The Hartsell Arena was electric on Valentine's Day as two NJCAA Top-25 teams went head-to-head, battling for positioning in the Panhandle Conference standings. The no. 14 Pirates and no. 4 Raiders from Northwest Florida State provided spectators an instant Panhandle Classic, with the Raiders coming from behind to pull out the 61-57 win over the Pirates.
The Raiders controlled the game early and jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead in the opening minutes. A Katiya Casey triple as the shot clock expired put the Pirates on the scoreboard and seemed to settle the squad. NWF would slightly edge PSC in the period and led 18-17 at the break.
After trailing 36-29 at halftime, the Pirate defense held the Raiders to just five points in the third stanza to take a 44-41 lead at the end of three.
In the final period, PSC would commit eight turnovers after having a total of 13 in the prior three quarters. The Pirates, who had led since the 2:02 mark in the third, held onto a 57-54 lead with just 47.3 seconds remaining.
Celia Riviere's drive to the bucket after a NWF timeout cut the Pirate lead to just 57-56 with 24.0 seconds of action left. The Raiders' Mekhia Chase managed to steal the ball from Tanita Swift and raced up the floor before the Raiders would have to use a timeout with 13.3 seconds remaining, setting up the dramatic finale. A corner trey from Raiders' Jaela Davis proved to be pure, lifting NWF 59-57 with 6.6 on the game clock. The Pirates', out of timeouts, ensuing inbound attempt would result in a turnover giving the Raiders possession and an opportunity to seal the Pirates fate. Two Destiney McPhaul free-throw put the NWF up 61-57 with only 4.0 seconds left an impossible PSC miracle.
Swift led the Pirates In scoring with 15 while Nataya Lockett added 11 with nine boards.
Riviere and McPhaul paced the Raiders with 17 and 12 respectfully.
With the loss, PSC (19-6, 3-5) moves to 4th place in conference play while NWF (21-2, 6-2) remains 2nd in the Panhandle Conference. The Pirates look to move up in the standings Saturday as they host no. 2 Gulf Coast State on Saturday, February 17, with a 2:00 PM tip-off time.