CLINTON – The 13th-ranked Jones College Lady Bobcats made the crucial plays down the stretch Thursday evening in the Region 23 Tournament semifinals.
The result was a 78-74 victory over Itawamba here at A.E. Wood Coliseum on the campus of Mississippi College.
In the final minute of play, Kyia Weathersby (Collins) had a layup, Breonca Ducksworth (West Jones) made 3-of-4 free throws and Destiny Haymer (Holmes County Central) had two free throws as the Lady Bobcats pulled out the win.
Jones, 26-2, will play for its third consecutive region championship at 5 p.m. on Friday against Mississippi Gulf Coast. The Lady Bulldogs eliminated Copiah-Lincoln 64-59 in the other semifinal game. Friday's game will air on www.jcjc.tv.
Jones held a 56-44 lead entering the final quarter of play, but ICC would not go away.
A 3-pointer by Kaylyn Wilson cut the lead to 71-67 with 1:46 remaining.
The Lady Bobcats then missed a shot and ICC got the rebound. The Lady Indians missed a layup with just over a minute to play.
After a timeout, Jones got the ball inbounds under their offensive goal to Weathersby, who made the shot to put Jones up 73-67 with 58 seconds to play.
Zaria Jenkins scored for ICC to make it 73-69 with 51 seconds showing.
Jones got the ball inbounds to Ducksworth and she was fouled with 49.2 seconds to play. She made one shot to make it 74-69.
Jenkins would score with 32.2 seconds to play to cut the lead to 74-71. Ducksworth was fouled with 20.5 seconds remaining and hit both foul shot to make it 76-71.
ICC would miss a 3-pointer and there would be a jump ball on the rebound. Jones had possession and would throw the ball in to Haymer. She was fouled with 5.8 seconds to play and hit both free throws.
Shaniyah Buford hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to account for the final margin.
Jones started the game off quickly, taking a 14-2 lead midway through the first quarter. ICC cut the lead to 22-16 after the first quarter and would take a 34-32 halftime lead.
But Jones came out strong in the third quarter and took the lead for good at 38-36 on two Haymer free throws with 8:05 showing. A Haymer 3-point play with 2:07 showing capped a 7-0 run and put Jones ahead 51-42.
Keyara Jones (Heidelberg) had 25 points, including 15 in the second half, to lead Jones. Weathersby added 14 and Haymer had 10.
Jenkins had 14 for ICC, Taneshia Miller added 12, Kealy Wilson finished with 11 and Tabreea Gandy had 10.
The Lady Indians end the year at 21-4.
Region 23 Tournament
Clinton
Mississippi College
A.E. Wood Coliseum
WOMEN
Tuesday's game
No. 13 Jones College 78, Itawamba 74
Itawamba (21-4) 16 18 10 30 – 74
Jones College (26-2) 22 10 24 22 – 78
ITAWAMBA (74)– Zaria Jenkins 14, Taneshia Miller 12, Kealy Wilson 11, Shaniyah Buford 10, Tabreea Gandy 10, Kaylyn Wilson 8, Timoya Wheeler 4, Sarah Berryman 3, Whitney Watkins 2.
JONES COLLEGE (78)– Keyara Jones 25, Kyia Weathersby 14, Destiny Haymer 11, Breonca Ducksworth 8, Maya Jones 8, Endia Holliday 5, Jatyjia Jones 4, LaMiracle Sims 3, Chyna Allen 0.
Region 23 Tournament
Clinton
Mississippi College
A.E. Wood Coliseum
WOMEN
Tuesday's results
Copiah-Lincoln 69, Pearl River 66
Mississippi Gulf Coast 81, LSU-Eunice 74
Jones College 72, Northeast Mississippi 61
Itawamba 78, East Central 68
Thursday's results
Mississippi Gulf Coast 64, Copiah-Lincoln 59
Jones College 78, Itawamba 74
Friday's game
5 p.m., Championship, Jones County vs. Mississippi Gulf Coast
Women's Region 23 champion will play in NJCAA Division I National Tournament March 18-23 in Lubbock, Texas