On to the Semis: Northwest Florida Advances in FCSAA Tourney

NICEVILLE, Fla. – Five Raiders scored in double figures as No. 5 Northwest Florida came away with a 77-54 win over No. 22 Eastern Florida Thursday in Raider Arena in the first round of the FCSAA/Region VIII State Tournament.

The Raiders (25-4) led from start to finish building their advantage to 26 points early in the fourth quarter. Rayven Peeples led all scorers with 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting and finished with 11 rebounds to complete the double-double. Gabriela Sales had 14 followed by Fapou Semebene with 13. Chanaya Pinto and Reneasha Payton had 11 points each.

"I thought we came out with a lot of energy," Northwest Florida head coach Bart Walker said. "After 12 days off, I'm really proud of the way the girls played tonight. We played together had five kids in double figures."

Semebene was 6-of-10 from the field as the Raiders shot 51.7 percent as a team. Northwest Florida outscored Eastern Florida 44-24 in the paint and took advantage of 17 Titan miscues for 29 points off turnovers.

Northwest Florida will take on either Palm Beach or Central Florida on Friday in the semifinals. Tip is set for 8 p.m.

Fans can find more information and links for the tournament at NWFRaiders.com/Region8Tourney.

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