Women's basketball team loses in state tournament

Pride is a term that the Eastern Florida State College women's basketball uses on a daily basis all season long.

And on Wednesday night the Titans showed that pride, leading the No. 1 seed and No. 2 ranked Northwest Florida State College for much of the first half in the quarterfinals of the FCSAA State Tournament.

But a five-minute stretch in the second quarter saw the Raiders turn a four-point deficit into an 11-point lead at halftime.

The Titans hit five of 11 3-pointers in the first half and led by six points early in the second quarter as Anja Knoflach hit her only 3-pointer of the game. A Tatiana Beaumont 3-pointer gave Eastern Florida State College a 27-23 lead with 4:58 remaining. But the Titans would not score again until Knoflach's basket at the buzzer.

The second half saw the Titans stay with the Raiders for most of the way but could not go on the run that would cut the lead lower than eight.

Sophomore Stephanie Torres, who was named to the all-state team last week, had a game-high 21 points while teammates Zahria Jenkins and Natalia Beaumont each had seven points.

The Titans finish the season 12-8 and lost to Northwest Florida State College in the first round of the tournament for the second straight season.