Lady Indians Defeat NWF on the Road 70-61
Lady Indians capture back-to-back conference titles by defeating NWF 70-61
By: Rolando Rosa - JCFloridan.com
The gravity of the accomplishment wasn't even on Chipola Lady Indians' women's basketball coach Greg Franklin's mind.
It was only in the aftermath of jubilation that he realized the magnitude of the special feat his squad produced.
The No.1 state ranked and No. 3 nationally ranked Lady Indians returned to the site of their lone loss this season and clinched their second straight Panhandle Conference championship with a 70-61 victory over No.2 state ranked and No.5 nationally ranked Northwest Florida State on Saturday.
Sueterrica Key and Auteaonna Gilmore each scored 20 points for the Lady Indians (27-1, 11-1). Evelyn Akhator added 15 points and 16 rebounds. Rosemarie Julien chipped in 15 as well.
Chipola enters the state tournament (March 4- March 7) as the No.1 seed from the Panhandle and will play vs. the No.3 seed from the South, which will likely be Miami-Dade.
"It hasn't even sunk in it," Franklin said. "I'm just so proud of these sophomores. They've battled for me for two years. I couldn't ask for anything more out of them."
To wrap up the conference at the site of Chipola's only defeat, 67-54 on Jan.17, was particularly gratifying for Franklin.
"We played a bad nine minute stretch in that game. They weren't listening in timeouts and doing what we needed to do so the wheels fell off," Franklin said. "Tonight, we were ready for their runs. We made big plays and did it together as a team, not as individuals. Every time they made a run we'd answer back with a layup or a bucket."
Franklin praised the play of sophomores Gilmore and Key. The coach admired the toughness Key displayed.
"Sue's been gutty all week. She turned her ankle in our last game but has been gutting it out," Franklin said. "Auteaonna's been coming on more aggressive and finding her way. She's been playing two positions for us. Her game's been ignited and she's head and shoulders made strides as the year's progressed."
The Lady Indians will use next week to recharge and lock in on the task of winning the tournament.
"We're excited," Franklin said. "We were all talking about how much we wanted the No.1 seed so we can get away from the Panhandle. We beat each other up so bad that we wanted to be able to exhale. No offense to any of the other teams out there but in our conference it's always a battle.