Lubbock, TX - For as much as 6-foot-3 freshman Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu dominated in the paint from start to finish Saturday afternoon, Eastern Florida State College's victory in the quarterfinals of the NJCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship was also fueled from the outside.
And by outside, meaning the dribble drive to the paint, because the Titans put on a master class in how to dominate on the inside.
Ozzy-Momodu scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed 18 rebounds before fouling out late in the game, but it was the 24 points from Shadaria Smith and 17 from Leilani Guion that really put Eastern Florida over the top for an 82-77 victory over Wabash Valley at the Rip Griffin Center.
"That's the beautiful thing about our team is they all play off each other really well and their strength is really within each other," Eastern Florida head coach M.J. Baker said. "Izzy did a great job … just killing it inside but then (Smit) and even (Guion) did a great job from the outside and penalized them when they decided to suck it in on her."
With the win, the Titans (33-1) advance to Sunday's semifinals and will face either Jones College or Trinity Valley Community College at 6 p.m. with a spot in the title game on the line. The Titans were eliminated by Jones in the quarterfinals of last year's championships.
Not only did the Titans get big games out of that trio, but they also shot the ball extremely well, hitting on 52.5 percent (31- of 59) from the field. Eastern Florida outscored Wabash Valley (31-2) 42-32 on points in the paint and 31-15 in bench points, 24 of that coming from Ozzy-Momodu.
"Honestly, I wouldn't be able to get the ball without my teammates," Ozzy-Momodu said. "In practice, we work on my positioning and my footwork for me to be put into the game and score."
Wabash Valley, however, did not go away quietly. Eastern Florida used a 7-0 run to take a 25-21 lead just over a minute into the second quarter and never trailed again until midway through the fourth quarter, but also could not pull away from the Lady Warriors despite leading by as much as 10 midway through the third quarter.
A 10-2 run by the Lady Warriors gave them their last lead at 71-70 with 4:21 to play, but the Titans answered with six straight points to take the lead for good. Wabash Valley got to within a possession with under 10 seconds to play but Guion sealed the win with two free throws with 2.2 to play.
Brooklyn Gray led the Lady Warriors with 22 points and 11 rebounds while Madison Roshelle added 19 points and nine boards.
Wabash Valley really had no answer for Ozzy-Momodu in the first half. The freshman from London, England scored 12 of her 18 first-half points in the second quarter as the Titans took control, including 10 straight points for Eastern Florida.
Six of those points came during a 12-3 run to open the second quarter, a run capped by a 3-pointer from Shadaria Smith, one of two in the half. She also added a pair of floating layups late in the period that helped the Titans establish a 38-29 lead with 3:03 to play in the half.
Wabash Valley, however, did not go quietly. Shaulana Wagner and Brooklyn Gray hit consecutive 3-pointers to pull the Lady Warriors to within 40-37 before Ozzy-Momodu ended the half with another layup for a 42-37 advantage.
Of the Titans' 42 points, 28 came in the paint. Eastern Florida also had more scoring balance, outscoring Wabash Valley 22-3 on points in the paint. The Titans shot a blistering 58.1 percent (18 of 31) from the floor.
Gray led Wabash Valley in the first half with 12 points and Madison Roshelle added 10.
