Women's Basketball | 3/8/2018 11:16:00 PM
CLINTON – A superb second-half keyed No. 5 Jones County to an 88-66 victory over Northeast Mississippi here Thursday evening in the Region 23 Tournament semifinals at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the campus of Mississippi College.
The Lady Bobcats outscored Northeast 52-27 over the final 20 minutes as they reached the region tourney title game for the second consecutive year.
JCJC, 25-3, will now face Copiah-Lincoln at 5:30 p.m. Friday for the championship. Co-Lin beat Holmes 63-57 in Thursday's other semifinal game.
Friday's winner will secure an automatic berth in the NJCAA Division I National Tournament March 19-24 in Lubbock, Texas.
The Lady Bobcats trailed 21-20 after the first quarter and were down 39-33 with 1:23 left in the half before
Kira Bonner (Quitman) hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 39-36 at halftime.
JCJC began to take charge in the third quarter.
An
Alexis Tolefree (Conway, Arkansas) basket with 6:23 showing gave Jones the lead for good at 44-43. A Bonner 3-pointer at 5:12 capped an 11-0 run and gave Jones a 49-43 lead.
Two
K.K. Tassin (Terry) free throws put JCJC ahead 61-51 with :09 left in the quarter, but Jada Tubbs hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut the lead to 61-54. That would be the closest the Lady Tigers would get.
The Lady Bobcats started the final quarter on a 9-2 run and took a 70-56 lead with 6:21 remaining when
Maya Jones (Northwest Rankin) scored. JCJC's longest lead would be at the end of the game.
The heroes were many for JCJC.
Tolefree had 26 points, including four 3-pointers, while
Nique Cherry (Heidelberg) posted her 22nd 'double-double' of the season with 13 points and 24 rebounds.
Camryn London (Birmingham, Alabama) came off the bench to score 17 points and grab 10 rebounds. She was 4-of-4 from 3-point range. Bonner finished with 13 points, including four 3-pointers.
Tassin and Tolefree each had 6 assists and Tolefree had 3 steals.
Aundrea Adams and Adallice Young had 15 points each for Northeast. Cherelle Jones added 14 and Dayzsha Rogan had 11. Adams had 8 rebounds and Tyra Tucker had 6 assists.
JCJC was 29-of-69 from the field (12-of-26 from 3-point range) for 42 percent. The Lady Bobcats were 18-of-25 from the foul line.
Northeast was 23-of-67 from the floor (3-of-19 from 3-point range) for 34 percent. The Lady Tigers were 17-of-23 from the free throw line.
JCJC outrebounded Northeast, 51-38. The Lady Bobcats committed 18 turnovers, compared to 17 for Northeast.
The Lady Tigers end the season at 18-9.
Region 23 Tournament
WOMEN
Clinton
Mississippi College
A.E. Wood Coliseum
Thursday's game
Jones County 88, Northeast 66
Northeast (18-9) 20 19 15 12 – 66
Jones County (25-3) 21 15 25 27 – 88
NORTHEAST (66) – Aundrea Adams 15, Adallice Young 15, Cherelle Jones 14, Dayzsha Rogan 11, Jada Tubbs 5, Maria Lauderdale 3, LaJayla Turnage 2, Laoria Abrams 1, Tyra Tucker 0.
JONES COUNTY (88) –
Alexis Tolefree 26,
Camryn London 17,
Nique Cherry 13,
Kira Bonner 13,
K.K. Tassin 8,
Chrystal Ezechukwu 7,
Maya Jones 2,
ZaKyia Weathersby 2,
Breonca Ducksworth 0,
Mackenzie Thompson 0,
Jaresa Brooks 0.
Region 23 Tournament
Clinton
Mississippi College
A.E. Wood Coliseum
March 7 results
Northeast 64, Southwest 60
Jones County 77, Northwest 55
Copiah-Lincoln 69, Hinds 64
Holmes 87, LSU-Eunice 68
March 8 results
Jones County 88, Northeast 66
Copiah-Lincoln 63, Holmes 57
March 9 game
5:30 p.m., Championship, Jones County vs. Copiah-Lincoln
