Lady Pirates Take Down #7 Chipola

It was an exciting game in Hartsell Arena on Saturday night as the Lady Pirates picked up a hard fought victory over no. 7 nationally ranked Chipola College.

Pensacola was trailing by two at halftime and Chipola extended their lead to 49-42 by the end of the third quarter before the Lady Pirates came fighting back in the final quarter.

Kaiya Burnett knocked down a 10-foot jumper to tie the game at 57 with 1:27 to go in the game.  After a timeout the Lady Pirates got a defensive stop and regained possession with 1:07 to go.

Burnett's shot from the baseline missed the mark and Chipola grabbed the rebound only to have Khrystallyn Harkless and Kaiya Burnett force the ball loose with Burnett grabbing it and hitting a shot to give PSC at 59-57 lead with 47.6 seconds remaining.

Chipola brought the ball down and was able to drive the basket and hit a game tying shot with 28 seconds left in the game.

On the ensuing possession Pensacola was called for a backcourt violation and turned the ball over to the Indians. Chipola ran the clock down and missed a shot that Taylor Williams rebounded and was fouled. Both teams were in the bonus at this point so Williams stepped to the free throw line with 3.9 seconds left in the game.

Williams first free throw rimmed out before she calmly stepped up and knocked down the second one to give the Lady Pirates a 1-point lead. 

Chipola struggled to inbound the ball and Pensacola forced them to loft up a half court shot that fell short and gave the Lady Pirates the victory.

Kaiya Burnett led Pensacola with 19 points while Lenaejha Evans came off the bench to contribute 13. Khrystallyn Harkless worked hard in the paint and grabbed a team high 11 rebounds.

Pensacola will travel to Tallahassee on Wednesday, February 19th to face off against the Eagles.