Lady Indians ready to begin state title defense
Chipola women's basketball will open their season on Monday night at 5 PM.
Coach Greg Franklin's squad tips off the season on Monday evening at 5 PM, taking on the Lady Panthers from Denmark Technical College from Denmark, South Carolina. Pensacola State and East Georgia State women's basketball teams will play the first game of the day starting at 3 PM. All games on Monday are open to the public and there is no admission charge.
Last season the Lady Indians were 20-5 and won the FCSAA/NJCAA Region VIII Championship. Chipola finished the season in the semifinals of the NJCAA Tournament in Lubbock, Texas. Three members of the 2020-2021 team have moved on to NCAA Division One schools, but Coach Franklin returns two starters from last year's team and three other contributors from the championship team.
Know your opponent
- Coach Johnathan Shell is in his third season with the Lady Panthers.
- Last year, Denmark Tech finished with a 10-6 record while averaging 75 points a game.
- Last season's leading scorer, Dasia Harden, returns after averaging 13.5 points per game and shooting 29.4 % in the 2021 season.
2021-2022 schedule preview
The Lady Indians' 2021-2022 schedule features six games against opponents ranked in the top twelve of the NJCAA Preseason Rankings and five opponents who played in the 2020-2021 NJCAA Tournament.
Chipola will take on #12 Georgia Highlands College as part of the World Exposure Report Invitational Tournament in Marianna on November 13. Seward County Community College and Gulf Coast State College, a 2020-21 NJCAA Tournament team, will also be a part of the tournament.
Preseason #4 Jones College will face off with the Lady Indians at the Panhandle Classic in Marianna on December 11. Joining Chipola and Jones will be Hillsborough Community College and Central Georgia Tech.
The Lady Indians will travel to Lake Charles, Louisiana to face LSU-Eunice on December 30 and #7 South Plains College on New Year's Eve.
After the new year, Chipola will face the preseason #1 and 2021 NJCAA Champion, Northwest Florida State College, three times as part of the Panhandle Conference schedule. The Lady Indians will travel to Niceville for games on January 6 and February 9 and host the Raiders on January 22.
"This is one of the best non-conference schedules we've had since I've been here," said Coach Greg Franklin. "It will be very taxing on our team but it will also be very competitive for us in getting us ready for, what we say, is the most rigourous conference in the country. It should be a great schedule for our fans to come out and see some great basketball."