Women's basketball team drops Lawson State in Lady Jets Holiday Classic

Women's basketball team drops Lawson State in Lady Jets Holiday Classic

The Eastern Florida State College women's basketball team handed Lawson State Community College its first loss of the season Tuesday evening at the Lady Jets Holiday Classic in Americus, Georgia.

The game started a bit late, but the Titans were ready, jumping out to a fast start on their way to a 68-49 win to improve to 12-2.

Freshman Rapuluchi Ngorka got things going for the Titans, scoring the first four points as Eastern Florida State College jumped out to a 7-0 lead and stretched it to 13-3 and finished the first quarter with an 18-7 lead.

The lead would reach 15 in the second quarter before Lawson State went on a 12-0 run over six minutes to cut the lead to three with two minutes left in the first half. Shadaria Smith ended the run with a 3-pointer and then stole the ball, dishing to Ngorka for the breakaway basket. Smith would end the quarter with another 3-pointer, falling with the shot at the buzzer to give the Titans a 30-19 lead at halftime.

The Titans picked up where they left off in the third quarter, outscoring Lawson State 24-11 in the quarter to take a 54-30 lead heading to the fourth quarter.

From there the Titans cruised to their 12th win of the season.

Ngorka had another big night for Eastern Florida State College, scoring 24 points and grabbing 21 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season. Shadaria Smith hit five 3-pointers to finish with 15 points while L'or Eyeba Mputu had 13 points and six rebounds.

The 24th-ranked Eastern Florida State College will be back on the court at 3 p.m. Wednesday, facing No. 7 Georgia Highlands College who is 13-2 on the season and has won 11 in a row. The Pioneers defeated No. 19 Gulf Coast State College 80-75 Tuesday in Georgia.