GAMEDAY PREVIEW: Top 10 rivals set to clash at The Milt

MARIANNA, Fla. – Last Saturday at Pensacola, the #8 Lady Indians equaled the best start (19-0) to any Chipola women's basketball season with a 65-56 win in their Panhandle Conference opener. In order to stand alone in Chipola lore, they will have to defeat their toughest opponent of the season which happens to also be the most successful women's basketball program in the history of the conference, the #6 Gulf Coast Lady Commodores (14-1).

GAME INFORMATION

Time: 5:15 PM CST

Location: Milton H. Johnson Health Center – Marianna, Florida

Admission: $10 (adults); $5 (students) CASH ONLY

Streaming: #8 Chipola vs. #6 Gulf Coast

RANKINGS

Both teams come into tonight's game ranked in the top ten in NJCAA D1 Women's Basketball and top three in the FCSAA. The visitors come in at #6 in the NJCAA and the Lady Indians moved up three spots in this week's poll released on Monday to #8. In the FCSAA Coaches' Polls, Chipola is at #2, one slot ahead of the Lady Commodores.

Northwest Florida sits atop the FCSAA poll and #2 in the NJCAA. Three other FCSAA schools are in the NJCAA's top 25: #15 Florida SouthWestern; #20 Pensacola; and #24 Eastern Florida.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT

The Lady Commodores are 14-1 on the season with their only loss coming on November 23 to Florida SouthWestern, 95-73. Gulf Coast comes into the game well-rested, having only played one game since December 14, an 89-65 win over Santa Fe College on January 4.

Freshman guard, Arianny Francisco De Olviera, leads Gulf Coast in scoring with 13.1 ppg. Right behind her in scoring is sophomore forward, Ja'Navia Gage, at 13.0 ppg.

GAME NOTES

• For the second week in a row, Kanija Daniel was named FCSAA Player of the Week. Daniel averaged 30.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 3.0 steals and 2.5 blocks in wins against Enterprise State and #20 Pensacola State. She scored a career-high 36 points against the Lady Weevills on Monday, January 6, and then scored 25 on the following Saturday against the Lady Pirates.
• The last two seasons, Gulf Coast came into the Milton H. Johnson Center ranked number one in the NJCAA. In each season, Chipola took down the top-ranked Lady Commodores.
• February 17, 2021 was the last time the two long-time rivals faced one another when they were both ranked in the NJCAA's top ten. #4 Chipola defeated #10 Gulf Coast that night at The Milt, 68-56. Chipola went on to defeat the Lady Commodores five times that season including a 55-45 win in the FCSAA/Region VIII Championship game.
• The last, and only other, Lady Indians' team to start a season 19-0 was ten years ago. That 2014-2015 team went on to win the NJCAA Championship.