Women's basketball team ready for big weekend at JUCO Shootout
The Eastern Florida State College women's basketball team will open the JUCO Shootout with a top-10 matchup Friday at Daytona State College.
The ninth-ranked Titans will play No. 4 Northwest Florida State College at 2 p.m. on the first day of the two-day JUCO Shootout at Daytona State College. The Titans will play No. 19 Florida Southwestern on Saturday at noon.
"We are excited to have the opportunity to play two powerhouse teams to see how our team stacks up," Eastern Florida State College women's basketball coach MJ Baker said. "In order to be the best, you have to play the best so to get to play these two teams this weekend is good for our program."
Eastern Florida State College comes into the matchup unbeaten at 8-0 this season and is 11th in the nation in scoring, averaging 83.6 points per game. The team is also top five in the nation in rebounding (54.3 per game), assists (21.4 per game) and blocked shots (7.9 per game). Eastern Florida State College has allowed opponents just 45.6 points per game which is sixth in the nation.
The Titans are led by guard Shadaria Smith who is averaging 13.5 points in and average of 20 minutes per game while Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu is averaging 11 points and 10.5 rebounds in 16.8 minutes while L'or Eyeba Mputu is averaging 10.3 points and 9.3 rebounds in 15 minutes per game. Teammate Elli Garnett is averaging 8.5 points.
"Our team is playing at a different level I feel collectively because everyone has owned their roles and are extremely bought in to the culture of our program," Baker said.
Northwest Florida State College comes into the matchup 6-1 with the only loss coming to No. 1 Trinity Valley Community College. The Raiders are led by Sakima Walker who is averaging 14.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game while Destiny McPhaul is averaging 11.6 points, six rebounds and three assists per game while teammate Zayla Tinner is averaging 10.3.
Friday's game is part of a day of basketball at Daytona State College as the JUCO Shootout will be held on Friday and Saturday. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $10 per day and $15 for the two days. Fans can watch the games live online at the Daytona State College YouTube page.