SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The sixth-seeded Southeastern University women's basketball team couldn't overcome a fast start by Indiana Wesleyan in their 83-70 loss in the Round of 16 of the NAIA Women's Basketball Tournament.
After relying on their defense throughout the season, holding opponents to shoot just 31.6% on the season, Indiana Wesleyan shot 51.7% from the field, including 37.9% (11-29) from 3-PT range.
The IWU Wildcats couldn't miss out of the gate and took a 26-16 after the first ten minutes of action. Sun Conference Player of the Year
Gabrielle Ozoude kept the Fire in the game, scoring 12 of her 29 points in the first quarter.
SEU cut into their deficit in the second quarter as they entered halftime trailing 40-33 as the Fire outscored the Wildcats 17-14.
Three-point shooting was the difference in the first half as the Wildcats knocked down five shots (5-13) from deep compared to the Fire's one (1-5).
Ozoude led the Fire in scoring and rebounds with 20 points and four rebounds while
Madi Hecox led Southeastern with three assists entering halftime. Hecox ended the game with ten points and she and Ozoude were the only SEU players to reach double-digit point totals.
Southeastern couldn't gain any ground on IWU in the third as they were outscored 21-15 by the Wildcats who were paced by Anne Secrest's game-high 32 points and 13 rebounds.
The margin would remain 13 points as each team scored 22 points in the final ten minutes to reach the final of 83-70.
Bekki Kalaydjiev tallied nine points with a pair of blocks and steals while
Haley Howarth totaled eight points, four rebounds, and four assists.
