Third-seeded EMCC women to take on Copiah-Lincoln to tip off MACJC State Basketball Tournament

SCOOBA – As the No. 3 seed out of the MACJC's North Division, the East Mississippi Community College women's basketball team will face second-seeded Copiah-Lincoln Community College during Monday's opening round of the MACJC State Basketball Tournament being hosted by Jones County Junior College.  Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. at JCJC's A.B. Howard Gymnasium in Ellisville.

Other women's first-round state tournament pairings on Monday include Itawamba-Southwest Mississippi (1 p.m.), Jones County-Holmes (5:30 p.m.) and Northeast Mississippi-Hinds (7:30 p.m.).

Marking the fourth consecutive MACJC State Basketball Tournament appearance for Coach Sharon Thompson's EMCC women's squad, the Lions finished the regular season with a 12-9 overall record and 7-5 division mark after dropping a 53-49 home decision to Holmes this past Thursday night in Scooba.  In the team's regular-season finale, EMCC was once again led by the combined efforts of freshman Tyeisha Juhan and sophomore Quantesha Patterson, who both recorded double-doubles against the Lady Bulldogs.  Juhan notched her fifth double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Patterson registered her 12^th double-double of the season and 25^th of her EMCC career with 12 points and 11 boards.

For the season, Juhan and Patterson continue to rank as the top two scoring leaders in the MACJC while averaging 38 points per game between them.  Juhan, from Jonesboro, Georgia, ranks ninth nationally among NJCAA Division I women's scoring leaders at 20.1 points per outing.  She also averages 6.9 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.9 assists on the year.  Patterson, a reigning all-region performer, is averaging 17.9 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.3 blocks per game as a sophomore.  The East Webster High School product also currently ranks second nationally in field goal percentage (64.9%).

Guided by Hall of Fame head coach Gwyn Young, the Lady Wolves of Copiah-Lincoln are 19-3 overall on the year and finished second in the MACJC's South Division with a 12-2 mark behind host Jones County.  In his 40^th season at the Co-Lin helm, Young claimed his 900^th career win earlier this season. 

Men's action during next week's MACJC State Basketball Tournament begins Tuesday in Ellisville.  First-round men's pairings include Southwest Mississippi-Itawamba (1 p.m.), Northeast Mississippi-East Central (3 p.m.), Holmes-Mississippi Gulf Coast (5:30 p.m.) and Jones County-Northwest Mississippi (7:30 p.m.).

Failing to quality for postseason men's tournament play for the first time in nearly a decade, Coach Billy Begley's EMCC Lions concluded their 2016-17 hoops campaign with a 7-14 overall record and 3-9 division mark after falling to Holmes, 71-64, this past Thursday.  During 'Sophomore Night' festivities at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum on the Scooba campus, second-year standout guard David McFarland, out of Raymond High School, tallied a game-high 24 points along with adding seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals to close out his EMCC career.   

Next week's MACJC State Basketball Tournament will continue with Wednesday's semifinals followed by women's and men's championship games Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively.  

EMCC's upcoming tournament action in Ellisville is slated to be live-streamed at www.EMCCAthletics.com/live.