MARIANNA, Fla. – With each team coming off of back-to back losses, the Chipola men's and women's basketball teams will welcome the Commodores and Lady Commodores from Gulf Coast State College to the Milton H. Johnson Center tonight. The Lady Indians will tip off against the #1 Lady Commodores at 5:30 PM with the #19 Chipola men squaring off with the Commodores at 7:30 PM.
Lady Indians (18-6; 2-4 PC) vs. #1 Gulf Coast Lady Commodores (20-1; 5-0)
After falling to #3 Northwest Florida a week ago and #16 Pensacola State on Saturday, the Lady Indians have the unenviable task of welcoming the number one team in the nation to The Milt. Chipola will be looking to repeat what they did a season ago when they knocked off #1 Gulf Coast, 83-76, in Marianna.
Chipola has fallen into a tie for third place with Pensacola State with six conference games remaining in conference play. At the minimum, Chipola will need to keep pace with the Lady Pirates and win the rubber match between the two teams on February 21 at The Milt in order to advance to their fourth consecutive FSCAA/Region VIII Tournament.
By virtue of their 74-42 win at home over Northwest Florida, the Lady Commodores are at the top of the standings by one game over the Raiders.
In the previous meeting between the two rivals, Gulf Coast controlled the game from the jump and coated to an 83-55 at the Billy Harrison Fieldhouse in Panama City.
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CHIPOLA |
GULF COAST |
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Leading Scorer |
Tahnyjia Purifoy (18.7 ppg) |
Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu (18.3 ppg) |
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Leading Rebounder |
Zaaliyah Kailahi-Fulu (7.9 rpg) |
Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu (12.6 rpg) |
Game Notes:
- Gulf Coast has a three-game winning streak against the Lady Indians. Chipola has not defeated the Lady Commodores since they upset #1 ranked Gulf Coast on January 14, 2023, 83-76, at The Milt.
- Gulf Coast has won the series the last two years, going 2-1 a season ago and 3-1 in 2021-2022. Chipola last won the season series in 2020-2021, when the Lady Indians swept the Commodores 5-0 including a win in the FCSAA/Region VIII State Championship.
- Over the last 25 years, the Chipola and Gulf Coast have combined to win 19 FCSAA/Region VIII Women's Basketball Championships.
- Chipola sophomore Tahnyjia Purifoy is sixth in the NJCAA in total points with 449. Five points separate third and sixth place in the standings.
#19 Indians (20-4; 4-2 PC) vs. Gulf Coast Commodores (16-7; 2-3)
For the first time in the Donnie Tyndall era at Chipola, the Indians are coming off of back-to-back losses and have lost three of their last four games. Gulf Coast has also lost their last two games and three of their last four. In the first meeting between the two teams on Janaury 20, the Indians held on for a 76-72 victory in Panama City.
Chipola did not lose the lead in the conference standings thanks to Tallahassee's 96-86 upset of Northwest Florida this past Saturday. After reaching as high as fourth in the NJCAA Rankings, Chipola will be looking to get to look back on track tonight against the Commodores. In the last two games, Chipola has been below the 50% mark from the free throw lane, including a 5-for-14 performance against Pensacola last Saturday.
Gulf Coast is also coming off of back-to-back losses against the Pirates and the Raiders. In their last game, the Commodores struggled from the floor against the Pirates, shooting 13-of-49 (26.5%).
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CHIPOLA |
GULF COAST |
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Leading Scorer |
Dontae Walker (12.6 ppg) |
Jaxon Ellingsworth (17.3 ppg) |
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Leading Rebounder |
Jerald Colonel (6.3 rpg) |
Jaxon Ellingsworth (5.6 rpg) |
Game Notes:
- Chipola is 10-2 against the Commodores under Coach Donnie Tyndall, including the last six in the series. The only two losses were in the Billy Harrison Fieldhouse in the first meetings of each of the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.
- Chipola tumbled to 19th in the latest NJCAA Rankings and 5th in the FCSAA. The Indians are 12th in the national Massey Ratings.
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