South Plains edges Northwest Florida, 54-50

LUBBOCK, TX - The Raiders entered Friday's second round of the NJCAA women's basketball tournament knowing their opponent, South Plains, very well.  They also knew that despite convincing victories over South Plains in their previous two meetings this season, this game in the NJCAA tourney could prove to be a formidable challenge.  As it turns out, that proved to be correct.  NWF struggled for large swaths of the game on Friday afternoon, especially on the offensive end, and as a result saw their season coming to an earlier than expected conclusion resulting from the 54-50 defeat to South Plains.

During the first period, the Raiders found themselves in a nightmare.  Turnovers, missed layups, and empty possessions doomed NWF in the quarter to the tune of only scoring 5 points after 10 minutes of action.  Moreover, starting forward Ines Piper picked up two quick fouls in the game's first three minutes, relegating her to the bench for most of the half.  The Raiders were in need of a solid second quarter to grab at least a sliver of momentum heading into the half.

As champions typically do, the Raiders did respond.  Northwest Florida closed the second quarter on a brilliant 15-4 run to narrow the South Plains margin to just one point during intermission. Last-Tear Poa and Asjah Inniss sparked the run and the Raiders seemed to back in the swing of things.

Coming out of the half, the Raider mojo disappeared as South Plains continued to apply pressure by converting timely baskets on offense and making life tough for NWF on defense.  The Raiders found it very tough to score on the interior, which had been a hallmark all season long for the Panhandle and Region VIII champions. 

After finding themselves down by as many as eight points in the fourth quarter, the Raiders stormed back thanks to full court defensive pressure and an attacking mentality on offense.  With three minutes remaining, NWF took a one-point lead on a Last-Tear Poa layup and seemed to poised to close the game out.  Instead, South Plains answered immediately with a 5-0 run to retake the lead. 

With under a minute remaining, the Raiders were clearly on the ropes but found that trademark spark that NWF fans are accustomed to seeing.  After a Poa basket to cut the deficit to two points, the Raiders forced a turnover with just 7 seconds left.  NWF had the ball under their basket with a chance to tie it up but their field goal attempt came up short and thus the Raiders' season came to heartbreaking end.

Despite the loss, it was a remarkable season for Northwest Florida.  The overall record was sterling at 27-3.  The three losses were all to teams that the Raiders beat at least twice this season.  Additionally, NWF claimed it's fourth consecutive Panhandle Conference crown and won the FCSAA/NJCAA Region VIII Championship for the second time in three seasons.  It didn't end the way they wanted, but the 2021-22 Northwest Florida State College women's basketball team was sensational from start to finish.

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