By: Dustin Kent - JCFloridan.com
The Chipola Lady Indians were seeded second in the NJCAA Women's National Championship tournament in Salina, Kan., this week.
After their opening performance against ASA College (N.Y.) on Wednesday afternoon, the question might be whether the Lady Indians were seeded too low.
Chipola faced off with the 18th-seeded Avengers and cruised to an 81-46 victory, dominating for virtually the entire game en route to its 32nd win of the season and 21st in a row.
Tiffany Lewis led the Lady Indians with 19 points on 5-of-11 from the three-point line, with Evelyn Akhator adding 16 points and 13 rebounds, and Brianna Wright 16 points and nine boards.
Brittany Jackson scored 22 points for ASA College and Erica Juarbe added 14, but the other 11 Avengers players combined to score just 10 points on 2-of-14 shooting against the stingy Chipola defense.
The Avengers led on three separate occasions in the game's first eight minutes and for the last time after a steal and layup by Jackson made it 10-9 with 12:03 to halftime.
A basket by Akhator put Chipola back up for good on the ensuing possession and sparked a 15-0 run to allow the Lady Indians to take control of the game.
Akhator scored eight points during the run after picking up two early fouls, with Wright adding four points, and Diamonisha Sophus getting a steal and finding Treyvonna Brooks ahead of the defense for a layup to make it 23-10 with eight minutes on the clock.
A free throw by Brooks capped off the run, with a bucket by Wright and a three-pointer by Lewis making it 29-13 with 5:22 to half.
Chipola continued to rain down triples late in the half to create even more separation, with Rahni Bell knocking in a three to make it 34-15, and Lewis making two more to increase the lead to 42-18.
It was a 22-point margin at halftime and the Lady Indians pushed it to 32 with 12:33 to play with a 15-5 run to start the second half capped by a three-pointer from Bell to make it 57-25.
Bell had eight points on 2-for-4 from the three-point line, with Chipola hitting seven triples as a team compared to three for ASA.
The Avengers made just 3-of-14 from long distance and shot 31.7 percent from the field overall while committing 29 turnovers to only 16 for Chipola.
The Lady Indians also dominated the glass at both ends, outrebounding the Avengers 50-31 and grabbing 22 offensive rebounds.
Chipola will next take on No. 10 seed Butler Community College, who took a 51-39 win over Shelton State today at 3 p.m.