NWF State pulls away late to hand Lady Eagles second straight loss

NICEVILLE, Fla. (February 2, 2013) - NJCAA No. 5/FCSAA No. 1 Northwest Florida State College outscored No. 18/No. 4 Tallahassee Community College, 11-2, over the final four minutes and defeated the Lady Eagles, 73-63, on Saturday evening in Panhandle Conference women's basketball action. 

After winning back-to-back games, Tallahassee (13-8) has dropped two in a row and sits at 2-5 in Panhandle Conference play. Northwest Florida State (21-2, 6-2 PC), meanwhile, moved into sole possession of first place in the conference standings, one-half game ahead of idle Gulf Coast State College (5-2) and Chipola College (5-2), who defeated Pensacola State College on Saturday, 53-52. 

Tallahassee never led on Saturday and trailed by as many as 15 points (21-6) midway through the first half. Down 31-19, Jeraldine Campbell knocked down a three-pointer and scored eight points during a 10-0 run that brought Tallahassee within two points (31-29) in the closing seconds of the first half. 

Northwest Florida State's Carla Batchelor hit two free throws with three seconds remaining to give the Lady Raiders a 33-29 lead at the intermission. 

Campbell, who scored a Tallahassee record 38 points in a 77-75 loss at Gulf Coast State on Wednesday, came out on fire in the second half, scoring 14 points in the first nine minutes. She hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 44 then, after Northwest Florida State scored four unanswered points, knocked down a three-pointer to bring the Lady Eagles back within one, 48-47, with 10:55 left in the game. 

Campbell didn't score again, however, as Northwest Florida State switched to a box-and-one, forcing the action into the hands of her teammates. 

Needing someone to step up, Sarah Williams answered the bell, scoring nine points in a span of less than three minutes. And when Aariel Allen scored in the paint at the 4:24 mark, Tallahassee trailed 62-61. 

But Northwest Florida State scored the next 11 points and Tallahassee didn't score again until Karley Barnes' putback with 14 seconds left. 

Campbell finished with a game-high 25 points. Williams added 11. 

Jatoria Carter came off the bench and provided a huge spark for Northwest Florida State, scoring a team-high 18 points. Batchelor added 17 points and 14 rebounds. Kiani Parker tossed in 15 points, and Rudiane Eduardo just missed a double-double, tallying nine points and 12 rebounds. 

Tallahassee will return to play on Tuesday evening when it hosts Pensacola State College. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m. and the game will be carried by Panhandle Sports Broadcasting at www.PSBlive.com.