Lady Pirates end season with loss in state semis
March 6, 2010
Madelain Tigano - The Corsair
One point. Just one point was the difference in going to the finals or going home. The Pensacola Junior College Lady Pirates lost the semi final round in the FCCAA/NJCAA Region VIII State Championship Basketball Tournament 61-60 against Tallahassee Community College March 5 in Marianna.
All-State guard and University of Florida signee Deana Allen hit a three-pointer from the top of the key to put PJC within one point with 4.1 seconds left in the game. Then came the controversy.
Following Allen’s shot, the base referee called the ball out of bounds when Tallahassee inbounded the ball with one foot out of bounds. Another referee, though, awarded Tallahassee a timeout.
“It was very controversial, the out-of-bounds call. PSB Live was telling me ‘let them watch it on film. You can see the ball was out of bounds,’ and it would have been our ball at our goal with plenty of time to score,” Head Coach Chanda Rigby said. “But if anything else, I was thinking, I wish we wouldn’t have put ourselves in that situation for the ending to be so close to need that call.”
Karneshia Garrett had a game high 19 points, with 14 in the second half.
“I just wanted the ball in the post,” Garrett said. “I knew the inside was weak so I was just going to pound it in.”
Rigby was happy with the freshman’s performance.
“Garrett was pretty unbelievable as far as her determination and her scoring around the goal,” Rigby said. “We probably should have done a better job getting it to her.”
The Pirates got off to a sluggish start and were down by 13 points six minutes into the game. They made up some ground late in the first half with eight unanswered points, but still trailed 31-22 at the half.
PJC came within 1 on four occasions in the second half in a hard fought game, but was unable to pull ahead.
“I don’t think we attacked as hard as we needed to in the beginning of the game,” Rigby said. “When we came back in the second half and started attacking, the other team already had the momentum. It’s hard to get momentum back. We never had the momentum in the game.”
Sophomore DeAngela Sword provided a spark with 10 points off the bench. Allen pumped in 9 points, including 2 three-pointers, all in the second half.
“It looked like (Tallahassee) wanted it more,” Garrett said. “We are just going to go back and start working on it for next year.”
With three freshmen in the starting line-up during post-season play, the Lady Pirates have a lot to look forward to next year.
“I am going to work even harder than I did this year to improve, by starting at the beginning of the year and not just by conference time,” Garrett said.
Lady Pirates sail past Indian River
March 5, 2010
Robert Klawitter - The Corsair
The PJC Lady Pirates showed they’re not ready to go home yet, pulling out a narrow 56-52 victory over Southern Conference Champion Indian River State College (21-5) in the first round of the FCAAA/NJCAA Region VIII State Championship at Chipola College in Marianna.
PJC (24-5) came to life after halftime starting the second half on an 8-0 run while increasing the tempo of the game and spreading the floor on offense.
“They were in a sagging defense and we kept forcing it into the paint off the dribble or to our post players in the first half,” Head Coach Chanda Rigby said. “We knew we had to score more in transition or extend their defense by getting the ball out to the corners in the second half.”
PJC increased the lead to 10 during a 22-8 run, going up 41-31 with 12:30 left in the game. During the run PJC’s smothering defense held Indian River to only nine points in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
“The first play of the second half they ran a same play they scored off of several times against us and Deana Allen jumped up and caught it in the air,” Rigby said. “I knew that would set the tempo. They were going to play harder.”
Freshman guard Jessica Merritt led the Lady Pirates offensively, scoring a game high 22 points while shooting 7 of 19 from the field and 8 of 10 from the line. Freshman guard Meghan Perkins chipped in with 14 points and 7 rebounds. Merritt and Perkins helped offset the lack of production from sophomore team captain Deana Allen while she battled through foul trouble. Allen was pulled with four fouls just 6 minutes into the second half.
Rebounding was the difference in the game, leading to second chance shots for PJC while they shot 27 percent for the game. Freshman forward Karneshia Garrett led the Lady Pirates with 6 offensive boards, with 13 total rebounds while PJC outrebounded Indian River 57-32.
