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The Eastern Florida State Titans women’s basketball team is on a nine-game win streak as they beat their conference rival Santa Fe Saints 86-58 Wednesday night. The Titans are ranked second in the nation at the NJCAA Division I level. With this win, they remain undefeated in the Central Conference at 9-0, with an overall record of 25-1.
Their only loss of the season was back in early January when Shelton State Community College beat them 60-44. Meanwhile, the Saints continue to struggle as they fall to 3-7 in conference play, and 11-15 overall.
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Go! Go! Go!
In order to beat the Titans you’re going to have to have a conditioned team. They average 80 points per game and push the ball up the court as fast as possible. It didn’t matter who was bringing the ball up the floor, everyone for the Titans always had their eyes up to take advantage of any opportunity to attack the basket. When it came to half-court plays, the Titans played unselfishly, moving the ball to get the best shots possible. These qualities lead to the team recording 21 assists throughout the game.
When teams put such a focus on offense, you may think that defense becomes an afterthought, but not for the Titans. They play with quick feet, challenge shots, and clog passing lanes. As a team, the Titans had 10 steals, five blocks, and forced the Saints to turn the ball over 21 times. To go along with everything else, the Titans were able to control the ball by rebounding as well. All but one player recorded a rebound in the game, which goes to show the stress that Head Coach Baker puts on succeeding in every aspect of the game. The team ended with a total of 39 rebounds which was 11 more than the Saints.
Never Quit
Although the Saints are having a rough season, this is a team that will never quit. They play every second of all 40 minutes in a game. Every game they make improvements and this game was no different. This year the Saints have shot 64% from the free-throw line and 59% from the line against conference rivals. They saw a major shift in that trend as they shot 76% from the line against the Titans. That is 12% higher than their season average and 17% higher than their season average in conference play! The Saints saw shooting improvements throughout the night as their three-point percentage was also higher than their season average. The Saints saints started slow, but in the second half, they had a 43% increase in shots made in the field compared to the first half.
The Game
The Titans took an early lead and ran with it, as the first quarter ended 18-7. To start the second quarter the Titans went on a 10-point run that would be ended by free throws from Triniti Youngblood. The Titans continued to dominate the game as they went into halftime with a 26-point lead with a total score of 43-17. However, a newly refreshed Saints team took the floor at the start of the third and in the first five minutes went on to outscore the Titans 15-9. Playing with more efficiency on offense and being tougher on defense closed the gap. The Titans then regrouped and pushed back to end the third up 62-41. They continued to fire on all cylinders into the fourth quarter and won the game 86-58.
Key Players
Eastern Florida State College
The Titans played as a team and ended the game with five players who scored double digits.
L’or Eyeba Mputu lead the Titans in scoring with 18 points and had seven rebounds. Amelia Hassett scored 11 points without missing a single shot. Leilani Guion put up 14 points while knocking down three of her five three-point shots. Madlena Irena Gerke had 15 points, one block, and two steals. Finally, Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu recorded a double-double with 10 points and led the game with 10 rebounds, along with two blocks and a steal.
Santa Fe College
Malea Brown lead the game in scoring and steals with 22 points and four steals. Selah Reddick had 11 points and was tied with Joey Delancy for the most rebounds on the team with five.
