Women's basketball opens state tournament with top 25 showdown

The Eastern Florida State College women's basketball team will open the FCSAA State Tournament Thursday evening in a battle of top 25 teams in the nation.

The Titans, who come into the matchup No. 22 in the NJCAA Division I poll, will play host and No. 5 ranked Northwest Florida State College at 7 p.m. EST in the quarterfinals.

"We are excited about the opportunity to face No. 5 Northwest Florida in the first round because we know to be the best you have to beat the best and right now they are top in the nation," Eastern Florida State College women's basketball coach MJ Baker said. "They are an extremely talented team that is very discipline and efficient with great size and toughness. They do an excellent job of rebounding and taking teams strengths away on offense."

Northwest Florida State College comes into the contest as one of the toughest defenses in the country, allowing just 49.4 points per game this season.

The Raiders are 24-4 on the season and have won six straight games heading into the tournament as the champion of the Panhandle Conference. 

The Titans come into Thursday night's game against host and fifth-ranked Northwest Florida State College averaging 83.3 points per game which is tops in the state and No. 9 in the nation.

Sophomore Skye Williams leads the charge, averaging 15.9 points a game as four of the five starters are averaging at least 12 points per game.

"I believe we have some of the most talented versatile guards in the nation and their play will dictate our success," Baker said. "It will be key for us to set tempo, control the glass, be disciplined, take care of the ball and shoot high percentage shots. We need to play excellent team ball with grit, execution and love for us to be successful."

The Titans are 23-6 on the season and you can watch the game live online at emeraldcoasttv.com