Lady Indians take down Florida SouthWestern in OT

The smallest player on the court came up with the biggest shot of the night in the Lady Indians first round win over Florida SouthWestern at the FCSAA/Region VIII Tournament in Niceville. With the game tied and time running out, Ladah Huguley rebounded a missed three-point attempt from teammate, Shimei Muhammad, and laid in the game winner with 1.6 seconds remaining. The victory moves the Lady Indians into the semifinals where they will take on Panhandle Conference rival, Northwest Florida, on Friday night at 8 PM.

The #14 Lady Indians had to overcome one of their worst shooting perfomances of the season by being tenacious on the defensive end, just to get the game to overtime. Chipola forced the Bucs into 30 turnovers and held their opponents to just 42.1% from the floor, including a dismal 1-for-7 from 3-point range.

Chipola had troubles of their own from beyond the arc. The Lady Indians shot just 36.4% from the floor and only 2-for-23 from deep. However, the two threes, both by Shimei Muhammad, came late in the game when the Lady Indians needed them the most.

After the Lady Indians stretched their second half lead out to 8, one minute into the fourth quarter, the Bucs began to chip away. Florida SouthWestern outscored the Lady Indians 8-1 over four minutes of play to cut the lead to one. Muhammad hit the first three of the game for both teams with 4:40 left in regulation to give Chipola some breathing room.

With one minute remaining in the game and Chipola up by one, Florida SouthWestern came away with a steal and took the lead for the first time since early in the third quarter. With 36.7 seconds remaining, McLaughlin was fouled and made one of two free throws to even the score again. After the Bucs missed a three, they were able to retrienve the rebound and had a chance to hold out for the last shot. The Bucs took a shot with three seconds remaining but the ball fell off the front of the rim and Brenda McKinney was able to haul in the rebound and send the game into overtime.

After the teams exchanged baskets in the first minute of overtime, the Bucs hit their first and only three of the game with 2:19 remaining in overtime to go up 57-54. After the Lady Indians missed a chance to cut into the lead, the BUcs drove to the basket but was fouled by Brenda McKinney, who then also picked up a technical foul. The Bucs connected on two of four free throws to pull ahead 59-54 with two minutes remaining.

With the Bucs also getting the ball following the technical foul, the Lady Indians were facing going down by more than two possessions. After the Bucs inbounded the ball, Ashley Baez was able to come away with a steal and drove the length of the court to cut Florida SouthWestern's lead to three.

Following a Bucs' miss, the Lady Indians were able to move the ball around and get it to Muhammad at the top of the key for her second big three pointer of the night to tie the game at 59-59 with 1:07 remaining.

Shcira Fowles gave Chipola the lead with 28.9 seconds remaining on a layup following a pass down low from Jordan McLaughlin. Following a timeout, Florida SouthWestern hit a quick turnaround jumper to tie the game for the eighth time of the night.

The Lady Indians brought the ball up the court with less than twenty seconds remaining. McLaughlin drove to the basket but turned around and passed back out to Muhammad at the top of the key. Muhammad's shot bounced high off the rim and came down intro the hands of Huguley who went straight up for the game winning points.

Jordan McLaughlin had 22 points to lead all scorers. Three other Lady Indians finished the night with double digits: Baez (12); Muhammad (11); and Ta'Shonna Wright-Gaskins, a transfer from Florida SouthWestern, had 10.

Chipola (23-7) will take on the number one seed, Northwest Florida State, on Friday night at 8 PM, for an opportunity to advance to the championship game on Saturday. The two teams have met three times already this season with the Raiders winning two of three.