2004

Lady Warriors win region; For the second time in four \ e

Headed to Salina, Kan . Sixteen teams will advance to the NJCAA Division I Women's Nat1onal Championship Tournament. Already in are: Central Arizona College 30.2 Gadsden State CC, Ala 26·5 Umv. of Ark.·Fort Smith 29-2 East Central CC (Miss.) 29·2 Weatherford Coli (Texas) Southeastern Illinois Coli. Hiwassee College Tenn. 28·2 Gulf Coast CC (Fla.) 31-1

Community College Lady Warrior.., '':ill be particxpatmg in by Marty Stamper the NJCAA Division I Women's National Champ– ionship Basketball fcmrna– ment. A 3-0 run in the Region 23 Tournament at Mississippi College last week secured the tnp to Salina, Kan. Sixteen teams from across the country will be partici– pating in the Juco Blast at the Bicentennial Center m Salina, March 16-20. • EC 66, Mississippi Delta 53: The Lady Warriors l'pened the tournament with the 13-point win on March 1. EC used a 21-7 mn mid– way through the first half to turn a 10-9 deficit into a 30-17 lead with five minutes remaining in the fir:.t half. Kimyatta Viverette and Kotreece Bender converted back-to-back three-point plays earl) in the run as the Lady Warriors began to dis- tance themselves from Delta. Before the run ended, Rita Birden hit two baskets and a pair of free throws, India Backstrom scored twice from close range, and Kristin Chaney buried a 3-pointer. EC, 27-2, led by a.., many .ls 14 points before taking a 38-27 lead into the break. Delta got to within nine points on a 3-pointer from Camille 1\!orwood with 15:13 to go, but the Lady Warriors

Still tn the Hunt Malcolm X (Ill ) (26·5)Ninceone:. (Ind.) (26-4) w1nner Seward County (Kan.)IOodge City (Kan.) (26·7) w1nner Region 9 winner the Lady Tiger:. strong suit, but Gray and Viverette dom– inated the paint, especiaUy in the first half. Gray finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds, and fiye steals, while Viverette had 10 points, 12 rebounds, and three assislr;. "This team ts competitive enough we don't have to step · up and do the challenging," I lodge said. "In fact, there wasn't much motivation to give this group today. "They're very competitive and are a fun group to be around. They stepped up in a big situation."

lOUISburg Coileg_e (N.C.) 20·3 Lake Aeg1on College, N D. 24·8 Trinity Valley CC (Texas) 32-0 Three Rivers CC (Mo ) 26·5 College of Southern Idaho 20·4 ranked 17th nationally, slapped ~ortheast around from the start as they ~;cored the game's first 14 points. In the nm, Gray scored at will in the lane and Bender and Chaney each buried a 3-pomter. • "That was a good .;;tart," EC head coach Brad Hodge said. '1t helped take a little pressure off the offense and our defense." The Lady Warriors led by as many as 19 points in the f1rst half as they took a 45-26 lead into halftime. Northeast's inside game w 1s thought by many to be

CARTHAGINIAN ------------ ·NESHOBA DEMOCRAT _ _ _ _ NEWTON RECORD ____ _ _ _ MERIDIAN STAR --- --------– CLARION-LEDGER-----------

\ kept the Lady Trojans off the ------– .-;coreboard br the next 4:06 as they upped their lead to 53-36. - ------ EC took its biggest lead at - ------ 66-46 on a basket by \ 1verettP. Delta scored the .L------ ... nts. ~ r-11"\1 1 U l- MUK I U N -------- -- IMPACT ________________________ ... ... • L