BRUNSWICK, Ga.—The Southeastern University women's basketball team earned a victory in their Sun Conference opener, defeating Coastal Georgia by a score of 79-54 to move their overall record to 2-2 on the season.
Sophomore
Haley Howarth led the way for the Fire with 19 points, shooting 3-8 from 3-PT range. Transfer
Carmen Handy also provided offense for SEU with 17 points and grabbed six rebounds.
The Fire wasted no time in this one as they jumped on the Mariners early, taking a 25-5 lead after the first quarter. Southeastern converted ten of their 21 attempts from the field while the Mariners went 2-for-8.
Southeastern stretched their lead to as much as 27 in the second quarter, but Coastal Georgia managed to narrow their deficit to 20 entering halftime.
Howarth paced the Fire with 11 first-half points, hitting on two of her six 3-PT attempts. Transfers Handy and
Bekki Kalaydjiev both pitched in with nine points on a combined 6-8 shooting from the field.
The Fire outrebounded the Mariners 22-12 in the first 20 minutes thanks to a strong defensive effort as they held Coastal Georgia to just 30.8% shooting from the field.
Southeastern was able to separate themselves by creating turnovers and getting out in transition as four different players recorded a steal to total nine in the first half.
Southeastern maintained their 20-point throughout the second half to seal their 79-54 victory.
Transfer
Janea Benn made her SEU debut and recorded seven points, five blocks, and 13 rebounds, helping the Fire win the rebound battle 39-23.
Southeastern ended up shooting 48.1% from the field, and went 6-18 from beyond the arc.
Marissa Hamilton,
Ashlee Ane,
Gabrielle Ozoude, and
Madi Hecox combined to score 25 points off the bench, outscoring Coastal Georgia's bench by seven.
Up next for the Fire is a trip to face Keiser on Thursday, November 16
th at 5:30 pm.
