WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.—On a night where baskets were hard to come by, Southeastern found a way to win and finish a perfect 16-0 in Sun Conference play.
Down four with 5:00 to go, Southeastern buckled down defensively and held Keiser to just one made field goal in the final five minutes to come away with a 56-53 win.
A jumper from the right elbow by
Gabby Suarez and a pair of
Rebecca Cook free throws tied the game at 48 with 4:16 to play.
Leilah Vigil stepped up in the final few minutes, coming up with a pair of layups and a key block with 3:55 left to help the Fire go up 52-49 with 2:39 left.
Vigil finished with a team-high 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal.
A
Raegan Linster 3-pointer with 1:32 left made it a two-possession game with SEU leading 55-51, but the Seahawks followed 20 seconds later with a layup to make it a two-point game.
Linster joined Vigil in double figures with 11 points and added five rebounds and four assists.
The Fire missed five free throws in the final 35 seconds to keep the door open for Keiser, which had three chances to tie or take the lead during that span but missed two shots and were called for an offensive foul.
Southeastern held a seven-point lead with 6:11 to go in the first quarter thanks to a 9-0 run and again with 4:48 left in the first. A layup by Vigil gave the Fire an 18-16 lead at the end of the first. At halftime, the Fire led 29-27.
In the third, the Fire were limited to just nine points with three of those coming on a 3-pointer by
Haley Howarth with six seconds left to tie the game at 38 to start the third quarter.
Southeastern will return to action next Friday at home in The Sun Conference Tournament Semifinal.
