#TCCBasketball: Eagle women win No. 20, Coach Q's 100th

NICEVILLE, Fla. (February 4, 2017) – Tallahassee Community College's women's basketball team took a big step towards securing a postseason berth on Saturday, defeating Northwest Florida State College, 80-72, in Panhandle Conference action. 

NJCAA No. 11/Region 8 No. 3 Tallahassee (20-4) improved to 5-3 in PC play, a half-game lead over third-place Chipola College (4-3), who defeated Pensacola State College. More importantly, the Eagles have a 2.5 game lead over fourth-place Pensacola State and a week off before opening the final round of league play in Pensacola on February 11. 

The top two teams in the Panhandle will automatically advance to the NJCAA Region 8/FCSAA State Basketball Tournament while the third-place finisher will be among three teams in contention for one of two at-large berths to the eight-team tournament. 

The win was also NJCAA victory No. 100 for Tallahassee head coach Franqua "Q" Bedell, who is now 67-47 in his fourth season as the Eagles' head coach. He posted a 33-4 record as head coach at Southeastern Illinois College in 2007-08.

After Tallahassee and Northwest Florida State played to a 15-15 tie through one quarter, the Eagles took control with a 19-12 advantage in the second and went to the half leading, 34-27. 

A 13-3 run midway through the third quarter gave Tallahassee even more breathing room, and the Eagles carried a 57-46 lead to the final 10 minutes. 

Northwest Florida State outscored Tallahassee in the fourth quarter, 26-23, but could only get as close as six with under a minute remaining. 

Lawriell Wilson led Tallahassee with 29 points. Jas Hill added 21 and Janessa Murphy, 16. 

Game Notes

• Tallahassee snapped a ten-game losing streak to the Raiders in Niceville, picking up its first win against the hosts in The Arena. The Eagles' last beat Northwest Florida State on its home floor on January 13, 2010. 
• Ironically, the Eagles went 3-0 at The Arena this season, having notched a pair of neutral-site wins in December during the Northwest Florida State College Winter Classic.
• Tallahassee is now 22-51 all-time vs. Northwest Florida State and 7-27 in Niceville.
• Tallahassee now has nine wins over nationally-ranked opponents