By: Dustin Kent - JCFloridan.com
In a matchup of the top two teams in the state – and arguably, the nation – it was the home team that won the first round, as the state No. 2 Chipola Lady Indians knocked off the top-ranked Gulf Coast Lady Commodores 68-61 Tuesday night in Marianna.
Sophomore Brianna Wright had 19 points and eight rebounds and freshman Evelyn Akhator had 17 points, 13 boards, and four blocked shots to help the Lady Indians improve to 2-0 in Panhandle Conference play and deal the Lady Commodores their first loss of the season.
It was the first of what could potentially be five meetings between the teams this season with both early favorites to make both the state and national tournaments, and Chipola coach Greg Franklin said it was imperative that his team take care of business at home.
"All of these games are going to be huge," the coach said after the game. "This year we're a little lucky because we get Gulf Coast and Northwest (Florida State) here twice and we had to go on the road to play both of them twice last year. Whenever you play those teams at home, it's a must-win."
Chipola faced a 36-31 halftime deficit after a 6-1 close to the first half but Gulf Coast capped off by a transition layup by Chelsey Rosier as time expired.
But the Lady Indians went back to what has been their most reliable weapon all season in the second half: their inside game.
After scoring just six points each in the first 20 minutes, the post duo of Akhator and Wright were dominant in the second half in combining for 24 points.
When Gulf Coast took a 49-44 lead midway through the second half, Chipola answered with a decisive 22-7 run that featured 11 points from Wright and nine from Akhator, all of which came in the paint or at the free throw line.
"After halftime, I thought we went with what we know works for us and that's feeding it into those girls down low," Franklin said. "They single-covered us and the girls took their time and did a nice job down there. I can't say enough about how well they played. At halftime, we said we're going to get them some touches and see if they can stop us."
Akhator got the big run started with a basket with just over 10 minutes to play that made it 49-46, with a pair of free throws and a hook shot by Wright followed by another bucket by Akhator tying the game with 6:16 left.
A pair of free throws by Akhator put Chipola up 56-54, and a Gulf Coast turnover resulting in a breakaway layup by Tiffany Lewis gave the Lady Indians a five-point edge with 3:37 to play.
Wright followed that with a bank shot in the post and an offensive rebound and put-back for a three-point play to make it 64-54 with 1:54 remaining.
Gulf Coast got it back to six at 66-60 after a three by Rosier, but a pair of free throws by Lewis with 19.4 seconds to play put Chipola back up eight and ended any notion of a miracle comeback.
Lewis finished with 13 points, but the normally reliable long-range shooter missed all six of her three-point attempts, and the Lady Indians struggled from the outside all game, making just 1-of-14 from three.
Sophomore point guard Diamonisha Sophus made her return to the lineup for Chipola after a six-game suspension for violation of team rules and had three assists and two turnovers in a brief appearance in the first half.
Destini Feagan had 17 points to lead Gulf Coast, with Dominique Powell adding 13 points, and Jessica Morton 10.
The Lady Commodores are now 16-1 on the year and will next play host to Tallahassee on Saturday, while the Lady Indians (18-1) are off until Tuesday when they go on the road to face Tallahassee.