Women's basketball team wins the Region VIII Tournament Championship

For the first time in program history, the Eastern Florida State College women's basketball team has cut down the nets at the Region VIII Tournament.

The Titans, who came in as the No 1 seed in the state tournament, defeated Northwest Florida State College 48-43 in the championship game Saturday night at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville.

"Winning the championship is special! It's a testament to the hard work from this extraordinary group of young women going all the way back to our summer Zoom meetings and the beginning of practice in August," Eastern Florida State College women's basketball coach MJ Baker said. "We knew we had a special group but it takes more than that. It takes the embracing of our way of doing things, of our culture and our expectations. This group not only bought in but through their work and their love for one another they captured the hearts of each other and their coaches. And when you have the amazing talent and willingness to work that they possess, it's a tough combination to beat."

Tournament Most Valuable Player Leilani Guion finished with 13 points along with Region VIII All-Tournament player L'or Eyeba Mputu. Also making the all-tournament team were Elli Garnett who finished with nine points and seven rebounds along with Shadaria Smith who had four points, five assists and five rebounds.

The Titans went into halftime with a 24-23 lead on a Shadaria Smith basket right before the buzzer as both teams played really well on defense.

It remained close throughout the contest as the teams seemed to trade baskets as the lead changed 15 times in the game.

Smith hit a basket with 2:13 remaining to give the Titans the lead. Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu made a big block and with 35 seconds left L'or Eyeba Mputu makes a basket to make it 48-43. From there the defense took over and the Titans were Region VIII champions.

It is the first time in 25 years that a team from outside the Panhandle has won the Region VIII Tournament title.

"While the Region VIII title is great, this group is not satisfied," Baker said. "We sincerely believe we have what it takes to compete for a national championship and that's what we have challenged them to do."

The women's basketball team is now a program-best 31-1 and has automatically qualified for the NJCAA Division I National Tournament March 22-27 at the Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock, Texas.