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Trinity Valley’s pace too much for Jones as Lady Cardinals lock in semifinal berth

Lubbock, TX - Few teams, if any, can play Trinity Valley Community College's game at the same pace as Trinity Valley, especially when that game is going full bore.

Jones College tried in the semifinals of the NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championships Sunday night at the Rip Griffin Center, and for a while, the Lady Bobcats were somewhat successful. But the pace was just too much to maintain for more than about 15 minutes.

Trinity Valley turned up the intensity, speed, and playmaking ability midway through the second quarter, ending the first half on a 19-5 run and never looking back for an 84-61 victory over the Lady Bobcats.

"We talk about pace from day one," Trinity Valley head coach Precious Ivy said. "As soon as we start our preseason we start talking about pace. We want to get up and down the floor in four to five seconds, even if it's not for a score, just to put the pressure on that team and they have to get back and run with us in transition.

"It's a game of runs. They came out shooting it pretty well, and we knew we had to fall back soon before it got out of control. So, we just wanted to keep the pace we had and stop their runs and start our own run."

Brianna Peguero led four Lady Cardinals in double-figure scoring with 19 points and Abby Cater chipped in 15 in the winning effort. Trinity Valley now advances to the semifinals on Sunday to face Eastern Florida State at 6 p.m. The Lady Cardinals are seeking their ninth national championship and a berth in the title game for the ninth time in the last 11 years.

After Jones (26-6) got three quick points to start the third quarter, Peguero made sure any confidence gained by the Lady Bobcats was short-lived, draining a 3-pointer from deep behind the top of the key, then adding a layup and a conventional three-point play for her own personal 8-0 run. That grew to a 15-1 run later in the quarter that all but salted the game away for the Lady Cardinals.

Makiya McCollister added 14 points and Ashanti Barnes netted 10 in the win for the Lady Cardinals.

"I think we were pretty good at keeping the same speed and momentum," Peguero said. "We're used to playing against tough teams and having to come back up, and that's what we did in the first quarter. I think we did a pretty good job of executing and just getting our offense back in rhythm."

En'Dya Buford led Jones College with 15 points. Meloney Thames and Arianna Patton had 13 each for the Lady Bobcats in the loss. The 61 points were 22 below the Lady Bobcat's season average.

Both teams came out of the gates intent on getting up and down the floor, which is how they both have played throughout the season. But Trinity's pace just proved to be too much for Jones to maintain.

Trinity Valley shot an impressive 51.4 percent from the field (19 of 37) and was 6 of 12 from 3-point range, getting three long-range bombs from Peguero and two from Cater, who led the Lady Cardinals with 12 first-half points and was 5-of-7 from the field.

The Lady Cardinals were too tough inside, outscoring Jones 18-0 in second-chance points thanks to a 26-15 rebounding edge. Trinity also forced eight Jones turnovers and held the Lady Bobcats to just 28.6 percent (8 of 28) from the field and 5 of 14 from 3-point range.

Jones stayed with Trinity for a while and was within 22-17 with just under eight minutes left in the second quarter when the Lady Cardinals got two quick buckets. A Sakyia White layup pulled Jones to within 26-19 before Trinity Valley made its big run to end the half.

Buford led Jones with 14 points in the first half but no other player had more than four.