Second half comeback propels #1 Raiders to 69-63 victory over Gulf Coast

NICEVILLE, FL - From a non-biased fan's perspective, Wednesday's women's basketball game between Northwest Florida State College and Gulf Coast State College was highly entertaining.  Intense defense, timely shot making, late game drama….it had it all.  From a Raider fan's perspective, however, some blood pressure levels may have risen to unsettling levels.  The top-ranked team in the land was challenged for the entire 40 minutes against the Commodores but made big plays down the stretch to secure a tough 69-63 win to improve their overall record to 18-0 and 4-0 in conference play. 

Make no mistake, the Raiders had to dig deep for this one.  Gulf Coast had NWF on their heels early, leading to first half foul trouble that saw several starters get too comfortable on the bench for head coach Bart Walker's liking.  The Raider bench, however, stepped up when they were called upon to keep the game within reach.  In fact, the bench was arguably the difference in the game as Northwest Florida outscored the Commodores 23-1 in points from reserves.  Those contributions allowed NWF to cut the Gulf Coast lead to 34-29 at the half.

Once the starters returned, it still was anything but a picnic.  The Raiders scratched and clawed, trading baskets with Gulf Coast until finally taking their first lead of the game mid-way through the fourth quarter.  Last-Tear Poa carried NWF for most of the second half, scoring 19 points in the final twenty minutes.  While Poa consistently led the Raiders on the offensive end, no bigger shot in the game was made than the one Noelani Cornfield buried with 2 minutes left in the game.  With the score tied and the shot clock winding down, Cornfield drilled a contested 3-pointer in the corner to provide the Raiders with a huge momentum shifting play. 

Poa led the Raiders in scoring with 21 points and added 5 rebounds, while Cornfield contributed 10.  Shelbee Brown was a menace on both ends, scoring 8 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Nevaeh Brown scored 9 points off the bench. 

#1 NWF will return to action on Saturday, January 22 when they travel to Chipola College for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off. 

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