Box Score LAKELAND, Fla. – Southeastern University rallied from a halftime deficit and held off a late run by Brewton-Parker for an 89-85 season-opening victory at The Furnace tonight.
Anaya Coleman converted a 3-point play and gave the Fire their largest lead of the night, 79-69, with 5:15 left. Leading 87-77 after a Jodi Mullins layup, SEU saw its advantage start to slip away after Brewton-Parker took advantage of two missed shots and three Fire turnovers to cut the lead to 87-85 with 15 seconds remaining. Mullins stepped to the line with three seconds left and connected on two free throws to seal the Fire victory.
With the win, the Fire recorded their 11th-straight season-opening victory. SEU prevailed over Faulkner University last season in the first game by a 70-64 margin.
"They team did well tonight," said Head Coach Joshua Epperson. "They played for each other and shared the ball well."
On the night, SEU drained 13-of-24 three pointers (54.1%). However, Brewton-Parker out-rebonded the Fire, 37-27, to keep the game close.
Mya Herman, Coleman and Mullins accounted for 62 of the team's 89 points on the night. Herman led the way by hitting 7 of her 13 shots, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range for a team-high 23 points to go with five steals, three assists and two rebounds.
Coleman was right behind Herman, shooting 5-of-11 from the field with a pair of treys and made all eight free throws for 20 points. She added six assists, three rebounds and two steals. Mullins made 6-of-9 field goals for 19 points, including the team's final four points while adding two assists.
Epperson, who picked up his first win as the Fire head coach, was incredibly pleased with the offensive output. "We have the ability to score on all three levels, which makes us really difficult to guard."
Both Kacilyn Krebs and Kassidy Jones drained a pair of 3-pointers apiece. Krebs netted eight points, two steals and one assist, while Jones added six points and three boards. Grace Field and Ariana Smuda chipped in four points and a combined seven rebounds.
Brewton-Parker's Destanee Wright finished with high-honors of 24 points and nine rebounds.
The visiting Barons built an early 9-4 lead and downed a final moments triple for a 19-13 first frame lead. In a 57-point second quarter between the teams, the Fire battled back from down by as many as eight, 29-21, until a Herman 3-pointer gave her team a 41-39 edge with 2:04 left in the half. Herman hit another trey with five seconds left to pull SEU within a point, 45-44, at intermission.
Trailing 47-44 early in the third period, SEU went on a 6-0 run to take the lead then held the advantage over the final 18 minutes of the game.
The Fire return to action tomorrow night when they host Nelson University at the Furnace. Tip off is at 6 p.m.
