LAKELAND, Fla.—The Fire may be peaking at the right time.
A stellar offensive performance led by Tournament MVP
Bekki Kalaydjiev's 26 points and eight assists helped Southeastern win the Sun Conference Tournament Championship with a 93-54 victory.
"I think our chemistry is just starting to gel," said coach
Tim Hays. "We knew if that could happen, we could probably peak late. What you saw tonight was just a result of incredible chemistry and work that is just now starting to pay off."
The Fire missed just 15 shots in the second half and finished the game 52.2% from the field and connected on 14 3-pointers. Kalaydjiev was a perfect 5-for-5 from 3-point range
"I haven't seen a more complete point guard performance since I've been here and we've had some pretty good ones," said Hays of Kalaydjiev. "Her shooting ability right now is phenomenal and she's making the right decisions."
During the second quarter, the Fire used six 3-pointers to create some space and take a 46-21 lead into halftime.
"We learned a lot from our mistakes and executed really well today," said Kalaydjiev. "It led to some easy transition points for us. The whole team fought as a team together this week."
Southeastern also buckled down on defense in the second half, holding the Bobcats to just eight made field goals and just 23 total points.
"We felt like there were some lapses the last couple of games, but statistically this is the best defense we've ever had," said Hays. "I felt like we were consistent but had some moments where we let up a little bit."
To add an exclamation mark, the Fire finished the game on a 23-5 run over the last eight minutes of the game.
Haley Howarth joined Kalaydjiev on the All-Tournament Team with a 21-point performance which included six 3-pointers.
Gabrielle Ozoude was also an All-Tournament selection with 16 points and 12 rebounds in the final.
Southeastern will return to action during the NAIA National Championship Opening Round, which it will host March 12
th and 13
th.
