By: Dustin Kent - JCFloridan.com 

The No. 5 Chipola Lady Indians took three more wins over the weekend in Lake Worth, and they had to do it without four key players out due to injury or suspension.

Starting point guard Diamonisha Sophus and reserve guard Naomi Moore were suspended for all three games, while reserve forward Justina James was held out of Sunday's win over Palm Beach State after playing the first two games. 

The biggest loss of all came due to injury, with leading scorer, rebounder, and shot-blocker Evelyn Akhator missing all three contests due to a slight MCL tear that Chipola coach Greg Franklin said would keep her out for the rest of the month.

But the Lady Indians overcame the losses with wins of 91-47 over Wake Tech, 81-43 over Patrick Henry, and 59-48 over 13th-ranked host Palm Beach State.

The latter counts as one of the more impressive wins of the season for Chipola given the quality of opponent and the lack of its own full complement of players, with freshman post player Brianna Wright stepping up and scoring 21 points to go with nine rebounds and five steals in Akhator's place.

Wright's performance was key in countering the presence of highly-touted Palm Beach State post player Ashley Jones, who came in averaging 13 points and 11 rebounds per game but was limited to just eight points and eight rebounds on 2-of-8 shooting Sunday.

"Brianna went against the No. 1-ranked post player in the country by some services and she put together three of the best basketball games I've seen by a big player inside," Franklin said. "She was pretty much unstoppable. She was really poised and under control and had better balance than I've seen from her all year long. I told her she can be the best post player in the country when she plays like that. She really put us on her shoulders and carried us."

Wright also had 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting in the win over Wake Tech on Friday and followed it with a 20-point, 11-rebound effort on Saturday on 8-of-12 from the field.

For the week, Wright averaged 20.3 points and 8.3 rebounds while shooting 65 percent from the floor.

That kind of production was welcome for a team that had to replace arguably the best post player in the country in Akhator, who has been the anchor for the Lady Indians at both ends of the court this season.

"When you take 15 (points) and 13 (rebounds) and a couple of blocks and steals out of the lineup, you think you've have a drop-off, but Brianna Wright, Ebony Wells, and Treyvonna Brooks filled a void I didn't know could be filled and did a great job," Franklin said. "For them to do what they did, I take my hat off to them. That's all I can say."

Brooks had nine points, 12 rebounds, and five steals in the win over Wake Tech and added 17 points, five rebounds, and three steals against Patrick Henry.

Tiffany Lewis and Sueterrica Key also had big nights against Wake Tech, with Lewis making six three-pointers and scoring 19 points and Key scoring 15 points on 4-of-7 from the three-point line.

Key scored 11 points in the win over Patrick Henry and eight against Palm Beach State

Chipola also got solid play from freshman point guard Janisha Lindsey, who filled in for Sophus and had 18 assists to 10 turnovers in the three games and scored 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting in the win over Palm Beach.

"Janisha did an excellent job at the point guard spot. She really gave us a lot of poise and made some excellent passes," Franklin said. "My hat's off to the whole team in the way they handled themselves in that situation. I thought the team showed a lot of heart and a lot of guts and fought through a lot of adversity. They could've let it get the best of them and not come together and pointed fingers and been all 'woe is me,' but we had some people really step up in the last week."

While the coach said that James and Moore would have a chance to return to the team for the next games Sunday and Monday in Daytona, the road back for Sophus could be much steeper.

Franklin said her suspension was indefinite, but wouldn't specify the reason other than 'breaking team rules.'

"It's one of those things I won't deal with," the coach said. "It doesn't matter who you are, you have to adhere to what I want you to do. We're going to do it my way."

As for Akhator, the coach said that she is probably capable of playing in Daytona but would be held out until the start of Panhandle Conference play as a precaution.

Franklin said he expected that she would be back on the court for the team's league opener Jan. 4 at Pensacola State