WESSON – Jones County Junior College appeared on the verge of handing unbeaten Copiah-Lincoln its first loss of the season.
JCJC led the Lady Wolves 68-60 with 4:56 remaining, but Co-Lin ended the game on a 16-0 run and posted a 76-68 victory here Wednesday night in the MACJC Tournament semifinals before a packed house at Mullen Gymnasium.
Co-Lin, 25-0, will now meet Meridian at 6 p.m. Thursday for the state championship. MCC edged East Central 79-77 in the other semifinal game.
JCJC, 17-7, will now head to the Region 23 Tournament, which will be held March 4-7 in the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the campus of Mississippi College in Clinton. A region tournament bracket will be released on Friday.
The winner of the regional tournament goes to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament March 16-21 in Salina, Kansas.
JCJC trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half before making a comeback.
A Taylor Baudoin basket with 8:21 left put JCJC up 58-56, which was their first lead since 7-6 with 16:18 left in the first half.
After Co-Lin's Kelley Allen tied the game at 58-58 with 7:58 left, JCJC received back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers from Baudoin, Kadie Parker and Alyson Johnson and took a 67-60 lead with 5:38 left.
Johnson's free throw with 4:56 remaining gave the Lady Bobcats their longest lead of the game at 68-60, but they would not score again.
The Lady Wolves came back and tied the game at 68-68 with 2:12 left on an offensive rebound putback by Allen. Tyra Gibson's two free throws with 1:35 left gave Co-Lin the lead for good at 70-68.
Gibson then came up with a steal, drew a foul and made one free shot to make it 71-68 with 1:04 left.
After a Lady Bobcat miss, Co-Lin claimed the rebound and got the ball to Allen, who scored and drew a foul with 26.4 seconds to play. She hit the free throw to give the hosts a 74-68 advantage.
The Lady Bobcats turned the ball over again and ended up fouling Jamilah Sanders with 8.0 seconds to play. She made both foul shots to end the scoring.
Co-Lin started off the game quickly.
The Lady Wolves broke an 8-8 tie with a 17-2 run and took a 25-10 lead at the 10:03 mark of the first half on a putback by Kristal Flowers. Their longest lead of the evening was 33-17 with 6:48 left in the half on a driving shot by Collins.
But the Lady Bobcats would then use a 9-0 run and move to within 33-26 with 3:31 to play in the half on a 3-pointer from the right wing by Johnson.
Baudoin's putback had JCJC within 37-30 with 46 seconds to play in the first half, but Allen's layup at the buzzer gave Co-Lin a 39-30 lead at intermission.
The Lady Bobcats would rally and pull within 52-50 on a 3-point play by Daggans with 11:56 left. Baudoin's basket off an assist by Aliyah Bell tied the game at 56-56 with 9:11 to play.
Baudoin led the Lady Bobcats with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Parker had 18 points – all coming on six 3-pointers. Daggans had 13 points and Johnson finished with 12, including three 3-pointers. Bell led the team with five assists.
Allen and Collins had 22 points each for Co-Lin, while Toni Woods finished with 10. Allen had a game-high 13 rebounds, while Gibson and Sanders had six assists each.
The Lady Bobcats were 24-of-62 from the floor, including a sparkling 12-of-24 from 3-point range, for 39 percent. They were 8-of-15 from the foul line.
Co-Lin was 31-of-62 from the field, including 0-of-7 from 3-point range, for 50 percent. They were 14-of-19 from the free throw line.
Co-Lin outrebounded JCJC 39-32, while each team committed 17 turnovers.
 
 
MACJC State Tournament
Wesson
Copiah-Lincoln Community College
At Mullen Gymnasium
Wednesday's game
WOMEN
Copiah-Lincoln 76, Jones County 68
JONES COUNTY (17-7) – Taylor Baudoin 23, Kadie Parker 18, Starla Daggans 13, Alyson Johnson 12, Hayley Pichon 2, Jayda Simmons 0, Mallory Odom 0, Aliyah Bell 0, Terrica Williams 0, Kristen Smith 0.
COPIAH-LINCOLN (25-0) – Kelly Allen 22, Alexis Collins 22, Toni Woods 10, Tyra Gibson 9, Jamilah Sanders 4, Tenazhia Hinkeson 4, Arnissayur Robinson 3, Kristal Flowers 2.
Jones County          30 38 – 68                
Copiah-Lincoln        39 37 – 76    
 
 
MACJC State Tournament
At Wesson
Copiah-Lincoln Community College
Mullen Gymnasium
WOMEN
Monday's results
Meridian 76, Itawamba 74
East Central 90, Holmes 69
Copiah-Lincoln 71, East Mississippi 48
Jones County 91, Northwest 71
Wednesday's results
Meridian 79, East Central 77
Co-Lin 76, Jones County 68
Thursday's game
Championship, Meridian vs. Co-Lin, 6 p.m.
 
MEN
Tuesday's results
Northeast Mississippi 67, Jones County 62
Holmes 62, East Central 59 (OT)
Pearl River 70, Mississippi Delta 61
Miss. Gulf Coast 78, East Mississippi 74
Wednesday's results
Holmes 69, Northeast Mississippi 59
Pearl River 69, Miss. Gulf Coast 54
Thursday's game
Championship, Holmes vs. Pearl River, 7:45 p.m.