In the second half, “we started rebounding well and attacking the basket,” Assistant Coach Tanisha Rogers said.
“The main thing that kept us going was that we didn’t get down on each other. Instead, we came together,” Allen said. “Good teamwork and not blaming each other helped us out in the second half.”
The Lady Pirates shot a dismal 14 percent from the field in the first half, hitting only 5 of 35 and missing all 11 shots from beyond the 3-point line.
“I gave them a few little adjustments at halftime, but basically it was them. They did not want to go home after one game,” Rigby said. “Their determination led to them playing better in the second half.”
PJC advances to the second round, and will face Panhandle Conference rival Tallahassee Community College at 3 p.m. March 5. PJC won the series 2-1 against Tallahassee in the regular season.
“It’s going to be tough. Tallahassee played great; we watched them play before our game, and they played hard,” Rogers said. “It’s going to be another battle between Panhandle teams.”
PJC Women vs. Chipola
February 15, 2010
Lady Pirates stun nation’s top team
February 15, 2010
Jessica Merritt shoots from under the basket to score points against Gulf Coast Feb. 6
Robert Klawitter
- The Corsair
The Hartsell Arena was a packed house Wednesday, Feb. 3, as the Lady Pirates hosted the No. 1 team in the country, and previously undefeated Gulf Coast Community College.
PJC cranked up the intensity late, to overcome a 15-point second half deficit. Along with smothering defense, PJC made crucial free throws down the stretch to seal the 68-64 win, and hand Gulf Coast their first loss of the season.
“This win proves that our program can compete and win against the best in the nation,” Head Coach, Chanda Rigby said. “Gulf Coast has had a strangle hold on this conference the last twelve years.”
The Lady Pirates were forced to make starting lineup adjustments, as they “fought through injuries and illness,” Rigby said. With sophomore guard, Izzy Chilcott, out for the game, and sophomore starting guard, and team captain, Deana Allen, starting the game on the bench, the Lady Pirates fell down 14-5 early in the first half. Allen gave PJC a spark off the bench, as the Lady Pirates surged back to take their first lead 24-23 with 7:25 left in the first half.
“The team responded, and fought through adversity,” Assistant Coach Leah Drury said.
Unfortunately, Gulf Coast answered back with an 11-0 run, and went into halftime with a 41-35 lead.
“Defensively we have to protect the paint, and on offense we have to do a better job spreading the floor and working the post in the second half,” Rigby said.
Gulf Coast gained early momentum, increasing PJC’s deficit to 15 after another 14-5 run to start the half, and lead the game 55-40 with 12:40 left.
With their back against the wall, PJC cranked up the intensity on the defensive end, resulting in easy offense during a 23-7 run, which gave the Lady Pirates a 63-62 lead with 2:30 left.
“We didn’t really make any adjustments, the will to win was the difference,” Rigby said. “Our girls never quit.”
The Lady Pirates didn’t let up there, clamping down on defense, forcing Gulf Coast into a shot clock violation. Critical free throws down the stretch helped seal the upset for the Lady Pirates. The win moves PJC within one game of Gulf Coast in the conference standings.
“This win gives us confidence, and proves that when we work hard we can beat anybody,” Allen said.
PJC Lady Pirates vs Northwest Florida State live blog
February 10, 2010
Click on the link below to follow our live blog of the game.
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Women’s basketball ranked No. 4 in nation
February 8, 2010
Lady Pirate Najat Ouardad dribbles past the Northwest Florida defense to score for PJC.
Madelain Tigano- The Corsair
This season PJC’s Lady Pirates basketball team is ranked not only No. 2 in the state, but now No. 4 in the nation.
At the beginning of the conference season, the Lady Pirates were ranked No. 7 in the National Junior College Athletic Association polls. But, after their win against No. 4 ranked Northwest Florida State, Jan. 6, PJC booted them out of the rankings and took the No. 4 spot.
