The #7 Chipola women's basketball team rolled for the second weekend in a row, picking up two wins in the Veterans Day Classic at the Milton H. Johnson Center. The Lady Indians defeated Central Georgia Tech, 87-46, on Friday before trouncing Georgia Highlands on Saturday afternoon, 106-43.
Fresh off NJCAA Player of the Week honors, sophomore guard Ashley Baez had another big weekend. On Friday, Baez led all scorers with a 22-point performance against Central Georgia Tech. She followed that on Saturday by putting up a career-high 41 points against Georgia Highlands College.
Chipola (4-0) will play the next seven games against Region VIII opponents, all on the road. Thier next game is Saturday, November 26, at Daytona State College.
Chipola vs. Central Georgia Tech, November 11, 2022
The Lady Indians shook off a sluggish start in their first game of the weekend to take an 87-46 victory over the Lady Titans.
After taking a 22-10 lead following the first ten minutes of play, Chipola was outscored 18-16 in the second quarter by Central Georgia Tech. The Lady Indians led by just ten at the half, 38-28, in spite of leading by as many as 17 in the second quarter.
Coach Greg Franklin's conversation with his team in the locker room put a jolt into the Lady Indians as they started the second half on a 23-2 run. Chipola held the Lady Titans to just six third quarter points as they pushed out to a 63-34 lead with ten minutes to play.
Coach Franklin's squad kept up the pressure in the fourth quarter and doubled up the Lady Titans in the final ten minutes of play, 24-12.
For the game, the Lady Indians held Central Georgia Tech to just 1-of-12 (8.3%) from beyond the arc and only 19-of-58 (32.8%) from the floor.
Joining Baez in double digits was Kaitlyn Bryant with 18 points, Latifa Amzil with 14, and Brenda McKinney with 11.
Bryant and McKinney also posted double-doubles on the night. Bryant came away with ten rebounds and McKinney hauled in 10 for her third consecutive double-double in as many games.
Chipola vs. Georgia Highlands, November 12, 2022
The Lady Indians wasted no time putting away the visiting Chargers from Rome, Georgia. Chipola used a 28-8 first quarter and a suffocating defense in the second half, to defeat the NJCAA runner-up from a season ago, 106-43.
The 106 points was the largest total from the Lady Indians since scoring 120 points in last season's opening night win against Denmark Technical College. Chipola topped the century mark against Georgia Highlands for the second consecutive season. The Lady Indians won 101-98 in double overtime over the Lady Chargers in last season's WER Invitational held at The Milt.
Ashley Baez topped her career-high she set a week ago with a 41-point perfomance. Baez was 16-of-31 from the floor and had seven steals on the night.
Ivi Nikolova, playing in only her second game for the Lady Indians, had 19 points and hot 5 for 11 from three point range.
Although she broke her string of double-doubles, Brenda McKinney chipped in 14 while reeling in 9 rebounds.
Looking back on the weekend, Coach Franklin was excited about what these wins meant for his team especially since every player that saw action on Saturday was able to score.
"I thought again we had two really good team wins. I know Ashley had a lot of points on Saturday but we had several people step up and have big games in other ways."
"It was nice to see Ivi get her groove back in the second half of our Georgia Highlands game after being out for over 3 weeks of action," said Franklin. "That was a big shot in the arm for this club."