The #4 Chipola women defeated Daytona State, 69-50, on Saturday to move to 5-0 on the season. It was the first road game of the season for the Lady Indians and the first of seven consecutive games away from the Milton H. Johnson Center.
Ashley Baez, the NJCAA's leader in points per game, was held below her average by the Falcons but still led all scorers with 18.
Latifa Amzil, with 14, and Tahnyjia Purifoy, with 10, joined Baez in double figures. Amzil, a sophomore from Finland, matched her career-high that she set against Central Georgia Tech earlier this season. Purifoy, a freshman from Pensacola, also set her career-high, besting her eight-point output from opening night.
The first half was a back and forth affair with the two teams exchanging leads four times. Chipola led by eight in the first half but the Falcons would come back to lead by as many as three.
The Lady Indians appeared on their way to distancing themselves from their opponents early following a pair of free throws by Purifoy that gave Chipola a 12-4 lead with 3:47 remaining in the first quarter. Daytona State, however, closed the quarter on a 8-3 run to cut the Lady Indians' lead to 15-12 and the end of the first ten minutes.
The Falcons continued their run into the second quarter by scoring the first six points and moving ahead of the Lady Indians, 18-15 with 8:30 remaining in the first half.
Over the next five minutes, Chipola would cut the lead to one on three different occasions. On the first two Chipola answers, the Falcons would respond back with a bucket of their own, but a Brenda McKinney steal would stop the trend. On the next possession, a three from Baez put the Lady Indians up 24-22 and gave them the lead for good.
After leading 30-26 at the half, the Lady Indians opened the third quarter with a 15-2 run over the first eight minutes to push the lead to 17. The Falcons closed the gap over the final two minutes of the quarter but heading into the final ten minutes, Chipola led 46-35.
With 6:54 remaining in the game, a three-point shot from the Falcons cut the Chipola lead to nine. However, a pair of threes from Amzil and Jasmine Jones on consecutive trips down the court dashed all hopes of a comeback from the home team.
The Lady Indians held the Falcons scoreless over the final four minutes of the game to take the 69-50 win.
Chipola will travel to Hillsborough Community College on Tuesday. The Lady Indians defeated the Lady Hawks in Marianna, 87-54, back on November 5.