By: Dustin Kent - JCFloridan.com
The No. 4 Chipola Lady Indians took a big step towards a Panhandle Conference championship Wednesday night in Niceville, holding off a late Northwest Florida State surge to earn a 53-52 victory.
The win was the 13th in a row for the Lady Indians, who moved to 8-0 in conference play and two full games up on the Lady Raiders with four league games to go, and also clinched a berth in the state tournament.
"It was a big win," Chipola coach Greg Franklin said. "And I don't think we could've played any worse."
It certainly wasn't the comfortable double digit victory that the Lady Indians have made a habit of this season, as Northwest used a 10-0 run late in the second half to tie the game at 50-50 with just over a minute to play.
But Khadijah Ellison answered with a runner in the lane to put Chipola back on top, and a free throw by Diamonisha Sophus following a Northwest turnover and foul made it 53-50.
Northwest Florida State had one last chance to tie, but a corner three-point attempt rimmed in and out and a follow by Tyshara Fleming with 0.7 seconds to play was too little too late, as Chipola held on to win despite shooting just 37 percent overall and going 2-of-18 from the three-point line and 7-of-16 from the foul line.
"We just struggled shooting the basketball," Franklin said. "But we didn't turn it over as much and I think that was the key to the game."
Chipola committed 15 turnovers on the night and forced Northwest into 33 giveaways.
That proved too much to overcome for the Lady Raiders despite outrebounding Chipola 43-35 and getting 25 points from Simone Westbrook.
Ellison led the Lady Indians with 16 points and six steals, while Treyvonna Brooks added 10 points, and Evelyn Akhator had nine points, 10 rebounds, and four blocked shots.
Fleming added a double-double for Northwest with 10 points and 12 boards.
Franklin said he was very happy that, despite the poor shooting and sending the Lady Raiders to the foul line 23 times, his team still found a way to win against a Northwest team that came into the game 8-1 at home and that is 6-0 against Panhandle teams outside of Chipola.
"I thought the way they played showed a lot of character at the end," the coach said of his players. "The ball wasn't falling for us, but we were able to take care of the ball and defend and that was the ballgame. It tells you the true character of your team when you can do something like that."
Up next for Chipola is a road trip to Pensacola on Saturday to take on the winless in conference Pensacola State Lady Pirates, who the Lady Indians have beaten by 15 and 32 points in the first two meetings.
With their two toughest road games (Gulf Coast State and Northwest Florida State) behind them, the Lady Indians go into the final third of the league schedule with not only a great chance to win the conference, but also a great look at a perfect season.
"We're in a good position to try to do that, but we're still thinking one game at a time," Franklin said. "I know it's been a long time since they've won a conference championship here, so that's what we're striving to do and I hope we can bring it home."