Women's basketball program wraps up another historic season
For the second straight season the Eastern Florida State College women's basketball team wrapped up a historic season at the NJCAA Division I National Tournament.
The Titans set a program record with 33 wins and snapped a 25-year streak at the Region VIII Tournament, becoming the first team outside of the Panhandle to win the Region VIII Championship. It was their first Region VIII and South Atlantic titles.
The title gave them an automatic bid to the national tournament and the No. 2 seed which was the first time the program has been seeded in the top eight and received a bye in the first round.
At the national tournament, Eastern Florida State College won their first two games for the second straight season, advancing to the national tournament semifinals for the first time. They would lose in a tight game to Trinity Valley Community College in the semifinals, just the second loss all season for the Titans.
The program is now 4-2 in the national tournament and has had at least one player named to the all-tournament team in both tournament appearances.
Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu and Elli Garnett both had a big tournament, Ozzy-Momodu averaged 15.6 points and 12.3 rebounds per game while Garnett had 15 points, six rebounds and four assists per game. Both were named to the all-tournament team on Monday night.
The Titans were led by a strong group of sophomores who have helped the program reach new heights over the past two seasons.
L'or Eyeba Mputu, Shadaria Smith, Hanna Mebius-Svensson, Garnett, Madlena Irena Gerke and Leilani Guion will all graduate in the spring and move on but have left their mark on the program.
The team was ranked No. 1 in the state and the nation for the first time, set new season wins record in each of the two seasons and went to the national tournament both seasons, including the first appearance ever for the Titans last season. Also, the group never lost a conference game, going 24-0 in the past two years.
Guion was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Region VIII Tournament and finishes her Titans career with 520 points, 161 assists and 160 rebounds in her two seasons. The Orlando native was named to the all-Central Conference first team and the all-state team.
Smith was named to the first team all-Central Conference team and finished her two seasons with 758 points and 135 3-pointers. The Orlando native grabbed 198 rebounds and 179 assists in 66 career games, starting 64 of them.
Mebius-Svensson played in 56 games for the Titans but a knee injury ended her season before the state tournament. The Stockholm, Sweden guard scored 229 points and grabbed 101 rebounds in her two seasons.
Garnett played one season with the Titans and scored 283 points in 34 games, starting 28. The Golden, Colorado guard also grabbed 187 rebounds and recorded 121 assists. Garnett was named to the all-tournament team at the national tournament and was also named to the Region VIII All-Tournament team. She was also a second team all-Central Conference player.
Gerke spent one season with the Titans as a transfer and scored 184 points in 31 games, starting eight times. The guard from Riga, Latvia had a strong national tournament, becoming a key member off the bench playing at least 18 minutes in all three games.
Mputu was named to the all-Central Conference Player of the Year and the all-state team as the Democratic of Congo forward finishes her two seasons with 742 points, 430 rebounds and 93 blocks in 67 games.
The Titans are 61-7 in the past two seasons and head coach MJ Baker is 134-44 with two conference titles, a Region VIII championship and two trips to the national tournament in her six seasons at Eastern Florida State College.