Wallen leads NWF State past Daytona

OCALA- Northwest Florida had too much down the stretch and earned a 79-65 win over Daytona State in the tournament quarterfinals on Wednesday night.

Over the final 11 minutes of the game, the Raiders outscored the Falcons 39-25 and pulled away.

Down by seven with 11:10 left, the nation's No. 5 ranked team went on a 20-0 run and rolled past the Falcons.

Daniela Wallen scored 23 of her game-high 32 points in the second half for the Raiders (25-3), last year's tournament runner-up.

Wallen's performance featured her scoring 12 points during the game-changing 20-0 run for NWFS.

It marked the best scoring effort for the Raiders since former CF women's coach Sharrona Reaves, then known as Sharrona Alexander, scored 41 against CF in 1992.

Wallen finished 11-of-15 from the floor and 10-of-11 from the foul line.

Simone Westbrook, a Florida commit, added 12 points, four rebounds and two assists for NWFS.

Tia Sanders added 11 points and hit a 3-pointer, which started the 20-0 run.

Brittney Chambers led Daytona State with 26 points, aided by a 12-of-12 effort at the free throw line.

The Raiders, who scored 27 of 29 points in the second half after getting hit by a 7-0 run by the Falcons, advance to the tournament semifinals on Friday afternoon at 3.

After shooting just 32.4 percent in the first half, NWFS made 19-of-32 (59.4 percent) after halftime.

The Raiders also dominated the glass with a 44-32 rebounding edge. NWFS also had a 19-11 advantage on the offensive glass.

NWFS needed that in a game that featured 12 lead changes and 10 ties.

Wallen was the difference, as she her two free throws with 9:29 remaining gave the Raiders the lead good.
The free throws by 5-foot-11 sophomore were part of a span that saw her score 10 straight points.

DSC got as close as 60-54 with 5:37 following a 7-0 run, but Wallen scored four of the next six points and the Raiders weren't threatened the rest of the way.

Stephanie Ratliff added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Falcons, while Warren scored 11 points.