NICEVILLE, Fla. (March 5, 2022) - Northwest Florida State College knocked off Indian River State College 81-40 to win the FCSAA State/NJCAA South Atlantic District Championship.

With the win, Northwest Florida State (27-2) punched its ticket to the NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship in Lubbock, Texas, where it will have the opportunity to defend its national championship.

Indian River State (22-9), along with a host of other teams from Region 8, will wait for Sunday's bracket release to find out if it received an at-large bid to Lubbock. 

The sixth-seed Pioneers, who were searching for their first-ever FCSAA crown, were making their first appearance in the championship game since 1987 after single-digit wins against No. 3 seed Gulf Coast State College and No. 2 seed Eastern Florida State College. Northwest Florida State's road to Saturday evening wasn't without its own suspense. 

The Raiders had to rally from a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter to avoid an opening-round upset to Hillsborough Community College, then pulled away from Chipola College in a semifinal round victory. 

Everything came together for the Raiders on Saturday. They led 17-9 after a quarter then held Indian River State to three second-quarter points en route to a 32-12 halftime lead. 

Behind a stifling defense, a pair of long-standing championship game records - the fewest points allowed and largest margin of victory - were within reach for Northwest Florida State, but Indian River State's Tavi Habib's scored a basket in the closing seconds to keep the Pioneers out of the record books. 

Tournament Most Valuable Player Last-Tear Poa scored 19 points for the Raiders. Ines Piper had 15; Shelbee Brown, 10. Piper joined Poa on the All-Tournament Team. 

Habib, who scored 13 points, and Breanna Campbell, who had 12, made the All-Tournament Team for Indian River State. 

With the win, Northwest Florida State tied Florida State College at Jacksonville with five FCSAA Championships - which ranks fourth in state history.

Northwest Florida State's Bart Walker was recognized as the Roonie Scovel FCSAA Coach of the Year.

FCSAA All-Tournament Team

Darria Whitley, Hillsborough; Jayla Murray, Florida SouthWestern; L'or Eyeba Mputu, Eastern Florida State; Rapuluchi Ngorka, Eastern Florida State; Jordan McLaughlin, Chipola; Shimei Muhammad, Chipola; Morgan Robinson-Nwagwu, Gulf Coast State; Masengo Mutanda, Northwest Florida State; Breanna Campbell, Indian River State; Tavi Habib, Indian River State; Last-Tear Poa, Northwest Florida State; Ines Piper, Northwest Florida State

Tournament Most Valuable Player: Last-Tear Poa, Northwest Florida State
Roonie Scovel FCSAA Coach of the Year: Bart Walker, Northwest Florida State