NWF State men, women to play for FCSAA/Region VIII championship
NICEVILLE -- NWF State has long been the premiere Juco basketball program in the nation.
Now, each program fresh off a Panhandle Conference crown and just a win away from sweeping the Region VIII Tournament at Raider Arena, that label appears especially true.
Bart Walker's defending champion and second-seeded NWF State women beat Florida Southwestern 69-60 Friday night to set up a championship showdown at Raider Arena with top-seeded Eastern Florida State College at 5 p.m. Steve DeMeo's fourth-seeded men followed that up with a 61-55 win over defending champion and top-seeded Chipola to set up a rematch with third-seeded Tallahassee tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Raider Arena.
The women were on fire offensively Friday, shooting 59% from the floor behind Zayla Tinner's 17 points, Sakima Walker's 13 points and 10 rebounds and Destiney McPhaul's 11 assists. Defensively, the Raiders held Florida Southwestern to 33% shooting and forced 15 turnovers to hold a 12-16 advantage on points off turnovers.
With NWF State (25-3) ranked sixth in the country and Eastern Florida (30-1) No. 2, tonight's tilt promises to be must-see basketball.
The men (25-7), meanwhile, got contributions from all over Friday to overcome 16 missed free throws, a 4-for-18 clip from beyond the arc and 36.5% shooting overall. Tavion Banks delivered a team-high 14 points off the bench, Marcus Niblack had 12 points, Kasean Pryor added 11 points, Taryn Todd chipped in 10 points and Chad Baker-Mazara scored nine.
NWF State is 2-1 versus Tallahassee on the year, all single-digit outcomes.
The winner from both finals earns an automatic bid to the national tourney, while the loser is all but assured of an at-large spot.
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: NWF State men, women to play for FCSAA/Region VIII championship
