The Florida State College at Jacksonville women's basketball program hosted the 2nd Annual Battle on Beach Blvd FSCJ Tip-Off Classic this weekend. The event has grown since it's conception last year and went from six teams to eight, including nationally ranked opponents and two out of state teams. With plans to increase team participation, 12 teams are expected to next year with the addition of more out of state teams turning it into the "Battle on Beach Blvd Border Wars".
This year's event drew NJCAA #3 nationally ranked Eastern Florida State College along with fellow Region 8 Citrus Conference teams Florida Southwestern, Daytona State College and Santa Fe College. Pensacola was the lone Panhandle team represented this year in the event. East Georgia State College made their return after a #22 NJCAA nationally ranked finish last season and a new revitalized Southern Crescent State College made their first appearance back. Host Florida State College at Jacksonville competed as the solo NJCAA Division 2 program after making the move at the end of last season.
The weekend was filled with excitement, for most teams it was their season opener. Lots of new talent stepped on the court and the competition was intense throughout the weekend. Highlighting the games was Pensacola's overtime win against #3 Eastern Florida. The gym was locked in on the outcome as both teams held the attention of everyone down to the final seconds.
Several players had exceptionally high scoring games over the two-day event. Eastern Florida's Hassett led all scorers with a weekend high 35 points in the loss to Pensacola. While East Georgia's Strowbridge recorded season high 25 points, Santa Fe's Chaney and Pensacola's Bendeck-Giron each had 24 point performances, FSCJ's Brown in her freshman outing recorded 21 points, Daytona's Moxley contributed 20 points and Florida Southwestern' s Schaffer led her team with a 17 point high game performance.
Below are the results from Friday and Saturday's competition:
Friday November 4th
Santa Fe College 74
East Georgia 64
Eastern Florida State College 85
Southern Crescent Technical College 45
Florida Southwestern State College 57
Pensacola State College 74
Florida State College at Jacksonville 59
Daytona State College 77
Saturday November 5th
Southern Crescent Technical College 31
Florida Southwestern State College 86
Pensacola State College 87 - Overtime
Eastern Florida State College 82
Daytona State College 67
East Georgia State College 74
Florida State College at Jacksonville 58
Santa Fe College 89
"The competition was great this year," said FSCJ head women's basketball coach and coordinator of the event Diana Couch. "It was an honor to have some of the best coaches on the sidelines and to be able to watch them work. The talent this year on the floor made the games exciting to watch and the fan turnout really helped to bring the gym to life. We are so grateful for everyone's attendance and the support we received to help pull this event off. We look forward to growing this event next year and drawing even more of the best talent in the country. FSCJ is conveniently located down the street from the beautiful beaches in Jacksonville and our college offers one of the best facilities around. We have no doubt that this will become one of the top premiere events in junior college women's basketball."