LAKELAND, Fla.--The Fire women's basketball team lost to the St. Thomas Bobcats in Sun Conference nailbiter Wednesday night after giving up 30 points off of 19 turnovers.
St. Thomas took sole possession of first place in the conference with a 79-74 win for their ninth SUN victory of the season.
After a three-pointer from
Bekki Kalaydjiev, the Fire gave up four turnovers in the first three minutes of the game that led to a 10-0 run for the Bobcats. Southeastern came back with a run of their own to make the game 17-15 in favor of St. Thomas heading into the second quarter.
The Fire and Bobcats traded baskets throughout the second quarter and a layup by Kalaydjiev with 1:50 left in the quarter gave the Fire a 36-33 lead. However, after back-to-back baskets from Marta Franco, sent the Fire to the locker room down by two.
The third quarter started similarly to the second with baskets being traded back and forth by the teams. An and-one opportunity from
Kiki Britzmann tied the game at 41 with 8:29 left in the third. This trend did not continue as the Bobcats went on an 18-3 run that gave them a 14-point lead with three minutes left in the third. The Fire struggled with turnovers the entire quarter but were able to rally back after a timeout and a pair of free throws from Kalaydjiev.
Southeastern was able to carry this momentum into the fourth quarter with a 12-2 run. This run was aided by
Mya Herman and
Rebecca Cook each knocking down a three to re-take the lead at 64-62 with 6:47 left in the game. Unfortunately, this momentum would end and result in the Bobcats taking the game after outscoring the Fire 7-2 over the final 1:11.
Kalaydjiev finished with a season-high 24 points and added four rebounds, and five assists. Herman and Britzmann added 11 points each with Britzmann recording a team-high six rebounds.
The Fire return to action Saturday in a road game against Coastal Georgia.
