Raiders Heading Back to National Championship After Defeating Wabash Valley
CASPER, Wyo. — For the third time in four years, Northwest Florida Women's basketball is heading back to the National Championship following a 86-72 victory over Wabash Valley in the NJCAA Women's Championship Semifinals.
Those who tuned in whiteness a dog-fight between two of the nations best teams. The Raiders and Warriors traded blows throughout the entire game, with neither team seeing a lead larger than five through the first 35 minutes of play. Destiney McPhaul turned in another incredible performance, scoring a game-high, and career-high, 29 points while adding seven rebounds and four assists to her mix. In three games this tournament, McPhaul is averaging 24 points and seven rebounds a game, while shooting a 50.0% clip from the field.
Celia Riviere was also had a standout performance, recording a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Mekhia Chase (14) and Kyla McBride (12) were also heavily involved in the Raiders victory today.
The first half was a tightly contested, high scoring battle with the first period seeing nine lead changes. Northwest Florida came away with a 27-25 edge over Wabash thanks to four made triples - two by McPhaul - in the quarter. The second quarter was mostly controlled by Wabash. The Warriors were able to take their largest lead of the game (5) in the second quarter, utilizing ten made free throws on 15 attempts from the line. At the Break, the Warriors held a narrow 47-43 advantage over the Raiders.
The third quarter hoped to see a team finaly pull away. However, it was much of the same from the first two quarters. Each team went back-and-forth, trading scores with one another. The Warriors retook a five-point lead over the Raiders with just over two-minutes remaining in the quarter, but the Raiders were able to narrow the deficit to one just before the horn sounded.
The final quarter was going to be the deciding factor in the game, as much would have anticipated coming into the matchup. The first few minutes were back-and-forth once again, until Kyla McBride hit a three with 6:46 left to put the Raiders up by one. This triple ignited a 13-0 run by Northwest Florida which would give them the largest lead of the ballgame (11) heading into the final minutes of the contest.
The Warriors looked to make a late push in the final stages of the game, but all the momentum was riding with the Raiders as every shot and rebound seemed to be going their way. Eventually, the Raiders would build a lead too insurmountable and would walk away victorious, defeating Wabash, 86-72. This becomes the third National Championship appearance for the Raiders in the last four years as they look to repeat as champions for the first time since Gulf Coast (2017).
Northwest Florida will have their matchup cutout for them in the Championship as they get set to face No. 1 seed Hutchinson. The Blue Dragons are a perfect 36-0 on the season and rank top-15 in points per game (77.4), field goal percentage (44.8), points pregame allowed (53.1) and opponents field goal percentage (32.7)
The Championship game will take place Monday, April 1, at 7:00 PM (CDT) from the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper, Wyo.. The game will be televised on linear network ESPN U, or you can steam the game through the ESPN app.
For complete coverage of Northwest Florida State Athletics, visit nwfraiders.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Northwest Florida Raiders), Instagram (@nwfraiders) and X (@NWFRaiders)
#GORAIDERS #SOUNDTHESIREN