Northwest Florida Routs Palm Beach, 78-32

NICEVILLE, Fla. – Laura Taylor knocked down six 3-pointers and Chanaya Pinto turned in a double-double to lead No. 4 Northwest Florida to a 78-32 rout of Palm Beach in the JUCO Shootout in Raider Arena Saturday.

Taylor scored a game-high and season-best 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting to go along with five rebounds, five assists, and three steals.

Pinto's first double-double of the year came courtesy of 14 points and 15 rebounds. The Mozambique native also had four steals and was 6-of-8 from the free throw line.

"We challenged our players in this game," Northwest Florida head coach Bart Walker said. "Our team played the best defense that we've played in some time. It was a good win, everyone stepped up and helped." 

The Raiders (11-0) held Palm Beach to single digit points in three of the four quarters, including just four in the first. The Panthers (4-8) shot 22.4 percent for the game and combined to make five field goals in the bookend quarters.

Rayven Peeples was strong from start to finish tallying 16 points and seven rebounds. Peeples has scored 15 or more points five times this season.

NWF dominated the paint outscoring its opponent 44-12. The Raiders forced 26 turnovers leading to 25 points.

Northwest Florida returns to action next week for the NWF Classic. The Raiders host Pearl River Thursday and Eastern Florida Friday. Tip for each game is set for 7 p.m. DME Academy will join in on the action and take on Eastern Florida Thursday and Pearl River Friday at 5 p.m. each night.

For more information on Northwest Florida athletics, visit NWFRaiders.com or follow us on twitter at @NWF_Raiders.