Women's Basketball | 2/28/2019 11:51:00 PM
ELLISVILLE – The 13
th-ranked Jones College Lady Bobcats made the big plays when they needed to here Thursday night before a large and loud crowd at A.B. Howard Gymnasium.
The Lady Bobcats outscored Copiah-Lincoln 11-4 over the final 1:11 and posted a 58-52 victory to capture their third consecutive MACJC championship.
It is the first time for Jones to win three straight state basketball titles and it was the seventh overall state championship for the Lady Bobcats.
Fourth-year head coach
Missy Bilderback, who has posted a 99-15 record at Jones, was pleased with the way her team kept its composure down the stretch.
"I'm proud of the girls," she said. "When you play for a state championship, it's going to be tough. Obviously, Co-Lin has been one of the more consistent and more talented teams in the league and they did a good job. They controlled tempo tonight and we were not able to get out and do some of the things we wanted to do.
"But I will say that we defended and rebounded when we had to down the stretch. Ultimately, I think we won it on the defensive end."
The Lady Bobcats, 24-2, will now play in the Region 23 Tournament. Jones faces Northeast Mississippi at 5 p.m. on Tuesday at Mississippi College.
Jones led for most of the game, but the Lady Wolves made the home crowd nervous late in the game.
T'Kyra Hicks banked in a 3-pointer with 1:25 left to give Co-Lin a 48-47 lead.
Jones got the ball downcourt quickly to
Kyia Weathersby (Collins). Weathersby missed a shot under the goal, but got the rebound and put it back in to give Jones the lead for good at 49-48 with 1:11 left.
The Lady Wolves had a chance to re-take the lead, but
Destiny Haymer (Holmes County Central) came up with a steal and got the ball downcourt to
Maya Jones (Northwest Rankin) who scored with 46 seconds to play to give Jones a 51-48 lead.
Co-Lin would misfire on a 3-point attempt, but they got the offensive rebound. The Lady Wolves turned the ball over and fouled
Breonca Ducksworth (West Jones) with 31 seconds left. She made both free throws to put Jones ahead, 53-48.
After another Co-Lin turnover, Haymer was fouled and made both shots with 19 seconds remaining to put the Lady Bobcats ahead, 55-48.
Hicks then scored with 11 seconds left, but Ducksworth would score, draw the foul and make the free throw with 5.5 seconds left to seal the win.
"Dee had a huge play late for us defensively and Duck had the transition play to finish it off," Bilderback said. "I'm just proud of all of the girls and I'm happy that they get to experience a state championship. We are looking forward to the region tournament next week."
Bilderback noted the Lady Bobcats had to battle back from a 10-point deficit in the semifinals before defeating Mississippi Gulf Coast, 85-67.
"We've had back-to-back games where some things have really gone against us," she said. "I'm really proud of the fact that during those moments the team has stuck together and during those moments, we have just found a way to win. We will take an ugly win over a pretty loss any day.
"We will celebrate this because state championships aren't given out."
The Lady Bobcats led 14-9 after the first quarter and 34-25 at halftime. Both teams only put up eight points each in the third quarter and Jones held a 42-33 lead entering the final 10 minutes of play.
A Weathersby basket at 8:14 gave Jones its largest lead at 46-33. But the Lady Bobcats would only score one point over the next 7:03.
Maya Jones had 15 points to lead the Lady Bobcats and Weathersby added 14.
Hicks had 16 to lead Co-Lin.
Keyara Jones (Heidelberg) led Jones in rebounding with eight and Ducksworth had five assists.
Both teams had difficulty shooting the ball.
The Lady Bobcats were 20-of-70 from the field (4-of-15 from 3-point range) for 29 percent. They were 14-of-17 from the free throw line.
Co-Lin was 18-of-65 from the field (5-of-18 from 3-point range) for 28 percent. The Lady Wolves were 11-of-14 from the foul line.
Jones outrebounded Co-Lin, 54-47. Co-Lin turned the ball over 14 times and Jones had nine turnovers.
Now, the Lady Bobcats must re-focus and prepare for the regional.
Jones has won two straight Region 23 championships and they been to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament in Lubbock, Texas, the past two years.
Bilderback said going out west is the goal for her team.
"It's a big week next week and we want to go back to Lubbock," she said. "These kids deserve to be out there and deserve an opportunity to compete with the best in the country."
Co-Lin, 20-6, will also be in the region tournament.
A full bracket will be announced on Friday.
MACJC Tournament
Ellisville
Jones College
A.B. Howard Gymnasium
Thursday's game
WOMEN
No. 13 Jones College 58, Copiah-Lincoln 52
Copiah-Lincoln (20-6) 9 16 8 19 – 52
Jones College (24-2) 14 20 8 16 – 58
COPIAH-LINCOLN (52) – T'Kyra Hicks 16, TaMara Riley 9, Sha'Quandra Carter 9, Camryn Davis 8, Darien Tubby 3, Ciara Norwood 3, Dashell Davis 2, Alexandria Patton 2, Azaria Magee 0.
JONES COLLEGE (58)–
Maya Jones 15,
Kyia Weathersby 14,
Keyara Jones 9,
Destiny Haymer 9,
Breonca Ducksworth 9,
LaMiracle Sims 2,
Lekera Hughes 0,
Chyna Allen 0,
Jatyjia Jones 0,
Endia Holliday 0.
MACJC TOURNAMENT
Ellisville
Jones College
A.B. Howard Gymnasium
WOMEN
Monday's results
Itawamba 81, Pearl River 63
Copiah-Lincoln 65, East Mississippi 47
Jones College 88, Mississippi Delta 53
Mississippi Gulf Coast 64, Northeast 45
Wednesday's results
Copiah-Lincoln 57, Itawamba 55
Jones College 85, Mississippi Gulf Coast 67
Thursday's result
Championship, Jones College 58, Copiah-Lincoln 52
