Northwest Florida State takes home national title
LUBBOCK, Texas - Northwest Florida State captured the 2023 NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship title after defeating third-seeded Trinity Valley 66-63, at the RIP Griffin Center on Monday.
The 2023 Championship marks the Raiders thirteenth national tournament appearance and second national title in program history. The Raiders won their first national tournament championship title in 2021.
Head coach Bart Walker has led Northwest Florida State to a national tournament appearance in all six years that he has been head coach. Two of those six years resulted in a national title.
STRONG DEFENSE HELPS POWER RAIDERS TO TITLE
Sakima Walker scored 23 points to lead the Raiders to a national title with Destiney McPhaul, Zayla Tinner and Celia Riviere close behind. The Raiders' rebounds (42) and assists (14) also aided in their win over the Lady Cardinals.
Briana Peguero was the leading scorer for the Lady Cardinals with 14 points. Ashanti Barnes, Abby Carter, Makiyah McCollister and Kaila Kelley came in hot right behind Peguero in points.
BRACKET BUSTERS
Northwest Florida State was awarded the No. 8 seed after earning one of the eight at-large selections to the tournament.
The Raiders won their first game against No.9 seeded Shelton State 59-51 before taking down No.1 seeded South Georgia Tech 72-61. Northwest Florida State handed South Georgia Tech their second loss of the season after 33 straight wins.
The Raiders then defeated No.4 seeded Southern Idaho 69-56 in the semifinals to earn their spot in the championship title game.
TAKING HOME THE HARDWARE
Northwest Florida State's Sakima Walker was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2023 NJCAA DI Women's Basketball Championship. The sophomore center recorded 80 points and 42 rebounds throughout the national tournament.
The national title game included five players selected for the All-Tournament team: Destiney McPhaul and Zayla Tinner of Northwest Florida State, and Ashanti Barnes, Abby Carter and Briana Peguero of Trinity Valley.
The All-Tournament team also included: Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu and Elli Garnett of Eastern Florida State, Imani Smith of Gulf Coast State, Nya Valentine of Shelton State, Fanta Gassama of South Georgia Tech, Alyssa Christensen of Southern Idaho, and Brooklyn Gray of Wabash Valley.
Northwest Florida State's Bart Walker was named the Coach of the Tournament.
Southern Idaho, led by head coach Randy Rogers, earns the Alberta Lee Cox Sportsmanship Award.
