Lady Raiders Heading to National Championship Game
LUBBOCK, TX - All season, success for the Northwest Florida State women's basketball team has been predicated on defense-generating offense. The Lady Raiders needed every bit of that Sunday afternoon. And because they got just enough of both, the Lady Raiders will play for their second national title in three years.
Sakima Walker scored 19 points, and the Lady Raiders used a big second quarter and stellar defense to outlast the College of Southern Idaho for a 69-56 victory in the semifinals of the NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championships at the Rip Griffin Center. Destiney McPhaul added 14 points for the Lady Raiders
The Lady Raiders (28-4) held Southern Idaho to just 32.2 percent (19 of 59) from the floor and only 23.1 percent (6 of 26) from the 3-point line. The Golden Eagles (31-3) came into the game hitting 30 percent from beyond the arc.
"I thought we played a heck of a first half," Northwest Florida head coach Bart Walker said. "The ball was moving crisply, and we were getting it where we wanted to. Our defense, I thought we guarded really well. The second half we just got loose with the ball. It's a win, we're in the final game and I couldn't be happier.
Northwest Florida took control of the game early in the second quarter, putting together a 17-2 run to turn a two-point game lead into a 17-point advantage. The Lady Raiders were on cruise control in the third quarter until McPhaul temporarily left the game after suffering a whiplash injury.
Southern Idaho immediately took advantage of her absence and began mounting its comeback. Down 51-31, the Golden Eagles went on an 11-2 run to pull to within 51-40. Northwest Florida answered to push the lead back to 18 at 60-42 before Southern Idaho reeled off a 12-1 run to get within seven at 61-54.
The Golden Eagles had a chance to get closer but missed some key free throws down the stretch, and Northwest Florida sealed the win with a game-ending 8-2 run.
"Our game plan was to get back fast in transition, run them off the line and squeeze the middle of the floor to make them have to put it on the floor," Walker said. "We wanted them to win by shooting twos instead of threes and we stuck to our game plan perfectly."
Mya Pierfax added 10 points in the victory for the Lady Raiders, who shot 54.2 percent (26 of 48) from the floor and dominated in the paint, outscoring Southern Idaho 44-18.
In addition to the offensive outburst in the second quarter, the Lady Raiders did a good job of keeping the Golden Eagles from doing what they do best – hitting from the 3-point line. Southern Idaho hit 30 percent from the 3-point line coming into the game but was just 15 percent (2-for-13) from beyond the arc in the first half. Both of those came in the first half before Northwest Florida put the defensive clamps on.
Northwest Florida will take on #3 Trinity Valley Community College in the NJCAA Division-I National Championship game on Monday, March 27th at 8:00 PM (CST). The game will be aired on ESPNU. This will be the second matchup between the Raiders and Cardinals this season as Northwest Florida traveled over to Athens, Texas over Thanksgiving break. Trinity Valley came out on top 76-65. However, the Raiders have found their identity since then and will look to avenge that early season loss. Trinity Valley is 34-2 on the season and averaging 79.6 points per game.
***WATCH PARTY*** The National Championship Game will be aired at Hurricane Grill & Wings in Bluewater Bay. All Raider fans are invited to attend.
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