Nikulochkina twins, Payne garner All-PC honors
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (February 26, 2020) – Tallahassee Community College placed three players on the women's All-Panhandle Conference basketball teams, announced on Wednesday.
The trio included one first-team selection, freshman guard Polina Nikulochkina. Her twin sister, Ana, and fellow freshman Sedayjha Payne were named second-team all-conference.
Despite missing the final three games with an ankle injury, Polina, who hails from Moscow, Russia, still led the Eagles in scoring at 16.2 points per game and averaged 5.7 rebounds over 23 games.
Ana missed the first 12 games of the season due to an Achilles' injury but bounced back to post a strong second half. She averaged 13.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists.
Payne, who hails from Apopka, Fla., played in the final 25 games of the season and averaged 11.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists. She recorded five double-doubles during league play.
Behind the Nikulochkinas and Payne, freshmen accounted for 94.1 percent of the Eagles' points and 90.0 percent of their rebounds during the 2019-20 campaign, which ended with a 12-14 record but included a pair of PC victories over NJCAA top five opponents.
2020 Panhandle Conference Postseason Honors
All-Panhandle Conference First-team
Ahlana Smith, So., Gulf Coast State; Chanaya Pinto, Fr., Northwest Florida State; Rayven Peeples, So., Northwest Florida State; D'Asia Gregg, So., Gulf Coast State; Isadora Sousa, Fr., Chipola; Fapou Semebene, So., Northwest Florida State; Rachel Johnson, So., Chipola; Naomi Mbandu, So., Gulf Coast State; Kaiya Burnett, So., Pensacola State; Polina Nikulochkina, Fr., Tallahassee; Caytlin Wilson, Fr., Chipola; Ariel Cummings, So., Chipola.
All-Panhandle Conference Second-team
Reneasha Payton, So., Northwest Florida State; Lya Farcy, So., Gulf Coast State; Precious Cown, Fr., Chipola; Taitana Jones, Fr., Gulf Coast State; Sedayjha Payne, Fr., Tallahassee; Zamaria Polk, So., Pensacola State; Ana Nikulochkina, So., Tallahassee.
Player of the Year: Ahlana Smith, Gulf Coast State
Coach of the Year Award: Bart Walker, Northwest Florida State