Northwest Florida Earns No. 3 Seed in NJCAA Championships

NICEVILLE, Fla. – Northwest Florida women's basketball will receive a first round bye and play either Odessa or Chattanooga State in the second round of the NJCAA National Championship on Wednesday, March 18 at 7:45 p.m. (CT).

The Raiders (27-4) earned the No. 3 overall seed after winning the FCSAA/Region VIII tournament title for the first time since 1996. Odessa (23-8) fell to Collin in the semifinals of the Southwest District Championships but did enough in the regular season to earn the 14-seed. Chattanooga State enters the tournament 26-5 overall and won the automatic bid and No. 19 seed out of the Appalachian District.

"I thought we'd be in that No. 3-6 range based on our body of work this season," Northwest Florida head coach Bart Walker said. "I thought (getting three teams in the national tournament) is a true indication of how good the conference is. There is a lot of respect nationally and I think its well-deserved."

NWF joins Gulf Coast (No. 5) and Florida Southwestern (No. 10) as FCSAA representatives in the tournament.

Northwest Florida knocked off defending national champion and four-time defending FCSAA tournament title holder Gulf Coast, 57-55, in overtime on Saturday. Reneasha Payton made a layup with two seconds remaining on the clock to clinch the victory for NWF.

It marks the third consecutive appearance for the Raiders in the national tournament. Under Walker, Northwest Florida has advanced to the Elite Eight in each of the last two seasons.

For more information on the NJCAA National Championships, visit NJCAA.org or click HERE.

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