Lady Pirates Open Season With Two Wins

The No. 24 nationally ranked Pensacola State Pirates opened the 2024-2025 campaign on the road in Gainesville, Florida; participating in the Santa Fe College Tip-Off Classic November 1-2, 2024.

PSC 68 Santa Fe 59

In their season opener, the Pirates battled the host Bulldogs of Santa Fe. The Bulldogs got off to a hot start early in the contest and led 18-14 after the first period. After intense back-and-forth action and a 12-point first half from sophomore guard Audreonia Benson, the Pirates took a 30-29 lead into the halftime break. The Bulldogs bested the Pirates in the third quarter to take a 44-43 advantage into the final period of play. While the Pirates struggled to find their rhythm on offense, their defensive pressure proved to be too much for the Bulldogs as they forced 45 turnovers and claimed a 68-59 victory.

Benson, a University of Central Florida commit, led the Pirates both offensively and defensively with 25 points to go along with a career-high nine steals in the contest. WBCA All-American, Jaida McDonald, recorded her first double-double of the season with a 12 point and 13 rebound performance to go along with six steals. Talia Kemp also added double digit scoring as she chipped in 14 points.

Madyson Burney led Santa Fe with 19 points.

PSC 62 Hillsborough 56

Day two of the weekend challenge featured the Pirates matching up against the Hawks of Hillsborough College.

Pensacola controlled the game through the first half of play and led 35-21 at the break. The Pirate lead grew to as many as 19 at 40-21 before the Hawks fought their way back to make things interesting. The Hawks were able to get the deficit to single digits and got a basket as time expired before falling 62-56 to the Pirates.

Freshman guard, Shay Oyewole, paced the Pirates scoring with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting from distance. Jaida McDonald added another double-double performance with 11 points and 11 boards. Katiya Casey added 13 points as the Pirates third double digit scorer.

Masiel Reyes, who was the nation's second leading scorer a year ago, led the Hawks with a strong 23-point outing.

The Pirates move to 2-0 on the season.