CLINTON – Trailing 37-35 at halftime, No. 8 Jones College scored on its first seven possessions of the second half and went on to defeat Mississippi Gulf Coast 86-67 in the Region 23 Tournament semifinals here Saturday afternoon at A.E. Wood Coliseum on the campus of Mississippi College.
 
Jones (24-3) will meet Pearl River at 3 p.m. Sunday for the region championship. PRCC beat Meridian 55-49 in overtime in the other semifinal game. The region winner earns an automatic bid to the NJCAA Division I Tournament in Lubbock, Texas, beginning March 22.
 
The Bobcats, winners of 18 straight, will be going for an unprecedented seventh straight region title. Jones has won 22 consecutive region contests.
 
The Bobcats led 20-17 after the first quarter, but the Bulldogs rallied to lead at the break.
 
Sakyia White (Tuscaloosa, Alabama) made a layup on JC's first second half possession to tie it at 37-37 and made two free throws on its next possession to put the Bobcats ahead for good at 39-37 with 9:16 to play in the third quarter. A White layup ended a 16-2 run and put Jones ahead 51-39 with 5:13 left in the third quarter.
 
Jones would lead 61-51 after three quarters.
 
Back-to-back three-pointers by Meloney Thames (Choctaw Central) gave the Bobcats a 69-51 lead with 8:48 remaining. Gulf Coast's Simaru Fields made a layup with 2:25 left to cut the lead to 78-67, but that was as close as the Bulldogs would get.
 
Jones' largest lead was at the end of the game. The Bobcats outscored Gulf Coast 51-30 in the second half.
 
White had her 24th double-double of the year, scoring 25 points and pulling down 14 rebounds. Thames also had a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. En'Dya Buford (Olive Branch) had 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Arianna Patton (Meridian) had eight points and three steals. 
 
Elsie Harris had 17 points for Gulf Coast. Je'Mya Evans added 14, Ja'Sharreah Hunt had 13 and Fields finished with 11.
 
The Bobcats made 31-of-67 shots for 46 percent, 8-of-19 three-pointers for 42 percent and 16-of-22 free throws. Gulf Coast connected on 29-of-71 shots for 41 percent, 4-of-20 three-pointers for 20 percent and 5-of-9 free throws.
 
The Bobcats outrebounded the Bulldogs 45-37 and committed 16 turnovers compared to 18 for Gulf Coast.
 
Gulf Coast outscored Jones 40-36 on points in the paint, but Jones had the edge on second chance points, 21-10.
 
The Bulldogs end the season at 17-6.