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.”