NMJC (WBB) Advances to Region V Title Game

NMJC defeated Grayson College 82-65 to advance to the Region V Championship where they will play McLennan CC Saturday, March 15 at 3 p.m. CDT.

"Well, we were able to play the first two games with a lot of energy," NMJC women's basketball head coach Austin Mefford said. "We talked about that and Saturday is no different. It's a road game for the championship and we just got to come out and play. We're as talented as anybody and if we'll come out and have a good start and play a good game I like our chances. McLennan is very good, they've won their league, they're top 10 in the country for a reason. They just beat South Plains. But we're top five in the country too."

The T-Birds trailed Grayson 11-8 with 3:00 left in the first quarter. NMJC closed on a 9-2 run to grab a 17-13 lead after one quarter of play.

The Thunderbirds picked up right where they left off in the second quarter going on a 16-2 run to make the score 33-15 with 4:30 left in the half. Pania Davis finished with seven points in the second quarter and 13 points in the first as NMJC went into the ahead 41-23.

"Pania had the hot hand to start the game and hit some shots, and we wanted to make sure we kept getting her the ball. She carried us a little bit early," Coach Mefford said. "Then once again, it's Cacia who delivers and Pania who delivers. We have had two big games from them and Amyah Sutton does what she does and adds some more for us."

Cacia Antonio scored nine points in the third quarter as NMJC ended the third up 60-41. The T-Birds took the foot off the gas in the fourth quarter and rested their starters. NMJC went on to win by 17 points, 82-65.

Cacia Antonio had a game-high 23 points and six rebounds. Forward Pania Davis finished with 21 points and eight rebounds.

"That was very important last night when we were able to get a lead and be able to sub and sit some starters with Cacia, Pania, and Amyah playing under 30 minutes," Coach Mefford said. "It was really important because it's going to be a 40-minute fight on Saturday. Fortunately for us, the MCC South Plains game went down to the wire, so their good players had to play an entire game and we were able to play about a half a game with our starters. Hopefully we can wear them down and we'll have fresher legs at the end."

Freshman guard Jada Graves was exceptional on Friday scoring eight points, dishing out seven assists, grabbing six rebounds, and snatching five steals in the win over the Vikings. Amyah Sutton recorded 10 points and Fatime Seck knocked down two triples. Emma Najjuma ended the night with seven points and five rebounds.

The T-Birds shot 30-for-64 (46.9%) from the field, 6-of-20 (30%) from the 3-point line, and 16-of-24 (66.7%) from the free throw line. The Thunderbirds forced 15 turnovers and held the Vikings to 41.9% from the field.

The Thunderbirds will have a tough test Saturday afternoon against No. 10 ranked McLennan CC 27-3 (14-2). The Highlanders will be playing on their home floor in the title game.

"One of the big advantages is we played a much tougher schedule," Coach Mefford said. "We're used to competing against teams in the WJCAC every night that are top 25 teams in the country. We play South Plains, Odessa, and in non-conference we played Dodge City. We've been through playing quality opponents where maybe the north isn't as strong in conference as we are, but at the same time, they're very good. Take nothing away from them."

McLennan is 9-0 against common opponents and NMJC is 9-1 against common opponents with their only loss to No. 8 South Plains. NMJC is 8-1 games against ranked opponents so far this season. The winner will receive an auto bid to the national tournament March 25-April 1 in

Casper, Wyoming at the Ford Wyoming Center. The loser will have to hope for an at-large bid to the championships.

"They've won their games, and they can score, they can rebound, they can defend, they can pressure," Coach Mefford said. "They've got two really good players. They want to get downhill and want to shoot. They play hard and they showed it against South Plains in the semifinal and the biggest thing for them is they will have the home crowd."

The No. 1 seed Thunderbirds 29-2 (12-2) face the No. 1 seed from the north McLennan CC 27-3 (14-2) in the Region V Championship at McLennan CC in Waco, Texas Saturday, March 15 at 3 p.m. CDT.

The game will be streamed here or on Youtube here.