Lady Indians drop Panhandle Conference Opener to #1 Raiders

Victoria Morales scores three of her game-high, 18 points, in the second half of a 76-48 loss to the #1 Northwest Florida Raiders. | photo by John Rushing

Posted: Jan 13, 2024

Niceville, Fla. – The #20 Lady Indians fell behind early in their first Panhandle Conference contest at #1 Northwest Florida and found it hard to recover. The Raiders (16-0; 1-0 PC) used a strong presence inside to outscore Chipola, 46-18, in the paint. This was enough to make the difference as the Lady Indians fell by the same margin, 76-48, to drop to 16-3 overall and 0-1 in conference action.

First Quarter

Both teams exchanged layups in the first minute of action at Raider Arena and the Lady Indians took the lead 4-2 after Zaaliyah Kailahi-Fulu added her second bucket of the game.

The Raiders used a 9-0 run over the next three minutes to take control of the game and after the first quarter, held a 23-9 advantage.

Second Quarter

After Kyrstin Green made a three-point shot with 3:41 remaining in the first period, the Lady Indians had a hard time getting a bucket. After a minute and a half of play into the second quarter, Victoria Morales hit a three to end the drought.

The typically strong three-point shooting Lady Indians struggled from long range in the first half, connecting on just 2-of-10 shots from behind the arc.

Chipola did hold the Raiders to their lowest output in the second quarter but trailed at the half to the defending NJCAA Champions, 37-18.

Third quarter

After the break, Chipola showed some fight, led by freshman Victoria Morales, who scored 11 of her game-high 18 points in the third quarter.

Morales and sophomore Tahnyjia Purifoy found their shot in the second half and combined on three triples on consecutive trips down the court. The barrage of threes sparked a 16-2 run and suddenly the Lady Indians had cut the Raiders' lead down to 11 at 50-39 with less than two minutes remaining in the period.

Turnovers would plague Chipola in their next three possessions, however, and the Raiders took advantage, closing with a 5-0 run to lead 55-39 with ten minutes left to play.

Fourth quarter

Northwest Florida scored the first nine points of the fourth to dash any hopes of a rally by the Lady Indians.

Victoria Morales stopped the bleeding with her fifth three-pointer at the 6:39 mark but the Lady Indians could not shut down the Raiders' offense. NWF outscored Chipola 21-9 in the fourth to go on to the 76-48 win.

Up next for the Lady Indians

It doesn't get much easier for Coach John Marcum and the Lady Indians. With four of the five conference teams ranked in the NJCAA's top 20, another tough opponent looms on the schedule for the home conference opener.

#20 Chipola will take on #10 Pensacola (16-2, 0-1 PC) at the Milton H. Johnson Center on Wednesday, January 17, at 5:30. In Saturday's other conference game, the Lady Pirates fell at home to #3 Gulf Coast (16-1, 1-0 PC), 84-60.

GAME NOTES

Wrong end of a streak: Northwest Florida has a seven-game win streak against the Lady Indians. Chipola last defeated the Raiders, 52-50, on January 22, 2022 in Marianna. Chipola has not defeated NWF in Raider Arena since the 2020-2021 season.
One of the NJCAA's best: Sophomore Tahnyjia Purifoy has scored double-digits in 17 of the Lady Indians' 19 games this season. Her 11 points on Saturday was her twelfth consecutive game with double figures. She is currently fourth in the NJCAA in total points with 347. The leader is Princess Anderson from Pratt Community College with 362 points.
Foul trouble early: Chipola got into foul trouble early with 7 fouls called on the Lady Indians in the first quarter and 6 fouls called in the second quarter. Only five fouls were called on Chipola in the second half. After scoring Chipola's first four points of the game, Zaaliyah Kailahi-Fulu was whistled for four fouls in the first quarter. She did not pick up her fifth foul until 3:25 remaining in the game.

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