Outright Champions: Northwest Florida Takes Conference Crown with Road Win

PENSACOLA, Fla. – No. 5 Northwest Florida women's basketball claimed outright possession of the 2019-20 Panhandle Conference championship with a 64-44 victory over Pensacola Saturday.

It is the seventh conference title for the Raiders (24-4, 9-3 PC), who now head into the FCSAA/Region VIII Tournament as the league's top seed. NWF will take on Suncoast Conference runner-up Eastern Florida at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 5.

Northwest Florida led by as many as 19 in the fourth quarter but watched as a fiery Pensacola (16-14, 4-8) squad trimmed it to 10. The Raiders forced 26 turnovers and used to a solid inside game to retake control of the game late.

Rayven Peeples led all scorers with 27 points on 12-of-16 shooting and had a game-high eight rebounds. Chanaya Pinto finished with 22 points, while Gabriela Sales chipped in with eight.

Northwest Florida has now won the Panhandle Conference three times in the last eight seasons and has won 20 or more games in 10 of the last 13 campaigns.

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