Pensacola State defended their home court Saturday in round-2 of the three-game series matchup with Chipola College. The Pirates were able to secure the 81-64 victory to even the series at 1-1; moving into third place in Panhandle Conference play with the win.

In yet another battle between two NJCAA Top-25 teams, #16 Pensacola State (18-5) held on to an 18-14 lead over #25 Chipola College (18-6) at the end of the first period.

The Pirates outscored the Indians 27-19 in the second stanza to take a commanding 45-33 advantage into the halftime break.

In the third, the two teams would play almost even as Chipola managed 15 points to the Pirates 16 in the period.

After being down 13 points at 61-48 to start the fourth, Chipola would string together a couple of runs to cut the Pirate lead to 65-58 at the 7:11 mark. Back-to-back scores from Jaida McDonald and Tanita Swift put the Pirates back up by double digits at 69-58 with 6:24 remaining on the clock.  Pensacola State would outscore Chipola 12-6 to close out the game and secure the win.

Nataya Lockett led all scorers with 24 points and added 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. Tanita Swift had another solid performance with 21 points, five steals, five rebounds and five assists. Audreonia Benson added 19 points off the bench while Jaida McDonald chipped in 10 points with nine boards.

Pensacola native, Tahnyjia Purifoy, led Chipola with 17 points.

The Pirates travel to Tallahassee on February 7, 2024 to face the Eagles of Tallahassee Community College.