LAKELAND, Fla. - Southeastern defeated Keiser 88-68 in the semifinal round of the Sun Conference Tournament, advancing them to Saturday night's championship, and one step closer to a conference title.
In their fourth matchup of the season, both teams struggled early on to generate points offensively. For the first three minutes of play, the game remained scoreless until
Madi Hecox put in a layup with 7:03 left in the first quarter. At the end of the first, the Fire led 10-5.
The Seahawks tied it up early on in the second quarter on a good three-pointer by Emily Patton, making it 12-12. To follow, the Fire went on a 12-0 run, starting with a pair of free-throws from
Gabrielle Ozoude. Southeastern headed into the half leading 33-18 over Keiser.
Ozoude finished the evening with 23 points and 13 rebounds, making it her conference-leading eighth double-double of the year. This past week, Ozoude earned the Sun Conference Player of the Year.
Bekki Kalaydjiev scored 22 points, making 3-6 from the three-point line. Kaladjiev also dished out 8 assists and had 5 steals.
Madi Hecox and
Carmen Handy were also in double-figures, Hecox scoring 15 and Handy with 10 points.
The Fire shot 51% from the field and 32% from the three-point line.
Southeastern will play for a conference title tomorrow night, facing the St. Thomas Bobcats at 7 p.m.
