#TCCBasketball: Eagle women fall despite James’ 39

PENSACOLA, Fla. (January 7, 2017) – Tallahassee Community College's women's basketball team has made a habit out of simply outscoring its opponents this season. On Saturday, Pensacola State College flipped the script and scored a 100-89 win over the Eagles in the Panhandle Conference opener for both teams. 

Freshman forward Japonica James set a school record with 39 points in the loss for Region 8 No. 3/NJCAA No. 11 Tallahassee, who saw its record 12-game winning streak come to an end. The Eagles are now 15-2 (0-1 PC) on the season. 

Region 8 No. 5/NJCAA No. 15 Pensacola State improved to 16-1 (1-0). 

Both teams scored 26 points apiece in both the second and third quarters, and Pensacola State headed to the fourth with a 75-71 lead. The Pirates scored five unanswered points to open the fourth and, following a three-pointer by Janessa Murphy, six more without a Tallahassee response to grab an 86-74 lead with 6:06 remaining. 

The Eagles could get no closer than seven points the rest of the way. 

During its 12-game winning streak, Tallahassee outscored opponents by more than 30 points a game. On Saturday, the Eagles were in catch-up mode most of the night. 

A 10-1 run gave Pensacola State an eight-point lead (23-15) with 2:06 left in the first quarter – the Pirates led 23-19 after the first ten minutes. 

James scored in the paint to tie the game at 30 at the 5:51 mark of the second, the first of four ties in the quarter. Five straight points from Murphy – a three-pointer and two free throws – gave the Eagles a 45-43 lead, their last of the night, but Pensacola State scored the final six points of the quarter to carry a 49-45 to the locker room. 

Four players scored in double-figures for Pensacola State, led by Autumn Jones' 23. Ahyiona Vason added 19 points, Nia Johnson scored 16 and Mylashia Yancey, 12. The Pirates shot 53.3 percent (40-of-75) for the game. 

James' 39 points surpassed the previous record of 38, established in 2013 by Jeraldine Campbell and tied by teammate Jas Hill in the Eagles' previous game against Northeast Mississippi Community College on December 30. 

James hit 15-of-19 from the field and was 9-of-16 from the charity stripe. She, Hill and Lawriell Wilson, the Eagles' top three scorers on the season, combined to score 68 of the team's 89 points on Saturday. 

Wilson had 15 and Hill, 14, but shot a combined 10-of-37. 

Tallahassee will return to action on Tuesday when it hosts defending national champion and top-ranked Gulf Coast State College at 5:30 p.m. The Commodores opened PC play with an 84-75 win over Chipola College on Saturday.