LAKELAND, Fla. – Southeastern University used suffocating pressure defense to storm back and turn the tide on Tabor College, beating them 75-57 at The Furnace tonight.
Trailing by 16 points midway through the second quarter, SEU (10-3) ran off eight-straight points, allowed a Tabor free throw and followed with another 11 points, ending the half with a 35-33 edge. The Fire turned a slim 37-36 lead in the opening minutes of the third quarter to a double-digit margin, on another 12-0 run to make it 49-36, capped by a Courtni Demorest jumper. The home team allowed the Bluejays to within no more than 12 points in the final 15 minutes and enjoyed its largest advantage of 20 points, 66-46, as Victoria McKnight produced a layup and a 3-pointer on back-to-back attempts.
All in all, after falling behind 32-16 at the 5:50 mark of the second quarter, the Fire outscored the Bluejays 33-4 to take control and never looked back. SEU forced 25 turnovers on the night.
The Fire saw four players reach double figures led by Grace Field's 15-point total off the bench on 5-of-6 field goals to go with five rebounds, five steals, three assists and a blocked shot.
Anaya Coleman paced the starting five with 14 points, three assists and a block, while Mya Herman downed a pair of 3-pointers as part of her 12-point evening, swiping six passes and handing out a pair of assists. Jodi Mullins added 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
Demorest was one of four others who hit for five points as she also had three boards. Kassidy Jones had three rebounds and three steals to go with her five points. Alley Haas finished with five points and McKnight had her five on the back-to-back buckets. Ariana Smuda chipped in four rebounds.
Lillie Veer led the Blue Jays with 11 points and seven rebounds.
The Fire return to action on Friday, when they host Clarke University in the final game before Christmas break. Tip-off will be at 12 p.m.
