#TCCBasketball: Eagle women even score with Gulf Coast

@PCNHDustinKent contributed to this story 

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (January 23, 2019) – NJCAA No. 10/Region 8 No. 4 Tallahassee Community College picked up a much-needed win at No. 7/No. 2 Gulf Coast State College on Wednesday evening, defeating the Lady Commodores 79-76 in Panhandle Conference action. 

The teams have traded wins in the season's first two meetings, with the visiting team winning each time. Gulf Coast State claimed a 101-96, double-overtime victory in Tallahassee on January 5. 

After dropping its first three league games, Tallahassee (20-3) has won consecutive road games to jump back into the thick of the Panhandle Conference race. At 2-3, the Eagles still sit in fourth place but trail second-place Gulf Coast State (3-2) by just one game and are a half-game back of Saturday's opponent, Chipola College (2-2). 

Tallahassee showed its championship mettle on Wednesday, overcoming a 13-point deficit in the first quarter then making the necessary plays down the stretch to defeat Gulf Coast State on its home court for just the third time in school history. The Eagles were 2-31 against the Commodores in Panama City entering Wednesday's game. 

Leading 12-10 near the midway point of the first quarter, Gulf Coast State scored 12 of the next 13 points to take a 24-11 lead by the 3:05 mark and led 26-15 at the end of one. 

With points hard to come by, the Eagles turned to the defensive end to get back into the game. Their trademark pressure defense resulted in three shot clock violations in the second quarter – at the same time, Tallahassee picked things up on the offensive end and forced a 38-all tie at the half. 

The Eagles' surge continued out of the locker room. A 10-1 run to start the quarter gave Tallahassee a 48-39 lead just over two minutes in, and the quarter ended with the Eagles in front, 61-58. 

After Gulf Coast State grabbed a 65-64 lead with 6:27 left, Tallahassee scored five unanswered points to regain a 69-65 advantage at the 4:39 mark. The Eagles never trailed again. 

The Commodores pulled within one, 74-73, but Jada Perry answered with a basket to extend the Eagles' lead back to three. Gulf Coast State turned the ball over on its ensuing possession and Tallahassee sealed the game at the free throw line before surviving a game-tying three-point attempt by Astou Gaye. 

Juliunn Redmond had a near-perfect night for Tallahassee, shooting 9-of-10 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the line en route to 25 points. Daisha Bradford hit six three-pointers and finished with 20 points. 

Perry had 18. 

Saturday's game against Chipola will tip off at 5:30 p.m.