GAMEDAY PREVIEW: #23 Lady Indians wrap up regular season with TCC

MARIANNA, Fla. – Courtesy of #18 Pensacola's loss on Wednesday night to #6 Northwest Florida, Coach John Marcum's twenty-third ranked Lady Indians have clinched their spot in the FCSAA/Region VIII Tournament on March 14-16.

Chipola will be the third place team from the Panhandle but is expected to be seeded in the top four at the tournament in Niceville. The Lady Indians are currently ranked fourth in the FCSAA Coaches' Poll.

After winning four consecutive games in the Panhandle Conference, the Lady Indians fell to the conference-leading Lady Commodores from Gulf Coast last Saturday. With their win on Wednesday against TCC, Gulf Coast clinched a share of the conference title but can win it outright by defeating Northwest Florida on Saturday.

The Lady Indians have faced one of the toughest schedules in the NJCAA this season. Massey Ratings show their strength of schedule to be fourth in the country, with two Panhandle Conference teams in the second and third slots. Consider these elements of the 2023-2024 Lady Indians schedule:

• Chipola has played 11 of their 30 games against ranked opponents and has a record of 5-6 in these games. Between November 16 and January 3, the Lady Indians played 13 of 14 games away from home and managed a 11-2 record in those games.
• The Lady Indians are 5-3 this season against last season's State Champions from Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida.
• Nineteen of Chipola's 30 game schedule were played on the road. Six of Chipola's seven losses this season came on the opponent's home floor. Going into Saturday's game, Chipola is 9-1 on its home floor and 6-0 in neutral site games. The only blemish is a loss to the defending state and national champs, Northwest Florida, who Chipola defeated on their home floor.
• In this week's NJCAA DI Women's Basketball Rankings, Chipola has wins against the numbers two, five, six, and eighteen teams.

 Games Notes

• As the regular season winds down, sophomore Tahnyjia Purifoy remains in the top ten in several statistical categories nationally. Going into Saturday, she has scored 569 points, good enough for 6^th nationally. She leads the country in minutes played (1083), 3^rd in assists (187) and free throws made (147), and 7^th in steals (96). She is also 19^th in points per game at 19.6.
• The last time TCC defeated Chipola was on January 25, 2020. The Eagles defeated the Lady Indians in Marianna, 68-62.
• Chipola has won 13 consecutive games against the Eagles. The last time TCC defeated Chipola was on January 25, 2020. The Eagles defeated the Lady Indians in Marianna, 68-62.

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