Women's Basketball | 3/19/2019 10:33:00 PM

LUBBOCK, Texas – The second quarter proved to be the difference in the matchup between No. 9 seed Jones College and No. 8 seed New Mexico Junior College.
The Thunderbirds outscored the Lady Bobcats 30-14 in the quarter and went on to post a 78-67 decision in the 'Sweet 16' round of the NJCAA Division I Women's Tournament here Tuesday afternoon at the Rip Griffin Center on the campus of Lubbock Christian University.
Jones College head coach Missy Bilderback said foul problems with guards Breonca Ducksworth (West Jones) and Destiny Haymer (Holmes County Central) hurt the Lady Bobcats during that stretch.
"It changed the whole game," she said of the second quarter. "A lot of it had to do with foul trouble. My guards play a lot of minutes – Keyara (Jones), Duck and Dee. And when Duck and Dee picked up (two) fouls there, we had so much time left in the second (quarter) we felt we had to get them out because we did not want them to get their third that early in the game and that close of a game.
"It got away from us before we could really get them back in. We were just trying to play catch up the whole time."
On Monday, the Lady Bobcats fell behind Three Rivers (Missouri) by 17 points in the second quarter of a fast-paced contest before coming back to win 88-84.
Bilderback felt that had an effect on Tuesday's outcome.
"We were able to do that yesterday and I think doing that yesterday made it much more difficult to be to turn around and do that today," she said. 
Bilderback credited the inside play of the Thunderbirds as being huge. New Mexico outscored Jones 52-24 on points in the paint.
"Their post play was really the difference," she said. "They were really big inside and real athletic. I thought it took away a lot of our ability to get to the rim. There were a lot of possessions we probably wish we could get back."
The Lady Bobcats started off well.
A Keyara Jones (Heidelberg) 3-pointer gave Jones its biggest lead of the game at 17-13 with 1:06 left in the first quarter.
But in the second quarter, the Thunderbirds went on a 12-0 run to take control. A putback by Amaya Lewis at 5:14 capped the run and gave New Mexico a 33-21 lead.
But Keyara Jones would quickly score seven straight points and cut the lead to 33-28 with 3:43 left when she made a 3-pointer.
However, the Thunderbirds then had a 12-2 spurt and took a 45-30 lead when Thamires Andrade canned two free throws with 27.5 seconds showing.
Haymer made a free throw with 12.4 seconds left to cut the lead to 45-31 at halftime.
Keyara Jones kept Jones in the game in the first half by scoring 16 points.
"I started off shooing great, but just could not get any shots in the second half," she said. "We played great defense, but New Mexico made some great plays."
New Mexico took its longest lead of the game with 7:00 left in the third quarter when Laci Hawthorne scored to make it 52-34.
Using a pressing defense, the Lady Bobcats answered with six straight points and made it 52-40 with 5:17 left in the quarter when Haymer made two free throws. However, the Thunderbirds responded and would take a 60-46 lead into the final quarter.
But Jones would not go away.
A Haymer basket at 4:01 cut the margin to 68-57 and a Breonca Ducksworth free throw with 1:11 left made it 74-64. 
A corner 3-pointer from Jatyjia Jones (Ingomar) with 40 seconds to play got Jones to within 75-67 – the closest they had been since late in the first half – but the Lady Bobcats would get no closer.
"Even with two minutes left in the game I felt we still had an opportunity to win," Bilderback said. "It was still a reachable goal. But it's just a tough loss. I really thought this team was the one to get over that hump. I felt like we had the pieces, so this is a tough one to swallow right now."
Haymer led Jones with 21 points, Keyara Jones added 20 and Kyia Weathersby (Collins) had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Ducksworth finished with seven assists.
Andrade had 18 points for New Mexico. Sydnee Wynn had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Eternati Willock had 14 points and Lewis added 10.
Jones was 24-of-70 from the field (6-of-19 from 3-point range) for 34 percent. The Lady Bobcats were 13-of-21 from the free throw line.
New Mexico was 30-of-66 from the floor (2-of-13 from the 3-point line) for 46 percent. The Thunderbirds were 16-of-23 from the foul line.
New Mexico outrebounded Jones, 40-34. The Lady Bobcats had 14 turnovers and 13 steals. The Thunderbirds had 20 turnovers and eight steals.
Jones ends the season at 28-3 and the Lady Bobcats made the national tournament for the third straight year. 
Bilderback said it was a difficult way to end, but she is proud of the year the Lady Bobcats had.
"It's a tough loss because I think we've had a phenomenal season," she said. "It's just hard to end period. We are disappointed. I thought it was a winnable game for us, but New Mexico is really good. 
"We are disappointed, but not at our kids. We are just disappointed because it's over. We've enjoyed playing together and we've enjoyed getting an opportunity to compete together. (I have) enjoyed coaching this bunch of kids because they are a great bunch of kids."
New Mexico, 27-5, will play the top seed in the tournament - Wabash Valley (Illinois) - at 1 p.m. Thursday in the 'Elite Eight.' Wabash Valley had a tough game with Florida SouthWestern before posting an 81-78 win on Tuesday.
 

NJCAA Division I Women's Tournament

Lubbock, Texas
Rip Griffin Center
Tuesday's game
New Mexico 78, Jones College 67
Jones College (28-3)   17 14 15 21 – 67
Jones College (27-5)   15 30 15 18 – 78
JONES COLLEGE (67)– Destiny Haymer 21, Keyara Jones 20, Kyia Weathersby 10, Breonca Ducksworth 9, Maya Jones 4, Jatyjia Jones 3, Vilma Covane 0, Endia Holliday 0, Chyna Allen 0, Lekera Hughes 0.
NEW MEXICO (78)– Thamires Andrade 18, Sydnee Wynn 15, Eternati Willock 14, Amaya Lewis 11, Jurnee President 9, Laci Hawthorne 6, Delphynia Sparks 3, Mayra Caicedo 2, Brenda Costa 0, Barbara Ziewiewska 0.