Women's basketball team opens FCSAA Tournament tonight

The Eastern Florida State College women's basketball team is back in the FCSAA Tournament for the eighth straight season.

The Titans are the No. 5 seed and will open the tournament Wednesday night against No. 4 seed Gulf Coast State College at 7 p.m. EDT. It is a matchup of 20-win teams who come into the tournament looking to get back on track.

Gulf Coast State College has lost the past three games and is 5-5 over the past 10. The Commodores come into the tournament 20-7 and went 6-6 in the Panhandle Conference.

Eastern Florida State College comes into the tournament 21-8 overall and finished second in the Citrus Conference with a 13-5 record.

Both the Titans and the Commodores are in the top five in points per game this season as Gulf Coast comes in averaging 77.2 points while the Titans are averaging 72.9. Defensively, the Titans are one of the best in the FCSAA, holding teams to 56.7 points per game, second only to No. 1 seed Northwest Florida State College.

Offensively, Gulf Coast State College has four players averaging in double figures this season led by Arianny Francisco de Olviera who is averaging 13 points per game. Teammate Clara Koulibaly comes into the tournament averaging 12.5 points.

Eastern Florida State College is led by sophomore E'Zaria Adams who was named to the All-FCSAA Team on Monday. Adams comes into the quarterfinals averaging 11.4 points while teammate Jalei O'Neal is averaging 10.6 points and 5.1 rebounds in her freshman season.

"I am excited, ready to play," O'Neal said. "It is my first year here but it is nice to be able to help bring our sophomores back this year. I just want us to play hard, play fast, play strong, be tough and be coachable and give it all we can."

Last season the Titans came into the tournament as the No. 3 seed losing in the semifinals to Northwest Florida State College. Ashleigh Battle is one of three sophomores back from that team and is ready to get back on the court in Niceville.

"Last year did not end the way we wanted it to end so coming in this year it is really important for us to focus on the little things, execute the game plan and just play hard and come out on top," Battle said.

The quarterfinal matchup will be the final one of the day, scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. EDT at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville. Tickets cost $15 per day or $40 for the tournament. Fans can also watch the game at https://team1sports.com/fcsaa/