#3 Lady Indians survive upset-minded Tallahassee, 88-81, on Homecoming

MARIANNA, Fla. – The #3 Lady Indians outlasted Tallahassee State on Saturday night who came to The Milt with visions of an upset on Chipola's Homecoming. The Lady Eagles (9-14; 1-6) hung with the Panhandle's first-place team on Saturday but the Lady Indians scored 33 points in the fourth quarter to escape with an 88-81 win.

Chipola scored the first five points of the game and appeared to be on their way to their 14^th consecutive win against the Lady Eagles. When Tallahassee finally got on the board midway through the first quarter, they scored on three straight trips down to the court while keeping the Lady Indians off the board, to take a 6-5 lead. Despite a 2-of-16 shooting performance from the floor, the Lady Indians held a 13-10 lead after the first ten minutes of play. Six different Chipola players scored in the first quarter.

After shooting 27.8% in the first quarter, the Lady Eagles picked up the pace in the second quarter. With 4:09 remaining before halftime, an offensive rebound and putback gave Tallahassee a 25-22 lead. The Lady Eagles shot 52.9% from the floor in the second quarter but the Lady Indians fought back to even the score at the break, 33-33.

Early in the second half, each team refused to let the other get the upper hand. After Tallahassee took a three-point lead with just over a minute of time off the clock, Chipola used a 13-4 run, ignited by a pair of shots from behind the arc by Ahmani Klabunde and Kanija Daniel, to take a 48-42 lead with 5:44 remaining in the third quarter. As the homecoming crowd at The Milt was beginning to breathe easier, the Lady Eagles went on an 8-0 run to move ahead of Chipola, 50-48, with 2:11 left to play in the third. After the teams exchanged a pair of free throws, Klabunde's jumper tied the game for the tenth time. Following a missed shot by Tallahassee, Daniel hit her fifth triple of the game with less than a minute remaining to give Chipola a three-point advantage. The Lady Eagles, however, scored the final points of the period to cut the Lady Indians' lead to 55-54 headed to the final ten minutes of play.

In the fourth, the Lady Indians took away any thoughts the visiting Lady Eagles had of an upset on Chipola's Homecoming. Freshmen Klabunde and Serena Heeren scored 18 of the Lady Indians' 33 fourth quarter points to help Chipola pull away in the final period. After shooting 46.7% from the floor in the third quarter, the Lady Indians shot a blistering 10-of-14 (71.4%) in the final period. After the Lady Indians took their largest lead of the game, 75-64, with 3:26 left on the clock, they never allowed Tallahassee to get any closer than seven points. A three-point bucket at the horn by Tallahassee produced the final margin, 88-81.

Up Next

#3 Chipola's win over Tallahassee coupled with #2 Northwest Florida's 76-52 over #8 Gulf Coast, sets up a big matchup on Wednesday night at Raider Arena. The top two teams in the Panhandle Conference and the FCSAA will meet for the second time this season. Opening tip between the Lady Indians and the Raiders from Niceville is set for 5:15 PM. Chipola won the first meeting between the two rivals, 67-57, on January 25 in Marianna.

Game Notes

• Kanija Daniel scored 28 against the Lady Eagles on Saturday night. She has scored double digits in all but one game in which she played this season. In six Panhandle Conference games, she averages 23.2 points per game which is higher than her overall season average of 21.5 ppg.
• Ahmani Klabunde scored a career-high 17 points in the win over Tallahassee. Along with shooting 4-of-9 from the floor, the freshman guar was 8-of-8 from the free throw line.
• Freshman forward, Serena Heeren, matched her career-high output of 16 points on Saturday night at The Milt. Heeren also put up 16 against Daytona State on November 26 and Andrew College on November 9.
• The Lady Indians took their home win streak to 15 with the win over the Lady Eagles. Chipola is 12-0 this season at the Milton H. Johnson Center. The 12-0 start is the best since the 2014-2015 National Championship team went an undefeated 13-0 at The Milt. The Lady Indians have two games remaining at home this season.