It's Ladies' day at the FCSAA/Region VIII Tournament in Niceville. The Lady Indians (23-7) will tipoff the last game of the first round with Indian River State College (19-11) at 8 PM.  

Chipola finished the regular season as the third place team from the Panhandle Conference. In the latest NJCAA D1 Basketball Top 25 Rankings, the Lady Indians are ranked 20th. Coach Marcum's squad will be looking to win Chipola's eighth State Championship and earn a berth into the NJCAA Tournament in Casper, Wyoming.

Chipola will face Indian River State College, the runner-up from the Citrus Conference. The Pioneers rallied at the end of the season to move up the standings and finish as the runner-up. IRSC won six of their last seven games with their only loss being to the conference champion, Eastern Florida State. 

The Lady Indians have faced one of the toughest schedules in the NJCAA this season. Massey Ratings show their strength of schedule to be fourth in the country, with two Panhandle Conference teams in the second and third slots. Consider these elements of the 2023-2024 Lady Indians schedule:

• Chipola has played 11 of their 30 games against ranked opponents and has a record of 5-6 in these games. Between November 16 and January 3, the Lady Indians played 13 of 14 games away from home and managed a 11-2 record in those games.
• The Lady Indians are 4-1 this season against last season's State Champions from Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee.
• Nineteen of Chipola's 30 game schedule were played on the road. Six of Chipola's seven losses this season came on the opponent's home floor. Going into Saturday's game, Chipola is 9-1 on its home floor and 6-0 in neutral site games. The only blemish is a loss to the defending state and national champs, Northwest Florida, who Chipola defeated on their home floor.
• In this week's NJCAA DI Women's Basketball Rankings, Chipola has wins against the numbers two, five, six, and eighteen teams.

Game Notes

• The two teams have not met this season but Indian River defeated Chipola in a pair of close games last season.
• The 2021 semifinal round was the last time the two teams met in the State Tournament. Chipola defeated Indian River, 63-41, en route to winning their 7th State Championship.
• Chipola and Indian River have played games against these common opponents: Tallahassee; Pensacola; Mississippi Gulf Coast; Florida SouthWestern; Miami-Dade; & DME Academy. In those games, Chipola is 11-1 & IRSC is 9-4.
• The Lady Indians are 6-0 on a neutral floor this season.