Lady Commodores Bounce Back Against Northwest Florida

After a disappointing loss to the Chipola Indians, Gulf Coast traveled to Niceville to face the Northwest Florida Raiders. The Raiders, who were at one point the #1 ranked team in the country, were looking to avenge their previous loss to the Commodores back in January. The Commodores, however, were the team to strike first, going on a 10-2 to start the game. Alisha Murray carried the first quarter, scoring 12 points. Unfortunately for Murray, she picked up two quick fouls and had to go to the bench for the rest of the half. The Raiders took advantage of Murray’s absence and took their own 30-26 lead into halftime. Gulf Coast came out of the break on fire, as they continued to prove they are the best third quarter team in the country. The Commodores rode that big third quarter to a 71-60 victory, with Murray scoring 23 points and securing 6 rebounds. Murray made it a point to grab the boards, saying, “I have to rebound. I focused on crashing the boards and making my own shot on that.” The Lady Commodores move to 21-2 on the season and 6-1 in conference play.

Gulf Coast’s men’s team went into Niceville on a 3 game losing streak and had to be desperate to get back into the win column. Unfortunately for the Commodores, the offense continued to struggle in the first half, with Andre Young being the leading scorer at halftime with 10 points. The rest of the team only mustered 15 points as they went into the break down 37-25. The Raiders continued to hold on to their double digit lead in the second half. The Commodores could not mount a comeback, as they fell 65-51 for their fourth consecutive loss. Bryce Simmons, who scored 13 points, said, “We need to move the ball more and get everyone involved. We aren’t doing that right now.” The Commodores will host Tallahassee Community College on Saturday, as they currently stand at 15-10 on the season and 2-5 in conference play.