Strong First Half Guides Raiders to Win
NICEVILLE, Fla. – Northwest Florida women's basketball moved into a three-way tie for first in the Panhandle Conference standings with an 82-62 win over Pensacola Wednesday in Raider Arena.
The win, coupled with Gulf Coast's loss at Tallahassee, propelled the Raiders (20-4, 5-3 PC) into a tie with Gulf Coast and Chipola for the league's top spot.
Chanaya Pinto led the team with 20 points and 11 rebounds in the win. NWF led throughout and build a 32-point advantage early in the second half.
Reneasha Payton scored 19 on a 7-of-10 effort from the floor. Rayven Peeples continued to play well as she finished with 14 points, her 18th double-digit scoring performance of the year. Fapou Semebene chipped in with 12 points.
As a team, the Raiders shot 52.5 percent (32-61) for the game and outscored the Pirates 52-22 in the paint.
Pensacola's Kaiya Burnett score 24 on 9-fo15 shooting to lead all scorers. The Pirates (14-12, 2-6) were silent offensively in the first half, but shot 58.3 percent over the final 40 minutes to close the gap.
Northwest Florida returns to action on Saturday as the team hosts Gulf Coast at 5:30 p.m.
For more information on Northwest Florida athletics, visit NWFRaiders.com or follow us on Twitter at @NWF_Raiders.