CLINTON – Daisha Bradford scored a team-high 25, JaKayla Johnson had 22 and Lekera Hughes flirted with a rare quadruple-double as No. 1 Jones busted the clock against LSU Eunice to advance to its fifth consecutive NJCAA Region 23 Championship game.

Jones scored a season-high 100 points, with Nya Hatcher's jumper with just under a minute left putting JC over the century mark. 

The Bobcats won their 22nd straight game and improved to 19-0, while LSU Eunice's season came to a close at 18-4.

Wednesday night's game was never in doubt.

A 27-1 Bobcat run over the first and second quarters helped Jones open up a 34-9 lead.

Jones hounded LSUE on the defensive end, forcing 24 turnovers on the night and converting most of them into easy transition buckets. Hughes had seven steals and Bradford had six.

LSUE, however, took advantage of foul trouble to claw back within 43-28 at the break. 

Alona Washington single-handedly tried to keep LSUE in it in the third quarter and she started to heat up after being held to four points in the first half. She had 22 of her 26 after halftime.

The Bengals outscored Jones 21-9 to get within 43-30 with 8:45 left in the quarter. The lead was trimmed down to a dozen at one point.

A big 32-point fourth quarter put the game well out of reach, with Bradford, Johnson and Hughes having their way. Endia Holliday also had her second double-double of the postseason with 10 points and 12 boards.

Hughes added back-to-back threes in the fourth quarter on a night where she finished with 23 points, 10 assists, seven steals and seven rebounds.

Jones shot 45 percent from the floor on the night and hit 18 of 24 free throws.

The Bobcats, winners of the MACCC South Division, will now meet Coahoma, winners of the MACCC North Division, on Friday, April 9 at 5 p.m. with an automatic berth to Lubbock, Texas and the NJCAA Division I National Tournament on the line.

Friday's game will be held at A.E. Wood Coliseum in Clinton and will be streamed live on JCJC.TV with Mark Easley and Shawn Wansley on the call.

Fans wanting to attend the game can purchase tickets at the front entrance. Prices are $8 for adults, $5 for students and kids five-and-under are free. A mask mandate is still in place on the Mississippi College campus.