Eagles host nationally-ranked Northwest Florida State

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (January 2, 2015) – The Tallahassee Eagles open up Panhandle Conference play with a doubleheader against Northwest Florida State College on Saturday evening. The Eagle women will begin the night with tip-off set for 5:30 p.m.  The final game of the night will feature the men's team with their game set to tip off at 7:30 p.m.

Both games will be carried by Panhandle Sports Broadcasting at www.PSBlive.com.

The Eagle women (#4 FCSAA/#14 NJCAA) enter conference play with a 15-3 record and on a four-game winning streak.  The Eagles are averaging 72.6 points a game on 38.5 percent shooting.  Their up-tempo offense is fueled by the play of Cat Wells who is shooting 42 percent on the season and is averaging 12.7 points per game.

Karley Barnes and Wendion Bibbins anchor the defense for the Eagles.  Both Barnes and Bibbins attack the boards and pull down an average of 11.9 rebounds per game between the two of them with Barnes grabbing 6.1 and Bibbins grabbing 5.8. 

This will be the 65^th meeting between these two teams with Northwest Florida State holding an 46-18 overall series record, including 13 straight wins heading into Saturday night.  The Raiders enter this game with a perfect 15-0 record and a #4 ranking in the NJCAA polls (#2 FCSAA).  The Raider women average 88.4 points a game on 49.1 percent shooting.  Daniela Wallen leads the Raiders in scoring with 16.3 points a game.  Wallen is not the only threat of the Raiders' potent offense.  They also feature three additional players who average double-digit scoring. Wallen also leads the team in rebounds with 7.5 and in steals with 4.1 per game. 

The Eagle men (#19 NJCAA/#3 FCSAA) will complete the night with their game against the Raider men who also are ranked nationally at #2.  The Eagles are led by the trio of Dirk Williams, Elmo Stephen, and Cameron Smith who average double-digits in scoring.  Williams leads the team with 17.4 points per game while Stephen and Smith average 14.8 and 10.1 per game, respectively.  Both Smith and Williams are shooting over 50 percent from the field on the season with Smith going an impressive 59.8 percent from the field while Williams is shooting 49.6 percent from three-point range.

Eric Nottage helps facilitate the scoring averaging 6.5 assists per game.

The Eagles make playing defense a team effort with no player as the standout rebounder.  As a team they average 40.6 rebounds a game while holding their opponents to just 27.2.

The series between these two teams has been fairly evenly matched over the past with the Eagles holding a 36-34 lead over the Raiders in the series.  The Raiders have dominated the last three seasons winning all nine meetings.

The Raider men enter the game on a 16-0 run while putting up 93.1 points per game on a blistering 55.8 percent shooting.  A trio of guards in Jalen Jackson, Brandon Austin, and Benji Bell fuel the offensive machine of the Raiders.  Each player averages points in double-digits, scoring 17.7, 15.9 and 13.6, respectively. 

When it comes to defense, it is Treshaad Williams that the Raiders lean on to get the job done.  Williams leads the team in rebounding pulling down 7.3 boards a game.