Shauna Cook
The Corsair
It was Sophomore Night for the Lady Pirates Feb. 18 against Northwest Florida State. The Lady Pirates took a hard loss 99-89 making it the first home game loss in two years.
The starting line-up fot the Lady Pirates was #3 Brandy Broome, #15 Jasmine Richardson, #21 Wendi Mitchell, #22 Kyana Jacobs, and #33 Darnisha Hamilton. For the Lady Raiders, the starting line-up were #1 Shae Kelley, #5 Elisavet Politopoulou, #11 Kiani Parker, #20 Shicole Watts, and #23 Ariel Reynolds.
The Lady Pirates took the first basket with Broome scoring 2. From there the Lady Raiders took the lead. With 11:44 on the clock, the Lady Pirates were down by 8 (21-13) and by half-time the Lady Pirates were dowm by 13 with the score at 48-35.
In the first half, Lady Pirate Khadijah Ellison had 7 points followed by Brandy Broome, TeAndrea Smith, and Darnisha Hamilton, all with 6 points. For the Lady Raiders, Tierra Prothro had 12 points followed by Shae Kelley with 7 points.
During half-time, The Student Government Association and The Corsair staff gave a Mardi Gras theme Festival throwing out beads, moon pies, candy, and stuffed animals to the fans of both Pensacola State and Northwest Florida State.
Coming into the second half, the Lady Pirates were unable to tie or take the lead from the Lady Raiders. With 6:29 remaining on the clock, the Lady Pirates were down by 13 (82-69). By the time it was at 1:15, Lady Pirate Ellison had fouled out but not before bringing in another 10 points for the Lady Pirates leaving her with a total of 17 points for the game.
Top scorers for the Lady Pirates were Ronika Ransford with 20 points, TeAndrea Smith with 17 points, and both Jasmine Richardson and Kyana Jacobs with 10 points each. The top scorers for the Lady Raiders were Tierra Prothro with 21 points, Ariel Reynolds with 20 points, Kiani Parker with 18 points and Shae Kelley with 14 points.
This leaves an overall record of 21-3 and 7-3 in conference for the Lady Pirates. The Lady Pirates drop from #1 to #2 in the State Poll Rankings and remain at #4 in the National Poll Rankings. Northwest Florida State is #4 in the State Poll Rankings.
Following a tough loss, there was a ceremony to honor the 6 Sophomores. From Natchitoches, LA #3 Brandy Broome, from Washington, DC #5 Ronika Ransford, from Pensacola, FL #15 Jasmine Richardson, from Port Arthur, TX #21 Wendi Mitchell, from Dale City,VA #22 Kyana Jacobs, and from Natchitoches, LA #33 Darnisha Hamilton.
The Lady Pirates next game will be at home, for their last home game on Wed., Feb. 22 against Chipola. Tip off will be at 5:30 p.m. This will be the game to determine if the Lady Pirates will have a spot in the State Championship come March.