Women's basketball team opens Region 8 Tournament Wednesday night

The Eastern Florida State College women's basketball team opens the Region VIII Tournament Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. EDT at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville.

The Titans, who come in as the No. 1 seed at 28-1, will play No. 8 seed Santa Fe College in the quarterfinals. Eastern Florida State College is 3-0 against Santa Fe this season and have won 10 in a row. The teams met in the state tournament in 2018-19 with Santa Fe winning, 69-61.

The Saints are making their first appearance in three seasons at the state tournament after finishing the regular season 13-15.

Sophomore guard Leilani Guion is averaging 15 points per game against Santa Fe this season and averages 10.7 points per game. Teammate L'or Eyeba Mputu was named the Central Conference Player of the Year averaging 13.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.

Santa Fe is led by Malea Brown who is averaging 20.2 points which is third in the state. Teammates Se'lah Reddick and Joey Delancey are each averaging 10 points per game.

"The Region 8 Tournament is really tough, you have to win three games in four days and face some of the top teams in the nation, you almost have to win a national title to win the state tournament," Eastern Florida State College women's basketball coach MJ Baker said. "You can't have an off day, so we have to be prepared for whatever we may face."

It is the sixth straight appearance in the state tournament for the Titans who reached the semifinals last season.

Tickets will be $35 for a four-day pass or $10 per session and can be purchased online at https://nwfraiders.com/tournaments/Region8Tourney or at the Northwest Florida State College gym. You can also watch the games live online via Emerald Coast TV.