Women's Basketball Bests NCAA DII Barry in Exhibition

LAKELAND, Fla.- The No. 5 Southeastern University women's basketball team defeated the NCAA Division II Barry University Buccaneers 74-65 in an exhibition contest Saturday afternoon inside The Furnace.


SEU graduate transfer center Angela Perry led the way for the Fire, scoring a team-high 24 points (10-13 FG), 14 of which came in the second half.


The active hands of the Fire on defense paid dividends, as Southeastern scored 20 points off of 27 Barry turnovers forced on the contest.


SEU got a hot start, opening up the first quarter on a 7-0 run and eventually holding a 20-9 advantage in the period. Fire junior shooting guard Haley Howarth nailed two three-pointers in the first quarter to help total 10 of her 13 game points in the first quarter. The Buccaneers closed the period on a 9-0 run to trim the SEU lead to 20-18.


Both teams made five field goals each in the second quarter to keep pace with each other 14-14. The Fire took the slight edge 34-32 into the locker room.


The Buccaneers heated up from behind the arc in the second half, shooting 42.9% (3-7) from three-point land in the third quarter. However, it was Perry's dominance in the paint that helped the Fire keep ahead of BU, as she went 3-5 in the paint and 1-1 from three in the period to total nine points. SEU took a 54-49 lead into the final quarter of action.


Southeastern saved its best defensive play for crunch time, as the Fire held the Buccaneers to just 25% (5-20) from the field and 21.4% (3-14) from behind the arc throughout the final 10 minutes of play.


An 11-0 SEU run midway through the fourth earned the Fire their largest lead of the contest at 67-52 with 4:14 to go. Barry was able to trim the SEU advantage to five in the closing moments, but ultimately it was the Fire who stood tall at the final whistle.


Perry hauled in five rebounds to accompany her sizable point total. Senior shooting guard Raegan Linster was 7-7 at the free throw line to fuel her 12-point total and also pulled down six boards. 

The Fire return to countable play at the Bryan Invitational in Dayton, Tennessee next weekend. The Fire first will face the Reinhardt University Eagles on Friday at 5:00 p.m.