Raiders Cruise to 89-30 Victory Over Tallahassee
NICEVILLVE, Fla. – Northwest Florida State women's basketball secured their 20th win of the season on Saturday with a commanding 59-point victory over Tallahassee at home on Saturday.
The Raiders shot a season best 61.3% from the field against the Eagles, while holding their opponent to a 26.1% clip on 12 made shots. The Raiders dominated on all fronts today, holding plus differentials in all category's including rebounds (+10), assists (+23) and steals (+14). NWF's defense was lockdown, recording a season-best 25 steals, forcing the Eagles into 37 turnovers.
Mya Pierfax led the game in scoring with 22 points for the contest, while adding a pair of rebounds and steals to her stat sheet. Destiney McPhaul recorded her second double-double of the season with ten points and ten assist. Mekhia Chase and Nevaeh Scott also had productive days on the scoring front as each recorded ten points against the Eagles with Chase also adding five rebounds and four steals.
The Raiders record improves to 20-1 on the season and 5-1 in Panhandle Conference play. The win also marks the Raiders second straight since their loss to No. 1 Gulf Coast, who the Raiders will see again at home next week (Feb. 10).
SUMMARY
The Eagles kept within striking distance of the Raiders for the first two and a half minutes of the game, making their first two-shot attempts to hold them to a one-point lead. Following a made jumper from Mya Pierfax, Destiney McPhaul extended the Raider's lead to six with a triple from the wing. The Raiders would hold onto this lead for the next several minutes until a couple of successful trips at the line from Pierfax and Kyla McBride pushed the lead to double digits, making the score 19-9. McBride would finish the period with a made jumper, giving the Raiders a 25-11 lead after ten minutes of play.
McBride and Naveah Scott would begin the second quarter of play with back-to-back layups, extending the Raiders' scoring run to ten and lead to 18. A Tallahassee layup with 8:13 on the clock ended the Raider's run, but Pierfax quickly sank a triple to give NWF a 19-point advantage. That Eagles make would be only one of two they would make in the second frame as the Raiders embarked on a 27-point barrage in the second quarter, sending them to the locker rooms with a healthy 37-point lead (52-15).
This trend persisted for the remainder of the game, as NWF held Tallahassee to just three points in the third quarter after the Eagles only connected on one shot attempt and one free throw in the period. Tallahassee made four of their ten-shot attempts in the fourth quarter, including two makes from three. Still, this wasn't enough to return from the massive hole they found themselves in. NWF would hang on to defeat Tallahassee 89-30, marking the second time they've defeated the Eagles by a greater than 40-point margin this season.
UP NEXT
The Raiders will return home next weekend (Feb. 10) as they seek to reclaim their crown against the No. 1 ranked Gulf Coast after falling to the Commodores on the road last week by 32 points. The tipoff for that game is scheduled for 2:00 PM.