CHARLOTTE – Jones College will be in the spotlight again during the 14th annual NJCAA Women's Basketball Coaches Association's All-Star/Hall of Fame Weekend.
Meloney Thames and
Sakyia White have been selected to play in the event. It is the seventh consecutive year for the Bobcats to be represented in the All-Star Weekend.
This year's event will be July 20-23 at Clayton State University, just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. The top 40 NJCAA women's basketball players in the nation in Division I, II and NJCAA Division will be featured.
Thames, a 5-foot-8 rising sophomore guard, was selected as an NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American this past season. She averaged 16.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.8 steals per game. She converted 28 percent of her 3-point attempts and shot 82 percent from the free throw line. She had six 20-point plus performances during the year.
In the postseason, Thames had the game-winning shot with 2.5 seconds to play to lift Jones to a 65-63 win over Coahoma in the MACCC title game. She scored 27 points in the 69-59 Region 23 Tournament championship win over Pearl River and had a season-high 28 points in the 81-74 loss to Georgia Highlands in the NJCAA Division I Tournament semifinals.
Thames, a Choctaw Central product, was a Jackson Clarion-Ledger Dandy Dozen and an All-State performer in high school.
White, a 6-foot-1 rising sophomore forward, averaged 16.8 points and 11.9 rebounds per game and was named an NJCAA First-Team All-American.
She posted 18 double-doubles on the year and was at her best in the national tournament. White had 18 points and 25 rebounds in a 61-52 opening round win over New Mexico Junior College, followed by 27 points and 19 rebounds in a 77-65 victory over Blinn College (Texas). She then had 16 points and 14 rebounds in a 64-62 overtime victory over Eastern Florida and had 18 points and 15 rebounds in the Final Four loss to Georgia Highlands.
White prepped at Central High School in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and played her first collegiate season at the University of North Alabama, where she was named the ASUN Freshman of the Year.
Thames and White helped Jones College to a 25-8 record and a berth in the Final Four for the first time in school history.
Players report to Clayton State on July 20 with practice sessions on July 21. The Hall of Fame Banquet will be at 6 p.m. on July 21 with games slated for July 22-23. All games will be livestreamed with more details provided later.
The all-star game features exceptionally talented athletes who are entering their sophomore year after competing at an NJCAA member school for the 2021-22 season.
All-Star game participants from Jones:
2022 – Meloney Thames, Sakyia White
2021 – Jakayla Johnson, Lauren Pittman (coach)
2020 – Ebony Gayden
2019 – Destiny Haymer, Keyara Jones
2018 – Maya Jones
2017 – Nique Cherry, Alexis Tolefree, K.K. Tassin, Brooke Rhodes (coach)
2016 – Tatyana Lofton
