FULTON – Jones County Junior College put together a solid effort in its opening round game in the MACJC Women's Basketball Tournament here Tuesday night at the Davis Event Center on the campus of Itawamba Community College.
Tatyana Lofton pumped in 23 points, Wendion Bibbins had 14 points and 16 rebounds and Ashailee Brailey had 15 points to lead the Lady Bobcats to a 69-58 victory over Holmes.
JCJC, 19-5, will now face host Itawamba, also 19-5, at 6 p.m. Wednesday in a semifinal matchup. The Lady Indians defeated Southwest 58-52 on Tuesday.
In Tuesday's other quarterfinal games, East Central beat East Mississippi 72-68 and Copiah-Lincoln defeated Northwest, 75-68. East Central will face Co-Lin at 1 p.m. on Wednesday in the other semifinal game.
The women's championship game is slated for 6 p.m. on Thursday.
In men's semifinal play on Wednesday, Jones County meets Mississippi Gulf Coast at 8 p.m. and East Mississippi plays Southwest at 3 p.m.
The men's title game will be at 8 p.m. on Thursday.
JCJC is the only school in the state to have teams in both the MACJC women and men's tournament semifinals.
The JCJC games will air on www.jcjcathletics.com and click on the JCJC-TV banner. Or go to letsgoicctv.com for webcasts of all of the tournament games.
Lady Bobcats 69, Lady Bulldogs 58
JCJC led for almost the entire contest and held a 20-point advantage several times in the fourth quarter.
Brailey's 3-pointer from the left corner put Jones up for good at 8-6 with 6:31 left in the first quarter. The Lady Bobcats led 17-12 after the first quarter.
Holmes got within 21-17 with 9:02 left in the first half when Tiffany Jones scored. But JCJC ran the lead out to 29-19 when Hanah Lott hit a 3-pointer with 6:28 left in the first half. Bibbins hit a 15-footer with 1:10 left to give JCJC its longest lead of the half at 35-22.
The Lady Bobcats led 35-24 at halftime.
Holmes trimmed the lead to 38-31 with 4:27 left in the third quarter when Jones made a free throw. Lofton then scored nine straight points on her own to put JCJC ahead 47-31 with 2:10 left in the third quarter.
The Lady Bobcats were up 51-36 after the third quarter.
JCJC outscored the Lady Bulldogs 13-8 over the 5:42 of the final quarter. Lofton's 3-pointer put the Lady Bobcats ahead 64-44 with 4:18 left.
Lott paced JCJC with five assists. Lott and Bibbins each had three steals.
Jones had 15 points for Holmes, 17-7. Aja Williams and Minyone Hill added 11 points each.
JCJC ended the game 25-of-67 from the field (7-of-17 from 3-point range) for 37 percent. The Lady Bobcats were 12-of-18 from the free throw line.
Holmes was 20-of-54 from the floor (3-of-17 from the 3-point line) for 37 percent. The Lady Bulldogs were 15-of-25 from the free throw line.
JCJC outrebounded Holmes, 43-40. The Lady Bobcats committed 19 turnovers, while Holmes had 22.
 
MACJC Tournament
Fulton
Davis Event Center
WOMEN
Tuesday's game
Jones County 69, Holmes 58
HOLMES (17-7) – Tiffany Jones 15, Aja Williams 11, Minyone Hill 11, Cortrice Golden 9, Kawall Perry 7, Lauren Brooks 2, Carvacier Sanders 2, Laricka Morgan 1, Destiny Cyprian 0, Akia Washington 0.
JONES COUNTY (19-5) – Tatyana Lofton 23, Ashailee Brailey 15, Wendion Bibbins 14, Kanisha Tharpe 8, Hanah Lott 6, Myyah West 2, Aliyah Bell 1, Patrice Tate 0, Dana Brown 0, Anna Wilks 0, Zan Ratcliffe 0.
Holmes                      12 12 12 22 – 58
Jones County                        17 18 16 18 – 69
 
MACJC TOURNAMENT
Itawamba Community College
Fulton
Davis Event Center
WOMEN
Tuesday's results
Copiah-Lincoln 75, Northwest 68
East Central 72, East Mississippi 68
Itawamba 58, Southwest 52
Jones County 69, Holmes 58
Wednesday's games
Copiah-Lincoln vs. East Central, 1 p.m.
Jones County vs. Itawamba, 6 p.m.
Thursday's game
Championship, 6 p.m.
 
MEN
Monday's results
Southwest 86, Northwest 80
East Mississippi 80, Pear River 73
Mississippi Gulf Coast 100, Holmes 88
Jones County 67, Northeast 63
Wednesday's games
Southwest vs. East Mississippi, 3 p.m.
Jones County vs. Mississippi Gulf Coast, 8 p.m.
Thursday's game
Championship, 8 p.m.