SIOUX CITY, IOWA—Missing its first 17 shots from 3-point range had top-seeded Southeastern down early against Bethel (Tenn.) in the NAIA National Championship Round of 16.
The Fire outscored the 12
th-seeded Wildcats 47-22 in the second 20 minutes to come away with a 70-48 win to advance to Saturday's national quarterfinal.
Trailing 26-23 at halftime, the Fire (32-1) came out strong with a 10-2 run to build a 33-26 advantage at the 6:23 mark of the third which started and ended with a 3-pointer by
Gabby Suarez. During the third quarter, Southeastern was 4-for-9 from the 3-point line and was 3-of-6 from inside of it to lead 44-35 going to the fourth.
"I don't think we took bad shots or did anything rushed, I just felt like we weren't knocking shots down," said coach
Tim Hays. "Halftime adjustments were pretty easy; what we were doing on defense was working, keep rebounding, and knock down shots."
The group knocked down even more in the fourth quarter, going 9-of-18 as a group. Grad transfer
Angela Perry led the way with 21 points, getting 11 of those in the second half.
"We knew that if we kept getting the shots we wanted they would eventually fall," said Perry. "We felt pretty good knowing there was a whole second half to play."
Perry finished the game 8-of-12 from the field with five rebounds and two blocks in 25 minutes.
Leilah Vigil finished with 11 points and three rebounds off the bench.
Rebecca Cook had a balanced game, with eight points, seven rebounds, six assists, a block, and a steal.
