LAKELAND, Fla.- For the second consecutive season, the Southeastern University women's basketball team will host an NAIA Opening Round that will begin with semifinals on Friday with the winners of the four-team bracket advancing to the finals on Saturday.
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As the top seed in the opening round, the 29-1 Fire will take on the fourth seed Xavier University in a rematch of last year's Opening Round Final contest at 3 p.m.
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The Gold Nuggets earned their birth into the National Tournament with a 21-6 overall record and the Red River Athletic Conference Regular Season Champions. As a team, the Gold Nuggets have put up 64.8 points per game backed by a 38.2 field goal percentage and 26.0 three-point percentage. Nia Bishop leads the scoring with 274 points and a field goal percentage of 40.8% while averaging 12.5 points per contest. Abryhia Irons is the Gold Nuggets' leading ball handler with 78 assists and 57 steals while also registering 169 rebounds.
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These two teams met last season under the same circumstances with the Fire coming out with the 70-47 victory to advance to the Round of 16.
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The winner of the contest will move on to play the winner of the matchup between the University of the Cumberlands and Rust College.
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The No. 1 nationally ranked Fire come into the Opening Round Tournament averaging 84.3 points per game with a field goal percentage of 48.2% and three-point percentage of 37.5% which both rank second nationally. The recently named Sun Conference Player of the Year,
Angela Perry, has been the largest contributor to the Fire's success this season with 534 total points and 18.4 per game with a 56.5 field goal percentage and percentage of 36.8 from beyond the arc while also averaging 6.5 rebounds per game.
Marta Aranda has also proven to be a key addition to the Fire lineup after recording 321 points, 107 assists, and 83 steals.
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To purchase tickets to the NAIA Women's Basketball Opening Round, go to https://southeastern.universitytickets.com/w/?cid=173.
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