MARIANNA, Fla. – The #25 Lady Indians improved to 17-3 on the season and even up their Panhandle Conference record at 1-1 following a 77-62 dismantling of the #11 ranked Lady Pirates from Pensacola State (17-3; 0-2 PC).

Chipola led by as many as 20 in the game despite shooting just 37.5% from the floor and 28.6% from three-point range. The Lady Indians were solid at the charity stripe, however, connecting on 21-of-25 (84%) free throws including 12 for 13 in the second half.

First Quarter

Pensacola's Gabriela Bendeck-Giron scored the first bucket of the game and went on to lead the Lady Pirates with 20 points.

Chipola took the lead less than a minute later on a pair of buckets from sophomores Kyrstin Green and Tahnyjia Purifoy and never trailed again in the contest. At the end of the first quarter of play, Chipola was shooting 44.4% from the floor and were up by six, 20-14.

Second Quarter

Neither team was able to get much going in the second quarter.

Chipola made tallied just three baskets in the quarter but two of those were from behind the arc. It would be the only two three-pointers of the first half as the Lady Indians struggled from deep, shooting just 2-of-15 in the first twenty minutes of play.

Marie Felicite Akenda Avile Wembadjonga and Zaaliyah Kailahi-Fulu were strong on the boards for Chipola as they collected a combined 15 rebounds in the first half to keep the Lady Pirates from getting very many second-chance opportunities.

The Lady Pirates were unable take advantage of the home team's shooting woes and Chipola held a 33-25 lead at the break.

Third quarter

With both teams trying to avoid an 0-2 start to conference play, it was Chipola that came out of the locker room with a sense of urgency. Back-to-back threes from Victoria Morales gave Coach John Marcum's ladies a double-digit lead with only a minute gone from the clock in the third period.

Morales would add another three in the quarter and teammates Tahnyjia Purifoy and Kyrstin Green also found their shot from deep as they combined to go 5 for 9 from deep.  

The Lady Indians built their lead by nine in the third and with just ten minutes remaining in the game, Chipola was up comfortably, 56-39.

Fourth quarter

Pensacola would score the first five points of the fourth to close the gap to 12 but would never get any closer.

On the strength of Tahnyjia Purifoy's eight fourth quarter points, the Lady Indians would cruise in the final period and allow Coach Marcum to empty his bench.

Pensacola managed to outscore the Lady Indians in the fourth by two but Chipola went on to a remain undefeated on their home floor this season.

Up next for the Lady Indians

Chipola will face yet another top ranked team on Saturday when they travel to Panama City to take on the #3 Gulf Coast Lady Commodores. Gulf Coast was idle on Wednesday night in Panhandle action but started 1-0 with an 84-60 victory over Pensacola on January 13. Coach Rory Kuhn's squad is 16-1 overall with their only loss coming to #18 Eastern Florida State on November 17.  

GAME NOTES

• First one out of the way: Although the Lady Indians have not lost a series to Pensacola since the 2017-2018 season, Chipola has fallen in the first game between the two schools each of the last two seasons. Wednesday's night win ended that streak. They will look to continue the streak of series wins when they travel to Pensacola on Saturday, February 3.
• Moving on up: Thanks to her twenty-point performance on Wednesday night, sophomore Tahnyjia Purifoy, is now third in the NJCAA in total points with 367. She is just one point out of second place. Pratt Community College's Princess Anderson, the leader in points scored with 405, had 43 points on Wednesday against former Chipola assistant coach Rashad Baker's Northwest Kansas Tech squad.  
• Seeing double (digits): Three other Chipola ladies besides Purifoy scored in double digits in the win over Pensacola. Zaaliyah Kailahi-Fulu had 16 points followed by Victoria Morales with 15 and Kyrstin Green with 10. Marie Felicite Akenda Avile Wembadjonga hauled in a season-high, 10 rebounds.
• Home sweet home: Chipola is now 6-0 this season at home including two wins over top ranked opponents. The Lady Indians will be back at The Milt for Homecoming on Saturday, January 27, when they take on Tallahassee Community College.

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