PREVIEW: #17 Chipola WBB set to play in the Northeast Thanksgiving Classic

Lady Indians travel to Booneville, Mississippi on Thursday & Friday

November 21, 2024

BOONEVILLE, Miss. - After a pair of wins in the friendly confines of the Milton H. Johnson to reach a perfect 5-0 record, the 17th ranked Chipola Lady Indians hit the road to Booneville, Mississippi for the Northeast Thanksgiving Classic.

Chipola will take on the host team, Northeast Mississippi Community College, on Thursday at 7 PM then wrap up the Classic with East Mississippi Community College on Friday at 2 PM.

NORTHEAST THANKSGIVING CLASSIC

Thursday - November 21, 2024

5 PM East Mississippi CC vs. Calhoun CC (AL)

7 PM NE Mississippi CC vs. CHIPOLA

Friday - November 22, 2024

2 PM East Mississippi CC vs. CHIPOLA

4 PM NE Mississippi CC vs. Calhoun CC (AL)

Livetream: https://nemcctv.com/goldchannel

Location: Bonner Arnold Coliseum - Booneville, Mississippi

LAST TIME OUT

On Monday, after a slow start that resulted in a 17-15 score after the first ten minutes of play, the #17 Lady Indians dominated the final three quarters of play to defeat Reid State, 105-43, at the Milton H. Johnson Center.

Kanija Daniel led all scorers with 25. Five others finished the game in double figures including Serena Heeren and Mekhila Brown who both finished with a double-double.

Heeren, a freshman from Lincoln, Nebraska, pitched in ten points while hauling in 15 rebounds to record her first double-double of her collegiate career.

Brown, the only returner from a season ago, recorded her second career double-double by tallying 11 points with 10 boards.

Joining them in double figures was Aniyah Ruddock with 14 points, Arielle Facyson with 12, and Ahmani Klabunde with 10.

RANKINGS

Despite winning their only game last week by 63 points, the Lady Indians remained in the 17th slot in the latest NJCAA rankings. Northwest Florida and Gulf Coast remained in the top five with the Raiders coming in at 2nd and the Lady Commodores at 5th. All three Panhandle teams in the rankings are undefeated. Eastern Florida State dropped a spot in the poll after a 58-52 loss to Pensacola State. The loss also dropped the Titans to 2-5 against the Panhandle Conference over the last two seasons.

The loss to Pensacola also dropped the Titans out of a third place tie with the Lady Indians in the FCSAA Coaches' Poll. Chipola now holds the third spot alone behind the Raiders, who remain number one, and the Lady Commodores. Pensacola comes in at fourth giving the Panhandle the top four slots in the latest rankings.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT

Northeast Mississippi

The Lady Tigers are 4-1 on the season with their only loss coming to Wallace State CC - Hanceville (AL), 67-56, on November 6.
Chipola and NEMCC have a common opponent from their early schedules. In their first game of the season, Chipola defeated Bishop State on the road, 82-66. Playing at home, the Lady Tigers defeated Bishop State, 72-66, last Monday night.
Chipola suffered their first loss of the 2023-2024 season in the same Classic a year ago. The Lady Indians fell to Northeast, 74-70, on their first night in Booneville.
NEMCC is led by sophomore forward Tyesha James who is averaging 12.8 points per game. The Lady Tigers average 76.2 points per game while allowing 57.7 points each outing.

East Mississippi

The Lady Lions are currently 3-3 with a pair of losses to two of the top ten teams in the country. On November 6, EMCC fell to #2 Northwest Florida at Raider Arena, 78-26. Five days later, #6 Shelton State disposed of the Lady Lions, 78-50 on EMCC's home floor.
Chipola and EMCC have also played a common opponent this season. Chipola took out Andrew College in the Richard Sanders Classic at Gulf Coast College last weekend, 90-44. The Lady Lions took down Andrew, 63-43, on opening night, November 1.
Chipola came back on the second day of last year's Thanksgiving Classic to defeat East Mississippi, 90-32.