No. 8 Jones College (25-3) withstood a fourth-quarter rally Sunday afternoon at A.E. Wood Coliseum to knock off rival Pearl River, 59-51, and punch its ticket to the NJCAA Division I Tournament for an unrivaled seventh straight season.
“To win 19 straight games, the MACCC and Region 23 is such an incredible accomplishment,” head coach Missy Bilderback said. “I’m just really thankful and proud of every single player on this team and the sacrifices they make. They stayed focused under pressure and with a target on their backs. We are loaded with talented players, but it’s the unselfishness and commitment to winning that tells a lot about who they are.”
Pearl River (24-3) scored the game’s first six points but never led again.
Jones scored 10 straight and 19 of the next 21 to take control of the game.
Carly Keats (Neshoba Central) scored the first five points for the Bobcats and finished with a game-high 11 in the half. Her back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the second quarter gave the Bobcats a 25-11 advantage.
Jones led 31-23 at half and 45-31 after three quarters.
PRCC outscored Jones 13-4 to open the fourth quarter and quickly got within five with under three minutes to play. J'mani Ingram, who started the game 0-for-16, hit three straight buckets in the period.
Tierra Simon's 3-pointer cut it to 53-49 with 49 seconds left before En’Dya Buford (Olive Branch) scored Jones’ final six points. Her steal in the front court and ensuing layup with 35 seconds left put the game on ice.
Buford finished with 19 to lead all scorers. Keats had all 11 of her points in the first half, Sakyia White (Tuscaloosa, Alabama) had 10 points and 15 rebounds and Meloney Thames (Choctaw Central) 10 points. Tasionna McDowell (Delhi, Louisiana) chipped in eight points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
Jones shot 32 percent as a team compared to 27 percent for PRCC.
The national tournament is set for March 22-27 at the Rip Griffin Center on the campus of Lubbock Christian University in Lubbock, Texas.
Jones made the program's first-ever Final Four last season and was the first team in nearly 40 years to make it that far from Mississippi.
“We are ecstatic that this team gets to go to Lubbock and compete with the best teams in the country,” Bilderback continued. “We are going to go have fun and see what happens.”
The bracket will be announced at 7 p.m. on Sunday on NJCAA.org.
Meridian 70, Jones men 57
The season is over for the Jones College men’s basketball team.
Meridian took the lead for good just over a minute into play and did not look back as they defeated the Bobcats Sunday in the Region 23 Tournament championship game.
The Bobcats end the year at 17-11.
Meridian (20-8) advanced to the NJCAA Division I Tournament, beginning March 20 in Hutchinson, Kan.
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