Daytona State Dominates No. 12 CVCC, Falls Just Short at No. 3 Northwest Florida

The Daytona State College women's basketball team put together a strong weekend on the road, highlighted by a win over D2 #12-ranked Chattahoochee Valley Community College and a one-point loss at D1 #3-ranked Northwest Florida State that showed the Falcons can compete with anyone in the country.

On Friday at Raider Arena, the Falcons rolled past CVCC 89–56 behind an efficient offensive performance and another big night from their bench. Daytona State shot 50.7% from the field and dished out 23 assists on 35 made baskets, while forcing 18 turnovers and holding CVCC to just 29.2% shooting. Freshman guard Lamiyah Hogans earned her career high of 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting, with Calise Chisholm adding 11 points and 7 rebounds, and Azzariah Styles chipping in 10 points. Players coming off the bench again played a huge role, combining for 39 points as multiple players provided scoring, rebounding, and energy on both ends of the floor.

Less than 24 hours later, Daytona State battled toe-to-toe with reigning national champions Northwest Florida State before falling 63–62. After trailing 34–21 at halftime, the Falcons responded with a huge second half, outscoring the Raiders 41–29 and nearly erasing the deficit. Lamiyah Hogans and Azzariah Styles each finished with 10 points, while Keira Mackinnon and Khalise Vidal added 9 points apiece off the bench, and Kendall Ruise provided a spark with 8 points in just 9 minutes. Jaeden Williams stuffed the stat sheet with 7 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, and 4 steals as Daytona State racked up 18 steals as a team. Despite struggling to find a rhythm early and shooting just 37.1% from the floor, the Falcons still forced the nation's No. 3 team to squeak by at the final horn.

Across the weekend, Daytona State's depth, defense, and resilience were on full display. "This was a big week for our program, playing 3 nationally ranked programs with 2 of them being regional powers," said Head Coach Russ Jackson. "We see where we are in comparison to the upper echelon programs and know what we need to do to compete with them."

The Falcons move to 8-1 on the season and will begin conference play next week at Miami Dade on Wednesday, December 10th, at 5:00 pm.