SUMMIT, Miss. — Jones outscored Southwest 22-5 in the final 13 minutes of the first half and maintained its lead in a 64-47 victory Monday night. The win helps the Bobcats finish the regular season with a 19-8 record overall and an 8-6 mark in the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference.
Jones secured the No. 6 seed in the upcoming NJCAA Region 23 Tournament. They will host No. 11 seed Holmes on Thursday, March 5, at 6 p.m. in the first round. The winner advances to face Northwest on Saturday. Jones defeated Holmes 67-52 in Goodman on Jan. 29.
Trailing 11-8 late in the first quarter, Jakera Ducksworth scored five straight points to ignite a 9-0 run that contributed to the Bobcats’ dominant first-half performance. Southwest was unable to close the gap, remaining more than single digits for the rest of the game.
Lamarah Cleaves led Jones with 15 points, her team-high performance on her birthday, and added seven rebounds. Larissa Hubbard scored 14 points, Sanyla Smith added 11, and Ducksworth finished with eight. Julissa Claxton contributed five points and five rebounds. The Bobcats shot 38 percent from the field.
Southwest’s statistics were not available at the time of this report.
