The Three Rivers College women's basketball team is going dancing again.
The Lady Raiders won the Region 16 championship Friday night with a 79-66 victory over the State Fair Lady Roadrunners at the Libla Family Sports Complex.
Their victory sends the Lady Raiders (27-4) to the NJCAA Division 1 women's national tournament for the fourth consecutive year, this time in Casper, Wyoming. The tournament opens on March 26 at the Ford Wyoming Center.
Three Rivers head coach Alex Wiggs won Region 16 Coach of the Year, and Da'Kariya "Lia" Jackson was named Region 16 Most Valuable Player for the season.
Wiggs praised his team's effort.
"We've got a great group of young ladies that have been working since August, and you reap what you sow," he said. "I'm really proud of their efforts and their commitment to this, and it's an exciting time to make it back for the fourth consecutive time."
Jackson scored a game-high 34 points for the Lady Raiders Friday.
"It's a really good accomplishment — I went down last year in the regional tournament, so I never got to experience the national, but it feels great tonight," Jackson said.
After a slow start and a 6-6 tie, the Lady Raiders went on a 14-0 run to open up a 20-6 lead with 2:32 left in the first quarter.
State Fair hit on a pair of bucket-and-foul threes to double its score, but the Lady Roadrunners found themselves trailing Three Rivers 24-12 at the end of the first.
The Lady Raiders began to open a big lead, mainly thanks to a barrage of 3-pointers from Jackson, who pushed her team's lead to 40-18 with less than three minutes left in the half.
State Fair, however, went on a 13-4 run after that point, cutting its halftime deficit to 44-31. The Lady Raiders only outscored the Lady Roadrunners 20-19 in the second period.
State Fair outscored Three Rivers 22-20 in the third quarter, foreshadowing the drama that would ensue.
The Lady Raiders had a 54-38 lead halfway through the period, but the Lady Roadrunners took advantage of Three Rivers' turnovers and converted on easy layups to keep the game within reach at the end of the third, trailing 64-53.
Most of the fourth quarter was a nail-biter, with State Fair's Myra Claas hitting a 3-pointer to cut the Three Rivers lead to 66-60 with 6:54 remaining.
The Lady Roadrunners got within five points with 3:51 to go in regulation, but Jackson connected on key free throws as time wound down to stretch the lead back to 10 points with 45 seconds left.
"I told the team to just finish," Wiggs said regarding that fourth quarter. "We've been through this all year long. We didn't have to score another point to win the game because we were ahead, so it's about toughness and getting those stops defensively."
One more free throw and a closing layup from Three Rivers accounted for the final margin, and as time ran out, the celebration began.
Freshman Laylah Reese, who scored eight points, said she's excited about the next step.
"I feel really confident. We've played really well tonight, and we're all excited about it," she said. "It's what every little kid dreams of, so it's an amazing opportunity, and I hope that we get everything that we've worked for."
Teammate Mya Davidson, who scored five points, echoed Reese's sentiments.
"I feel amazing!" Davidson said. "We had a great win tonight, and we're really excited to go to nationals."
When asked about the team's expectations, Davidson was right to the point.
"To go win the whole thing!" she said.
Mark J Sanders - Daily American Republic