The Lady Pirates basketball team brought in a full house Jan. 6 as they defeated nationally ranked No. 4 Northwest Florida State in overtime 83-75 and are now 1-0 in conference.
PJC is ranked No.7 in the nation. Another Panhandle Conference team, Gulf Coast is ranked No. 1.
Before overtime, PJC was down 69-67 with only 24 seconds left in the game when Freshman Jessica Merritt shot and scored for the tie at 69-69.
“I just wanted to make the shot, because I knew I missed it at first,” Merritt said. “I knew I had to tie it up because everyone wanted to win, including me.”
Freshman Meghan Perkins scored the most points at 29. Sophomores, Deana Allen followed behind her at 23 and Izzy Chilcott at 14.
“Those girls feel like they deserve to win,” Chanda Rigby, head coach, said. She felt pleased with her team’s performance saying, “It’s the first time they had that kind of test and I am very proud of them.”
The Lady Pirates face Tallahassee Community College Saturday in Tallahassee.
“One game at a time; we just got to go out there and play hard and hopefully come out with a win and be 2-0 in conference,” Merritt said.