TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (November 15, 2016) – Santa Fe College outscored Tallahassee Community College 29-20 in the fourth quarter to erase a seven-point deficit and knock off the previously unbeaten Eagles, 85-83, on Tuesday evening.
Tallahassee, ranked No. 3 in the latest NJCAA Region 8 Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Poll, dropped to 3-1 while Santa Fe improved to 3-2.
After trailing by as many as 13 points in the second quarter, Tallahassee had seemingly taken control midway through the third. The Eagles opened the quarter on a 23-6 run, capped by Japonica James’ three-point play for a 57-45 lead at the 4:48 mark.
Tallahassee’s lead was still 11 (63-52) entering the final minute of the third, but Santa Fe closed with five straight points to pull within 63-57 as the game moved to the fourth quarter.
With the game hanging in the balance, a pair of three-pointers by Corey Staples swung the momentum in Santa Fe’s favor. The first tied the game at 73 with 3:51 left. Just over a minute later, she knocked down another one from long distance to break a 75-all tie and give the Saints the lead.
Lawriell Wilson answered with a three-point play to tie the game and the Eagles later forced a tie at 80-all, but Arianna Emanuel-Wright’s basket with 1:58 left gave the Saints the lead for good.
Trailing 85-83, the Eagles had one final shot with one second remaining, but Janessa Murphy’s game-tying basket came after the final buzzer.
Wilson, James and Jas Hill combined to score 72 of the Eagles’ 83 points.
Hill led all scorers with 27 points. Wilson added 24 points to go along with 11 rebounds. James finished with 21 points.
Staples led Santa Fe with 19.
The Eagles will take Wednesday off then host the Capital Courtyard Classic on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Tallahassee will play at 3 p.m. each day beginning with Thursday’s matchup against West Georgia Technical College.
The Tallahassee men hit the floor after the women's game, and improved to 5-0 on the year with the 75-59 win over Santa Fe.
