Experienced Fire Women's Basketball Team Set to Compete

LAKELAND, Fla.- With several new faces but the same lofty goals, the Southeastern University women's basketball team sets its sights on the 2021-22 season.
 
The Fire are coming off a 26-3 2020-21 season, where Southeastern secured an unprecedented sixth-straight Sun Conference Regular Season Championship, its fifth SUN Tournament Championship in the last six seasons, and punched its ticket to the NAIA National Tournament Final Site in Sioux City for an impressive seventh-straight season.
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SEU looks to put forth another high-caliber season without some key components from last season's team. The Fire will be without the 2020-21 Sun Conference Player of the Year and Second Team NAIA All-American Gabrielle Ozoude, who averaged 17 points and nine rebounds per game last season. The Fire also lose Second Team All-SUN small forward Carmen Handy, who averaged 9.5 points per contest and shot 31.4% from three-point range last year.
 
Graduate shooting guard Haley Howarth leads the way for key Fire returners. Howarth was a First Team All-Sun Conference selection and NAIA All-American Honorable Mention in 2021. Howarth averaged 13.6 points per game and shot 33.5% (83-248) from behind the arc last season. Second Team All-SUN and reigning SUN Champion of Character Madi Hecox is also back for SEU. The graduate shooting guard averaged 11.2 points per game, 4.9 rebounds per game, and shot 40.2% (43-107) from three-point land last year.
 
After a one-year hiatus from the program, senior shooting guard Raegan Linster is back in an SEU uniform. In the 2019-20 season, Linster was a First Team All-SUN selection, averaging 14.1 points per game, five rebounds per contest, and leading SEU in three-pointers made (84).
 
"This is a very balanced and deep group, shared SEU head coach Tim Hays, who was named The Sun Conference Coach of the Year last season for a fourth-straight year. "The level of maturity and IQ is as high as it has been in the past few years."
 
The 2021-22 SEU women's basketball roster features a total of eight newcomers from four different states and three different countries.
 
Senior small forward Leilah Vigil joins the Fire Family from NCAA Division I University of San Francisco, where she appeared in 35 games over the last two seasons and was All-West Coast Conference Honorable Mention in 2019-20 after averaging 12.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Graduate center Angela Perry is another key newcomer for SEU, hailing from NCAA DI Bowling Green State University, where she appeared in 102 career games over four seasons. Perry was Honorable Mention All-Mid-American Conference in 2019-20 after averaging 14 points per game and leading the conference in field goal percentage at 57.7%.
 
Senior point guard Gabby Suarez joins the SEU squad after serving as the starting point guard for Indiana Wesleyan last season. Suarez averaged 10.5 points and 3.7 assists per game for an IWU team that reached the NAIA Final Four last season. Graduate shooting guard Marta Aranda is another fresh face for the Fire, making the cross-town jump from NCAA Division II Florida Southern College, where Aranda averaged 11.2 points per game and shot 42.9% from three-point range last season.
 
"Our depth and shooting ability at the guard position is going to be very good," added Coach Hays. "We also have some veteran D1 post transfers who will be an anchor for us inside. This team will have the ability to pressure defensively and will be quick in transition."
 
The Fire open the season this week with a trio of games on the road in Montana. First, the Fire take on the University of Providence Argos tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. eastern.