Region 23 Championship Round Set

Jackson, MISS. -- The NJCAA Region 23 Championship matchups have been set. Four teams representing the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) will vie for the championship, held April 9 at Mississippi College in Clinton, Miss.

In the women’s basketball final, Coahoma will take on No. 1 Jones at 5:00 p.m. CST.

The Coahoma Lady Bulldogs (15-2; 12-2 MACCC) are having a fairy tale season--one that saw them quietly take over the MACCC North, and go on a deep run in the regional tourney that’s brought them to the Region 23 final. The Bulldogs defeated East Mississippi (12-15; 10-4 MACCC), 70-51 in the semifinal to advance to the championship round. 

No. 1 Jones (19-0; 13-0 MACCC) routed Louisiana Community Colleges Athletic Conference (LCCAC) rival LSU-Eunice (18-4), 100-74 in the semifinal round. MACCC South Player of the Year Daisha Bradford scored 25 points and had 3 rebounds and 9 assists for the Lady Bobcats.

For the men, Holmes and Northeast will meet at 7:30 p.m. CST in the championship round.

The Holmes Bulldogs (14-3; 11-3 MACCC) upset the No. 11 Pearl River Wildcats (12-1; 10-1 MACCC), 61-58 to advance to the championship. Sophomore guard Brandon Weatherspoon, who was named 2020-2021 All-MACCC Second-Team this week, had a breakout performance, hitting the game-winning 3-pointer with 37.8 seconds left on the clock to advance. MACCC North Men’s Basketball Player of the Year Kaleb Higgins notched 26 points.

Holmes narrowly lost the MACCC North Division and Conference Champion titles to Northeast after the two teams split during the regular season.

For their part, Northeast (15-3; 11-2 MACCC) defeated Hinds 78-68 to earn the right to contend for the Region 23 Championship.

NJCAA’s Region 23 consists of the member schools of the 15 MACCC and the Louisiana Community Colleges Athletic Conference’s 5 members.