Lady Indians make second-straight NJCAA Tournament appearance
For the third time in four years, the Itawamba Community College women’s basketball team has advanced to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Women’s Division I National Tournament.
Lady Indians make second-straight NJCAA Tournament appearance
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com
FULTON, MS - For the third time in four years, the Itawamba Community College women's basketball team has advanced to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Women's Division I National Tournament.
The Lady Indians (23-6) defeated Copiah-Lincoln Community College, 68-64, at Mississippi College to earn the program's first-ever back-to-back NJCAA Region 23 championships.
The trip to Lubbock, Texas is the first for the Lady Indians and will be the fourth appearance in the NJCAA National Tournament. ICC enters this year's tournament as the No. 21 seed and will face No. 12 seeded and 13th ranked Blinn (TX) College (25-8) at 8:00 p.m. on Monday, March 14. [VIDEO: Click here for the Women's Basketball Celebration]
The winner of Monday's game will face fifth-seeded and 5th ranked College of South Idaho (28-4) on Wednesday, March 16 at 3:00 p.m.
Follow the Lady Indians' journey to Texas via Twitter (@LetsGoICC) and Instagram (LetsGoICC).
ICC National Tournament History
In 1975, ICC made its first appearance in the national tournament at Vincennes, Indiana. Then known as the Indianettes, ICC defeated Danville Area (IL) Community College, 82-53, before being sent to the loser's bracket after a 73-48 loss to Temple (TX) College.
The Indianettes were eliminated from the tournament with a 65-62 loss to Peace (NC) College, who is now a four-year university. Coach Billy Caples and the Indianettes finished 26-4. Current ICC head coach Nanci Gray was a member of the team and earned NJCAA All-American honorable mentions honors.
In 2013, the Lady Indians defeated Baton Rouge (LA) Community College, 58-57, after Leslie Robinson (Belmont) knocked down a pair of free throws with half of a second left in the game. [VIDEO] ICC drew the No. 22 seed in the national tournament and were defeated by No. 11 seed and fifth-ranked Northwest Florida State College, 57-46. [VIDEO: 2013 Region 23 Championship Highlights]
In 2015, ICC defeated Jones County Junior College, 84-64, behind a double-double performance (21 points, 10 rebounds) from Delta State University signee Kaelin Kneeland (Olive Branch). No. 20 seeded ICC dropped a 70-51 decision to No. 13 seeded and 18th ranked Wabash Valley (IL) College. [VIDEO: 2015 Region 23 Championship Highlights]
Know the Foe: Blinn College Buccaneers
Like the Lady Indians, No. 13 Blinn (25-8) is making its third national tournament appearance in the last four seasons after defeating San Jacinto-North, 61-44, in the NJCAA Region 14 championship game.
The Buccaneers are led by Houston, Texas natives Ebony Parker and Ekiya Gray. Parker scores 17.8 points, grabs 2.8 rebounds and dishes out 2.4 assists per game while Gray averages 13.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists a night.
Jeliah Preston (Houston, TX) averages just over 13 points a game while Penina Faumui (Honolulu, HI) leads the team with 9.6 boards a game.
As a team, the Buccaneers average 72.5 points on 37.6 percent shooting – including 31.4 percent from three and 65.1 percent from the free throw line. They collect 45.7 rebounds and dish out 17.5 assists per game.
Jeff Jenkins is in his 14th season as head coach of the Buccaneers. He is assisted by Brateicka Mock.
Blinn College has an enrollment of 19,422 students with its main campus based in Brenham, Texas with branches located in Bryan, Schulenburg and Seay.
The Buccaneers have offered intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and has won 32 national championships since 1987. They play football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball and volleyball.
Notable athletic alumnus include: Cam Newton (Carolina Panthers), Chris Anderson (Memphis Grizzles), James Beckford (2004 Olympic silver medalist; long jump) and Tim Montgomery (2000 Olympian; 400-meter).
About the Tournament
The 67th NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship will be conducted March 14-19 in the Rip Griffin Center on the campus Lubbock Christian College in Lubbock, Texas.
Twenty-four teams qualified for the national tournament, which will be played using a single elimination format consisting of 24 games. [Click here for complete bracket]
Gulf Coast (FL) State College (28-1) earned the tournament's overall No. 1 seed while Shelton State (AL) Community College (31-1), New Mexico Junior College (30-2), Walters State (TN) Community College (32-0) and College of Southern Idaho, Salt Lake (UT) Community College, Daytona State (FL) College (28-2), Trinity Valley (TX) Community College (28-3) rounded out the tournament's top eight seeds, respectively, and received a bye into the second round.
The games will be broadcasted exclusively on NJCAATV.com.
For more information on the 2016 NJCAA Women's Division I National Basketball Tournament visit the tournament's official website njcaalubbock2016.org.