Women's Basketball | 3/17/2018 7:36:00 AM

ELLISVILLE – By drawing the No. 4 seed in the NJCAA Division I National Tournament, the Jones County Junior College Lady Bobcats will be able to take off for the first two days of the event.
But JCJC head coach Missy Bilderback said her team will be in Lubbock, Texas, from the start to soak in all that goes with the tournament.
"In some ways, I wished we could have played Monday just to go ahead and play," she said Friday afternoon after a practice on campus at A.B. Howard Gymnasium. "But at the same time having a chance to go out there and get comfortable and practice and get into a routine will be nice.
"We are going out so the kids can experience the banquet (on Sunday) and the full experience of the national tournament."
JCJC will meet the winner of the 6 p.m. Monday game between No. 13 seed Northeast Oklahoma A&M and No. 20 seed Trinity Valley (Texas) in the quarterfinals. That game will take place at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the RIP Griffin Event Center on the campus of Lubbock Christian University.
The Lady Bobcats enter the game on a roll.
JCJC has won 10 straight games, including impressive sweeps in both the MAJCJC and Region 23 Tournaments.
At the state tournament, JCJC beat Itawamba, 89-59; Holmes, 77-53; and Copiah-Lincoln in the title game, 78-53. In the region tournament, Jones defeated Northwest, 77-55; Northeast, 88-66; and Co-Lin, 98-74.
In the Region 23 title game vs. Co-Lin, guard Alexis Tolefree (Conway, Arkansas) scored 50 points.
For the season, Tolefree is averaging 21.4 points and 2.1 steals per game. Nique Cherry (Heidelberg) is averaging 14.9 points and 14.2 rebounds (second in the nation) per game. Chrystal Ezechukwu (Stone Mountain, Georgia) is averaging 9.9 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. Kira Bonner (Quitman) is averaging 9.7 points per game. Camryn London (Birmingham, Alabama) is averaging 7.9 points per game and K.K. Tassin (Terry) averages 7.0 points and 5.2 assists per game.
As a team, the Lady Bobcats average 85.3 points per game and allow 65.1 points per game. JCJC shoots 44 percent from the floor and limit their opponents to 36.5 percent. JCJC shoots 33 percent from 3-point range, compared to 25 percent for their opponents. Jones outrebounds their opponents by a huge, 54.6 to 34.3, margin per game.
"We are real excited about the tournament," Bilderback said. "First of all, to have the year we've had and to win the state and the region is very special and I'm really proud of our kids. We have played really well the past two weeks.
"We are excited and we feel we have as good of a shot as anybody. Anytime you are in tournament play, you've got to have some good things happen and be a bit lucky. But we are excited for the opportunity."
Last season, the Lady Bobcats made the tournament as the No. 13 seed.
They defeated Western Nebraska in the opener, 64-42, and then stunned No. 5 seed Hutchinson (Kansas), 91-82, to reach the Elite Eight. They then fell to Salt Lake (Utah), 81-75.
Bilderback said last years' experience is important and probably helped with this year's seeding.
"I think the No. 4 seed is a compliment to our kids and the quality of players we have," she said. "I think going out there and making a little run last year probably played a part in that. It's just a combination of the players and talent we have this year.
"We feel like the committee did us good as far as our body of work, giving us an opportunity to have a bye that first round. We are obviously excited about it."
Bilderback said she has been able to watch video of both Trinity Valley and Northeast Oklahoma. Trinity Valley will be playing in its 11^th straight national tournament and 23^rd overall.
"We have seen film on both," she said. "They are different types of teams. Trinity Valley is transition oriented and they are very athletic. Traditionally, they are very good.
"NEO has great size. They have a 6-5 kid inside that is really good and is being recruited by a lot of SEC schools. But anybody you play from this point forward is going to be really good. We will certainly have to have our 'A' game every night out there."
JCJC will leave by bus on Saturday and make it over halfway to Lubbock. They will arrive on Sunday and go to the tournament banquet Sunday night.
The tournament tips off at 10 a.m. Monday.
"We will have a chance to watch the tournament a little bit and make sure we are prepared and ready to play," Bilderback said. "The way they have practiced this week, I know they are very excited and locked in. We've had some of our best practices of the year this week."
Bilderback is optimistic the Lady Bobcats can enjoy success in the national tournament.
"We have to continue to do what we have done all year and that is play very hard," she said. "We've got to do the little things, the intangibles, on the floor so we can find an advantage. We just have to not get away from the things we've done all year. We've played hard and we've played together. We've got to take it one game at a time because that is all we are guaranteed.
"We have to attack the game in front of us and be ready to compete and do our best."
All games in the tournament will air on www.njcaatv.com.
 

NJCAA Division I National Tournament

Lubbock, Texas

Lubbock Christian University

March 19 games
G1, 10 a.m., No. 16 Harford (Maryland) vs. No. 17 Odessa (Texas)
G2, Noon, No. 9 Salt Lake (Utah) vs. No. 24 ASA Brooklyn College (New York)
G3, 2 p.m., No. 15 San Jacinto-North (Texas) vs. No. 18 Hutchinson (Kansas)
G4, 4 p.m. No. 10 Casper (Wyoming) vs. No. 23 South Georgia Tech
G5, 6 p.m., No. 13 Northeast Oklahoma A&M vs. No. 20 Trinity Valley (Texas)
G6, 8 p.m., No. 12 Walters St. (Tennessee) vs. No.  21 North Dakota State College of Science
March 20 games
G7, 10 a.m., No. 14 Northwest Florida vs. No. 19 Panola (Texas)
G8, Noon, No. 11 Tallahassee College (Florida) vs. No. 22 Western Nebraska
G9, 2 p.m., No. 1 Shelton St. (Alabama) vs. Harford/Odessa winner
G10, 4 p.m., No. 8 New Mexico vs. Salt Lake/ASA Brooklyn College winner
G11, 6 p.m., No. 2 Gulf Coast (Florida) vs. San Jacinto-North/Hutchinson winner
G12, 8 p.m., No. 7 Seward County (Kansas) vs. Casper/South Georgia Tech winner
March 21 games
G13, 1 p.m., No. 4 Jones County vs. Northeast Oklahoma A&M/Trinity Valley winner
G14, 3 p.m., No. 5 Cochise College (Arizona) vs. Walters St./North Dakota SCS winner
G15, 5 p.m., No. 3 Moberly Area College (Missouri) vs. Northwest Florida/Panola winner
G16, 7 p.m., No. 6 Wabash Valley (Illinois Valley) vs. Tallahassee/Western Nebraska winner
March 22 games
G17, 1 p.m., Shelton St./Harford/Odessa winner vs. New Mexico/Salt Lake/ASA Brooklyn winner
G18, 3 p.m., Gulf Coast/San Jacinto-North/Hutchinson winner vs. Seward/Casper/South Georgia Tech winner
G19, 5 p.m., Jones County/Northeast Oklahoma A&M/Trinity Valley winner vs. Cochise/Walters St./North Dakota SCS winner
G20, 7 p.m., Moberly Area/Northwest Florida/Panola winner vs. Wabash Valley/Tallahassee/Western Nebraska winner
March 23 games
G21, 5 p.m., G17 winner vs. G19 winner
G22, 7 p.m., G18 winner vs. G20 winner
March 24 games
G23, 4:30 p.m. Consolation game
G24, 7 p.m., Championship game