GAMEDAY PREVIEW: Lady Indians seek a place in the NJCAA semi-finals
#1 Chipola & #8 Shelton State meet for the second time this season; final four berth on the line this time.
CASPER, Wyoming – The #1 Lady Indians face a familiar opponent in the quarterfinals of the NJCAA D1 Women's Basketball Tournament on Saturday morning. #8 Shelton State defeated #9 South Plains, 69-59, to move on and meet Chipola at 11:00 AM CDT in Casper, Wyoming.
Game Information
Chipola Women's Basketball Notes
Fans can watch the game on ESPN+ or head over to Beef 'O' Brady's in Marianna for a watch party. (You will need a subscription to ESPN+ in order to view the games. For more information about how to watch, click here.)
On the Line
The Lady Indians and the Lady Bucs squared off December 29, the first day of the Lady Jets Holiday Classic, in Americus, Georgia. Kanija Daniel and Aniyah Ruddock combined for 31 points as the #11 Lady Indians defeated #9 Shelton State, 57-53.
The win was the first of Chipola's five wins against NJCAA top ten opponents in the 2024-2025 season and extended Chipola's win streak to start the season to 15 games. Following the win, the Lady Indians moved in to the top ten where they stayed the remainder of the season. They also went on to win their first 21 games, the best start to a season and second-longest win streak in school history.
The stakes are even higher on Saturday in Casper, Wyoming, as the winner will be one of four teams remaining for a chance to win a National Championship. Chipola is seeking their first appearance in the semifinals since 2021. Shelton State has not been among the last four teams standing since making three consecutive trips in 2017-19.
Game Notes
- Shelton State is making their tenth consecutive appearance in the NJCAA Tournament. During that span, Shelton is 3-1 against teams from the Panhandle Conference. Chipola and Shelton State have never met at the NJCAA Tournament.
- Since Chipola won the National Championship in 2015, a Panhandle Conference team has won the title every year except three: 2020 – No tournament held (COVID); 2022 – Tyler (TX) Junior College; 2024 – Hutchinson (KS) Community College.
- Chipola's leading scorer, Kanija Daniel is averaging 19.7 points per game on the season. When she has scored more than 20 points in a game, Chipola is 14-0.
- The Lady Indians lead NJCAA D1 in rebounds with 51.7 per game. Chipola is 28-0 when collecting more than 40 boards per game. With 40 or less, the Lady Indians are 3-3.
- Chipola also leads NJCAA D1 in free throw attempts with 902, the next closest team shot 722. Two of Chipola's three losses came when they went to the free throw line less than 20 times. Chipola is 5-2 when taking less than 20 trips to the charity stripe.