On Jan. 16, PJC was hoping for the same outcome against 12-year conference champions, No. 1 ranked Gulf Coast Community College, but could not overcome a 10-point deficit.
“We couldn’t overcome the 10-point lead against Gulf Coast, because they dominated us on rebounds,” Chanda Rigby, head coach, said.
The Lady Pirates could get their revenge Feb. 3 when they play Gulf Coast at PJC, but Rigby explains, “It is important that we do not slip up and let any of the other Panhandle teams beat us.”
So far PJC is sticking to that plan. They hold a 19-2 record and the right talent to keep the wins coming.
Sophomore Deana Allen leads the Lady Pirates with 429 points so far this season. She ranks third in the nation on points with an average of 21.45 points per game.
Meghan Perkins is a starting freshman with 56 steals this season, and second in team scoring with a total of 275 points.
Izzy Chilcott, a sophomore from Queensland, Australia, has made 17 three-point field goals. PJC also has another international star, Najat Ouardad, from Orléans, France. Ouardad, 5-foot-1, has made a huge court presence with 154 total assists (7.7 per game) and 60 steals on the season.
But no matter what they face next, freshman Jessica Merritt expresses, “It’s one game at a time, we just got to go out there and play hard and hopefully come out with a win.”
Lady Pirates Vs. Gulf Coast Community College/ Live Blog
February 3, 2010
Click the link below to view the live blog of the game.
<iframe src=”http://www.coveritlive.com/index2.php/option=com_altcaster/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=60e7e1ee9f/height=550/width=470” scrolling=”no” height=”550px” width=”470px” frameBorder =”0″ allowTransparency=”true” ><a href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=60e7e1ee9f” >Lady Pirates Vs. Gulf Coast Community College</a></iframe>
PJC vs. Tallahassee Community College
January 27, 2010
Click on the link below to view the live blog of the game.
<iframe src=”http://www.coveritlive.com/index2.php/option=com_altcaster/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=484d9b7f02/height=550/width=470” scrolling=”no” height=”550px” width=”470px” frameBorder =”0″ allowTransparency=”true” ><a href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=484d9b7f02” >PJC Lady Pirates against Tallahassee Community College</a></iframe>
PJC lady pirate basketball against Chipola
January 13, 2010
Lady Pirate receives FCCAA’s Player of the Week
December 4, 2009
Gemalie Perez
The Corsair
Every week Florida’s Community College Activities Association (FCCAA) names one athlete as Player of the week. The player of the week for the second week in November was PJC’s Deanna Allen.
“All game stats are reported to FCCAA Scoreboard after each game. The player in Florida with the best stats (points, rebounds, steals, and assists) for the week is chosen the FCCAA Player of the week,” Chanda Rigby, women’s basketball head coach, said.
Allen averaged 26.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 6.0 steals during the week she was chosen for the award.
“I feel very appreciative of this award,” Allen said. “It doesn’t stop here. I will continue to polish my game, because I know my team needs my presence.”
Allen may have received the award for best stats of the week, but her efforts spread farther than any award being received.
“Deana is a player that any coach would love to have as a player. She is very unselfish and puts her teammates first. She works very hard in the classroom, as well as the basketball court,” Rigby said.
Allen currently maintains a 3.4 GPA while staying very active in the community by helping with many of Pensacola’s well known organizations, such as United Way and The Miracle League of Pensacola. She is also one of the most highly recruited women’s basketball players in the nation.
Although this will be Allen’s last year playing for PJC, she plans on helping the Pirates achieve their full potential this season.
“I really wish PJC was a four year university because I would love to stay here and play all four years,” Allen said, while on a phone call with the head coach of North Carolina State.
Allen currently is being scouted by schools such as Rutgers, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, North Carolina State University, and the University of Alabama.
“We will certainly miss her when she is gone, but we are excited about her future, and we are so glad that we could be a part in helping guide her and help her grow toward her potential,” Rigby said.
