Score: Keiser 84, Southeastern 80 (OT)
Records: Keiser (16-11, 7-8 SUN), Southeastern (12-14, 9-7 SUN)
Location: The Furnace, Lakeland, Fla.
Keiser Starters: Shykim Gillion (G), Kennedy Schlabach (G), Julia Fitzwater(G), Elise Ellison-Coons (F), Elliana Schaefer (G).
Southeastern Starters: Gabby Suarez (G), Raegan Linster (G), Kiki Britzmann (F), Josselin Geer (G), Emilia Sexton (G).

Senior Kennedy Schlabach guided the Keiser women's basketball team to an 84-80 overtime victory over the Southeastern Fire on Thursday. Snapping a 16-game losing skid to the Fire, the Seahawks used a strong second quarter to hand the Fire their fourth home loss of the season and spoil SEU's Senior Night. 

Schlabach was one of four Seahawks to score in double-figures (Janiece Thomas - 18; Julia Fitzwater - 12; Shykim Gillion - 10). The senior point guard scored six of the team's 17 points during the overtime frame while hitting the game-tying 3-pointer with under a minute left in regulation, sending the game to overtime. It marked the second overtime game for the Seahawks this season (1-1).
 
Southeastern led by four with 1:50 left in regulation. After Janiece Thomas hit 1-of-2 free-throw attempts to cut the Fire lead to three (1:28), Shykim Gillion corralled a key rebound giving the Seahawks the ball with under a minute to play. With 44 second on the game clock, Kennedy Schlabach drained the game-tying 3-pointer to send the game to overtime. In the extra frame, KU out-scored the Fire, 17-13, including two free throws by Schlabach to seal the victory.  
 

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Southeastern 16, Keiser 13

• The Fire got the scoring start with a made jumper by Emilia Sexton (9:18).
• Elliana Schaefer tied the game with a pair of made free throws at the 8:53 mark, 2-2.
• Sexton pushed the Fire lead to five, 7-2, with a bucket from long range (6:06).
• KU's Elise Ellison-Coons brought the deficit to three her first bucket of the game, 7-4 (5:36).
• Kennedy Schlabach found Janiece Thomas, who hit her first shot of the day (4:29) to make it a one-point game, 7-6.
• Schlabach hit two from the charity stripe (3:14) to give Keiser an 8-7 lead.
• Kiki Britzmann regained the lead for SEU with her first points of the game, 9-8 (2:18).
• A 3-pointer by Schlabach with 00:53 left in the quarter gave KU a 13-11 lead.
• SEU responded with a triple of its own as Sexton hit from downtown, 14-13.
• Sexton hit a shot at the buzzer to give SEU a three-point lead.

Keiser 39, Southeastern 32

• Ellison-Coons tied the game at 16-16 with her second basket of the night (8:32). The score came off an assist by Schaefer.
• After an SEU bucket put the Fire back on top, Ellison-Coons responded again to tie the game with 7:49 on the clock (7:49).
• Both teams exchanged 3-pointers as Julia Fitzwater tied the game with her first score of the game (6:53), 21-21.
• Trailing by four, 25-21, Fitzwater hit another bucket from beyond the arc to make it a 25-24 game with 6:02 left in the half.
• Gillion pushed Keiser into the lead with 5:34 on the game clock with a made jumper, 26-25.
• Another 3-pointer by Fitzwater gave Keiser a 29-26 advantage (4:45).
• Fitzwater scored her 12th point of the quarter with another 3-pointer (4:16) giving the Seahawks a 32-26 edge.
• Britzmann cut the Keiser lead to 32-28 with 4:03 remaining in the half;
• On the ensuing possession, Taylor Jones converted an "And-1" play giving Keiser a 35-28 lead.
• Schlabach extended KU's lead at the 2:59 mark, 37-28.
• The Fire scored four unanswered points before Gillion hit a shot at the buzzer.

Keiser 53, Southeastern 50

• SEU's Anja Knoflach scored the first basket of the second half (9:18) to cut the Keiser lead to 39-34.
• With 9:01 on the game clock, Thomas scored KU's first points of the second half, 41-34.
• Thomas scored her second straight bucket (8:23) to give KU a 43-34 lead.
• Knoflach countered with a 3-pointer at the 8:08 mark (43-37).
• Thomas scored her sixth straight point with a layup at the 7:42 mark.
• The Fire rattled off four straight points to make it 45-41 with 6:18 remaining in the third.
• After a 3-pointer by Knoflach cut Keiser's lead to 47-44, Schlabach was a perfect 2-of-2 from the charity stripe to push lead back to five (5:42).
• Gabby Suarez pulled the Fire within three, 49-46 (3:13).
• SEU's Raley Brown made it a one-possession game with 2:13 left in the third, 50-48.
• Jones gave KU a 53-50 lead with 34 seconds on the game clock.

