Lady Indians advance to Region 23 Championship with 62-53 win over Holmes
The Lady Indians defeated Holmes Community College 62-53 in the semifinal round of the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament on Friday.
The Itawamba Community College Lady Indians defeated Holmes Community College 62-53 in the semifinal round of the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament on Friday.
Trailing 32-25 at the half, Holmes (18-7) battled back to tie the game 48-48 with 8:15 left in the game before a spirited timeout by the MACJC Coach of the Year sparked a 8-0 run to give the Lady Indians a 56-48 lead.
LaPrecious Naylon scored 9 of her 14 points in the final minutes of the game before combining with Hoskins to ice the game by connecting on six-of-eight from the free throw line down the stretch.
Hoskins scored a game-high 20 points, 14 coming in the first half of play.
"Jameika put the team on her shoulders all night," said Gray. "She really came on strong to get help us out to a quick start and did the same thing in the second half when we got off to slow start."
Ty-Nita Baker came off the bench to score 10 points for the Lady Indians.
"Ty-Nita has done a great job for us this season coming off the bench," said Gray. "She and Ashley Wiley really had to step up with the injury to Shay (Bonner) limited her minutes today."
Bonner was poked in the eye midway through the first half and saw limited minutes, but managed to come away with back-to-back steals to help spark the Lady Indians' 8-0 run.
"Shay's effort was the best example of how we were able to win the game today," Gray said after the game. "It took a lot of heart for her to battle through the pain and I really think the rest of the team feed off her because it was heart that won us the game today."
The Lady Indians will play Meridian Community College (21-10) in the Region 23 championship, their first appearance since Gray wore the red and blue as a player in 1975.
Meridian defeated Copiah-Lincoln 63-59 behind a 24-point effort from Narianna Haynes.
The championship game will tip at 6:00 p.m. at A.E. Woods Coliseum on the Clinton campus of Mississippi College, the winner will advance to the NJCAA National Tournament in Kansas.