rebounds, four steals, and two assists.
M'caela Sellers also had 15 points, and dished out five assists, and pulled down four rebounds.
Eliza West had a big second half, finishing with 10 points, six assists, four rebounds, and four steals. Off the bench, Tricia Jacobs added 10 points, going a perfect 3-of-3 from the field, and 2-of-2 at the free throw line.
Haley Howarth had five of the team's 20 steals on the night, and
Jade Odom had a team-best nine assists, and added seven points and six rebounds.
The Fire return to action at The Furnace on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Coastal Georgia.
