McLaughlin's season-high lifts #1 Lady Indians past Pensacola

Jordan McLaughlin scored a season-high 22 points as the Lady Indians defeated Pensacola, 71-48. | Photo courtesy of Joseph Daniel Williams
Jordan McLaughlin scored a season-high 22 points as the Lady Indians defeated Pensacola, 71-48. | Photo courtesy of Joseph Daniel Williams

The Chipola women's basketball team pushed their winning streak to six with a 71-48 defeat of Pensacola State College at the Milton H. Johnson Center on Saturday evening. 

Sophomore guard, Jordan McLaughlin, led all scorers with 22 points, a season high. McLaughlin also added four rebounds, three assists, and six steals to her stat line. For the sixth consecutive game, De'Myla Brown and Isadora Sousa scored in double figures, tallying 15 points each.

The Lady Indians overcame a slow offensive start by shutting down the Lady Pirates in the first half. After the Lady Indians held a 12-11 lead at the end of the first quarter, Chipola would pick up the defensive pressure. The Lady Pirates managed to shoot only 23 percent in the first half. Chipola forced Pensacola into 13 turnovers and held the Lady Pirates to only one second chance shot in the second quarter. The pressure was too much for Pensacola, as Chipola outscored their opponent in the second quarter, 17-8, and took a 28-20 lead into the locker room.

In the second half the defensive pressure turned into better output offensively. The Lady Indians were 14 of 27 from the floor (51.9 percent) and used a big third quarter to pull away from the Lady Pirates. McLaughlin scored 18 of her 22 points in the second half, shooting 6-of-7 from the floor. 

The win pushed the #1 Lady Indians to 11-1 overall and 9-1 in Panhandle Conference play. Chipola will hit the road to take on Tallahassee (2-9; 1-8 PC) at 4:30 PM on Tuesday.

Team Notes

  • The third quarter has been the Achilles' heel of the Lady Indians throughout the season but not on Saturday. Chipola outscored Pensacola 25-11 and shot 58.8 percent in the third period.
  • Ta'Shonna Wright-Gaskins hauled in eight boards to help the Lady Indians outrebound Pensacola, 36-27.
  • Chipola held the Lady Pirates to three offensive rebounds on the day.
  • The Lady Indians shot a dismal 2-of-12 from behind the arc in the first half but poured in 5-of-10 in the second half to finish at 31.8 percent for the game.