OCALA, Fla. (March 8, 2017) – Sophomore guard Lawriell Wilson tied a school record with 39 points to lead NJCAA No. 9/Region 8 No. 3 Tallahassee Community College past No. 17/No. 4 Palm Beach State College, 97-86, in quarterfinal round action at the FCSAA State/NJCAA District Tournament.
Tallahassee (23-6) moves into the semifinals where it will meet a familiar foe, Panhandle Conference regular season champion Gulf Coast State College, at 3 p.m. Friday.
Wilson scored 25 of her 39 points after the half and her first points of the third quarter moved her past Eagle great Syreeta Bromfield as the school’s all-time leading scorer. Wilson now has 1,081 career points – and the Eagles needed every point to put away the Panthers.
Palm Beach State never trailed through the first two quarters. The Panthers led 31-26 after a quarter and maintained the five-point advantage until five unanswered from Wilson tied the game at 43-all.
Palm Beach State eventually took a 48-46 lead to the locker room.
Jas Hill opened the second half scoring with a three-pointer from the corner that gave Tallahassee its first lead of the game, 49-48.
Wilson began to take control of the game in the third quarter and her basket at the 2:21 mark pushed the Eagles’ lead to 66-59.
Tallahassee led 70-61 after three and Wilson’s three-pointer to start the fourth increased the lead to a dozen, its largest of the night.
Palm Beach State rallied, however, and pulled to within three, 78-75, with more than six minutes left. The Eagles closed strong, however, outscoring Palm Beach State 19-11 the rest of the way.
Hill finished with 26 points, Japonica James had 18 and Lindsay John, 12.
