GAMEDAY PREVIEW: #1 Lady Indians seek first Panhandle Championship since 2015
Chipola can claim at least a share of the title with a win over the Raiders on Saturday night at The Milt.
MARIANNA, Fla. – The first time the #1 Lady Indians and the #3 Raiders met, it was #1 vs. #6 and the sixth ranked Lady Indians came away with the 67-57 win in Marianna. The second time it was #2 vs. #3, and the second ranked Raiders took the win in Niceville, 57-50.
Tonight, back at the Milton H. Johnson Center, the two rivals meet in their highest-ranked matchup since March 13, 2021 when #3 Northwest Florida defeated #1 Chipola, in Marianna, 65-60.
GAME INFORMATION
Time: 5:15 PM CST
Location: Milton H. Johnson Center – Marianna, Fla.
Streaming: #1 Chipola @ #3 Northwest Florida
Tonight's Sophomore Presentation being held between the women's and the men's games, will be shown here for free: Sophomore Presentation
What's on the line in the Panhandle
The winner of tonight's game will win at least a share of the 2025 Panhandle Conference Championship. If either the Lady Indians or the Raiders win both of their remaining games, they win the title outright. If they both split their remaining games, they will share the title. In the final regular season game for both teams on Monday night, Chipola plays on the road at Tallahassee and Northwest Florida hosts #10 Gulf Coast.
Trailing the leaders by two games, Gulf Coast will finish in 3rd place regardless of the outcomes. By virtue of head-to-head competition, the Lady Indians and Raiders would win tiebreakers. Chipola defeated the Lady Commodores two out of three times this season and Northwest Florida has beaten them twice with Monday's game remaining. All three teams have secured their bid to the FCSAA/Region VIII Tournament in Niceville on March 12-15. Tonight's winner would most likely receive the #1 seed in the tournament.
As the fourth-place team from the Panhandle, Pensacola State (18-11; 3-8) looks to be a lock to receive the selection committee's final berth to the tournament over the Citrus Conference's fifth place team, Santa Fe (9-18; 5-12). Earlier this season, the Lady Pirates were 5-0 against the Citrus Conference, including two wins against Santa Fe and wins against their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th ranked teams. With a win last Saturday over then #2 Northwest Florida already on their postseason resume, Pensacola would bolster their chances with a win over #10 Gulf Coast this afternoon in Panama City.
GAME NOTES
- The Raiders have given up more than 60 points twice this season; they are 0-2 in those games. The Lady Indians defeated NWF, 67-60, on January 25, and the Lady Pirates took them down 69-66 on February 22.
- After both teams won on their home floor earlier this season, tonight's winner will win the regular season series between the schools. Chipola has not won the season series since sweeping the Raiders in the 2016-2017 season.
- Northwest Florida head coach Bart Walker has only lost the season series to Chipola once and holds a 23-10 record against the Lady Indians in his ten seasons as the Raiders' head coach. In his first stint as the head coach in Niceville (2008-2010), Coach Walker's first team lost two of the three to the Lady Indians, coached by David Lane. Coach Walker has not lost a series to the Lady Indians in his second stint as the head coach (2017-present) of the Raiders.
- Chipola's Kanija Daniel leads the FCSAA in scoring. Her 20.1 points per game average is also good enough for sixth in the NJCAA.
- Chipola continues to lead the NJCAA in the following categories: Free throws made per game (18.2); Free throws attempted (26.6); Defensive rebounds per game (36.1); Total rebounds per game (53.7); and Rebound margin per game (19.5).