By: Brooks Tait – JCFloridan.com
The Chipola men and women's basketball teams both had games on the road this past Saturday. The Lady Indians moved to 5-0 on the season, with another commanding win over Fort Benning, 84-46. The men lost to Georgia Highlands College, 80-70, falling to 2-5 overall on the season.
Saturday's game against Fort Benning for the Lady Indians was their second 38-point victory on the weekend, tying Friday night's performance as the lowest spread that the Lady Indians have won by all season. Rosemarie Julien shot 10-14 from the field and 8-10 from the free throw line, totaling 30 points for Chipola. She also contributed 5 rebounds and 6 steals to the victory. Evelyn Akhator, in addition to her 22 points, had 10 steals and 16 rebounds.
Head coach Greg Franklin said, "I really want to praise my high energy kids: Akhator, Julien, [Kendra] Martin, [Auteaonna] Gilmore. They're getting better and better because of their work ethic. We need the rest of the girls to follow suit. When they do, then we'll be at a level to be contending for a national championship."
This weekend, the Lady Indians will be looking for two more wins in the Northwest Florida Rick Flores Classic in Niceville, facing Monroe Community College at 1:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon, and Clinton Junior College at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
The Indians' loss on Saturday came to a tough Georgia Highlands team, who led most of the game against Chipola. The Indians struggled to put points on the board, but especially early in the second half, when they were already down by ten. Chipola did manage to cut the lead to six late in the game, but fell short in the end because of turnovers.
"We're still going through some growing pains," said assistant coach Josh Daeche.
Despite the loss, Dejuan Marrero did have another double-double, scoring 13 points and bringing down 17 rebounds. Kevin Scott also played well with 15 points, shooting 3-6 from 3-point range. Tra-Deon Hollins also managed 7 steals for the Indians.
Missing for Chipola on Saturday night was former Malone Tiger, Ty Baker, who bruised his knee in Friday's game, but is expected to be back on Thursday when the Indians take on Lawson State on the road at 7:00 p.m.