Chipola freshman guard, Ashley Baez, came off the bench to score 29 points in a 96-40 Lady Indians' win on Wednesday night at the Milton Johnson Center. The NJCAA number two ranked team continued to torch the nets in moving to 5-0 on the season.
As they have done in each of their previous contests this season, the Lady Indians raced out to a quick lead. Halfway through the first quarter, the defensive pressure was too much for Chattahoochee Valley as Chipola went up 18-3. The Lady Pirates would regain their composure to outscore the Lady Indians, 15-14, the rest of the period.
In the second quarter, both teams went cold but once again, the pressure from the Lady Indians was too much for Chatt Valley. Chipola outscored the Lady Pirates, 17-6, to lead 49-24 at the half.
Following the break, the Lady Indians continued their dominance on the defensive side. For the second consecutive quarter, the Lady Pirates could only muster six points while not being able to stop Chipola guards, Baez and Jordan McLaughlin, who combined for 15 of the Lady Indians' 21 third quarter points. Headed into the final period, Chipola led 70-30.
Baez would add nine to her total in the fourth quarter. The Lady Indians outscored Chatt Valley, 26-10 in the fourth, enroute to the 96-40 victory.
Along with Baez, four other players scored in double digits. Ta'Shonna Wright-Gaskins and Kaitlyn Bryant each poured in 14, McLaughlin had 13, and Shimei Muhammad contributed 12.
Shcira Fowles continued her dominance on the boards, grabbing 9 rebounds. Fowles also led the team in assists on the night with 8.
The Lady Indians will face two top 25 teams this weekend in the WER Invitational at The Milt. On Friday, Chipola will face Seward County Community College (2-0) from Liberal, Kansas at 5 PM. The #9 ranked Georgia Highlands Lady Chargers (2-0) will be the second opponent of the weekend for Coach Greg Franklin's squad. Chipola and Georgia Highlands will face-off at 5 PM on Saturday.
Two other games will be played this weekend in the WER Invitational as Pandhandle Conference rival, Gulf Coast State College (1-1), will take on Georgia Highlands at 3 PM on Friday and Seward County at 3 PM on Saturday.