Keiser 67, Southeastern 67

• Thomas reached double-digits in scoring to give Keiser a 56-50 lead after a bucket and the foul with 9:07 left to play.
• Suarez hit a jumper for the Fire with 8:29 on the game clock to make it a 56-52 game.
• A pair of made free throws by Jones with 6:50 left in the game, gave Keiser a 58-52 lead.
• The Fire's Knoflach hit a jumper with 5:49 on the game clock to make it a 58-54 contest.
• Gillion responded with a score the Seahawks as KU led 60-54 with 5:22 left in the game.
• SEU cut the Keiser lead to one, 60-59, following a layup by Suarez with 4:15 on the clock.
• Schlabach gave KU a 63-59 lead hitting her second 3-pointer of the game (3:52).
• The Fire used a 6-0 run to take the lead, 65-63 (3:09).
• Suarez added two more points for the Fire from the free-throw line, 67-63.
• Thomas went 1-of-2 from the free-throw line for the Seahawks to cut the Fire lead to 67-64 (1:28).
• A key defensive board by Gillion led to a game-tying 3-pointer by Schlabach with 44 seconds left in the contest, 67-67.

First Overtime  
Keiser 84, Southeastern 80

• The Fire struck first with a 3-pointer by Knoflach to take a 70-67 lead with 4:53 on the game clock.
• Schaefer countered that score with a 3-pointer of her own, tying the game at 70-70 with 4:15 left in overtime.
• Thomas went to the line at the 3:51 mark, hitting both shots and giving Keiser a 72-70 advantage.
• Britzmann made just 1-of-2 attempts at the line making it a 72-71 game with 3:33 remaining.
• A three-point play by Thomas with 3:20 left in overtime extended Keiser's lead to 75-71.
• Schlabach pushed Keiser's lead to 77-73 with 2:37 on the clock but SEU's Sexton responded with a basket of her own (77-75 - 2:22).
• After a Gillion steal forced the Fire to foul, Schlabach gave KU a 79-75 lead with two makes from the charity stripe.
• Jones went 1-of-2 from the free-throw line, giving the Seahawks an 80-75 edge with 26 seconds left on the game clock.
• Britzmann converted a layup with 16 seconds on the clock to cut Keiser's lead to 80-77.
• Forced to foul, SEU sent Gillion to the line where she went 2-of-2 (82-77 - 00:13).
• Sexton hit a 3-pointer with 00:03 left in overtime as SEU pulled within two, 82-80.
• After the Seahawks called a 30-second timeout, Schlabach was sent to the line, hitting both attempts and giving Keiser the 84-80 lead.

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• The win improves Keiser to 16-11 overall this season and 7-8 in Sun Conference action.
• The win moved Keiser into the sixth spot in the SUN Standings.
• The win marked the Seahawk's third straight in conference action.
• With the win, Keiser improves to 4-4 in conference games on the road this season.
• With the win, Keiser improves to 10-21 all-time versus the Fire.
• With the win, the Seahawks snapped a 16-game losing skid to the Fire.
• The Seahawks are now 3-11 all-time versus the Fire in Lakeland, Florida.
• The Seahawks are now 7-20 all-time versus SEU in Sun Conference action.
• The game marked Keiser's second overtime contest this season (1-1) and improved the Seahawks to 8-8 all-time in overtime games.

• The Seahawks used a strong second quarter to set the tone, out-scoring the Fire, 26-16.
• Kennedy Schlabach scored a team-high 24 points, including a 9-of-10 performance from the free-throw line.
• Also scoring in double-figures were Janiece Thomas (18), Julia Fitzwater (12), and Shykim Gillion (10).
• Schlabach's 20-point outing was her seventh of the season.
• Thomas' 18 points were a season high for the first-year Seahawk.
• All 12 of Fitzwater's points came in the second quarter.
• Gillion also led Keiser in rebounding with 10 for her first double-double of the season.
• With three 3-pointers made in the game, Schlabach increased her team-leading total to 78 this season - No. 2 in the Keiser single-season record books.
• Shooting 90.0 percent from the free-throw line on Thursday, Schlabach leads the conference in free-throw shooting percentage (.876). 

 

• Ties: 8
• Lead Changes: 7
• Largest Lead: Keiser (9); Southeastern (5)

Keiser

• Points: Kennedy Schlabach (24)
• Rebounds:Gillion (10)
• Assists: Schlabach (4)

 
Southeastern

• Points: Anja Knoflach (23)
• Rebounds: Kiki Britzmann (10)
• Assists: Gabby Suarez (8)

The Seahawks return home to host the Ave Maria Gyrenes on Senior Day on Saturday, February 18. Game time is set for 2:00 PM.