T-Bird (WBB) Falls in Region V Semifinals

Collin College downed the shorthanded Thunderbird women's basketball team 78-69 in the Region V semifinal at Weatherford College on March 15.

The T-Birds came into Friday afternoon's game with 10 active players. NMJC was down to seven players by the end of the final whistle. Star forward Pania Davis was slowed to just 17 minutes of action due to foul trouble. Davis would foul out of the game with 7:06 to go in the fourth quarter.

The injury bug came in full force following Davis's exit. Guard Aaliyah Holmes went down with a lower leg injury with 4:45 left in the fourth quarter and guard Nuria Estrade was helped to the bench with only 1:13 left in the game. 

The T-Birds led early in the game by as many as six points in the first quarter. The Cougars bit into the lead in the final five minutes of the quarter and only trailed the Thunderbirds by two points, 14-12.

Collin punched NMJC in the mouth to begin the second quarter scoring seven unanswered points in the first 1:30 to take the lead and make the score 19-14.

The T-Birds punched back with a ferocious 15-2 run to snatch the lead right back. T-Bird guard Nuria Estrade was the main spark for the run, knocking down two three balls and a tough layup. Cacia Antonio scored six of the 15 points in the offensive explosion on top of Estrade's eight. The run led to NMJC's largest lead of the game, 29-21, with 4:13 to go in the half.

The Cougars snuck right back into the contest in the final four minutes and took a one-point lead, 34-33, into the half. Pania Davis missed the entire second quarter due to foul trouble.

Collin took control of the game in the third quarter outscoring NMJC 21-15 to hold a 55-48 advantage headed into the fourth. The Thunderbirds trailed by double digits in the fourth quarter, but came within four points, 70-66, following a Filipa Calisto layup with 1:15 left.

NMJC was unable to get a pivotal stop in the next possession and ultimately fell to the future Region V champs 78-69.  

"We figured it out enough to stay competitive," head coach Austin Mefford said. "It was unfortunate with the foul trouble with P (Pania Davis) early in the game. That changed the whole momentum and changed our game plan. We had to be successful on the inside to win this game and we didn't. We just didn't do the little things tonight like rebounding and making free throws like we had to do in order to win."

Cacia Antonio guided the Thunderbirds with an impressive stat line of 22 points, 11 boards, and eight assists on 10-of-19 shooting from the field. Antonio now has registered seven double-doubles this season.

Nuria Estrade was on fire in the first half scoring 14 of her 16 points during the first two frames. Estrade could not miss from the outside and was 4-for-7 from downtown through the first two quarters.

The second half was a completely different story. Estrade went 0-6 from 3-point land and 1-for-8 from the field. The Spaniard ended the game with 16 points, three steals, and three rebounds.

Amyah Sutton scored 13 of the team's 15 points off the bench and totaled five rebounds in the nine-point loss to the Cougars.

The T-Birds shot 28-for-64 (43.8%) from the field, 7-of-23 (30.4%) from three, and 6-of-13 (46.2%) from the stripe.

The road to back-to-back region V title ended with Collin, but NMJC was able to secure some hardware in the process. Freshmen forwards Pania Davis and Amyah Sutton were named to the Region V All-Tournament Team.

Following the conclusion of the tournament more postseason awards were handed out. Pania Davis notched WJCAC Freshman of the Year, WJCAC All-Conference, and All-Region honors.

Freshman guard Cacia Antonio was voted WJCAC Newcomer of the Year, WJCAC All–Conference, and All-Region V. Sophomore guard Filipa Calisto earned WJCAC All-Conference and Aaliyah Holmes recorded WJCAC All-Conference Honorable Mention honors. 

Head coach Austin Mefford was named WJCAC Coach of the Year for the second time in three seasons.  

The No. 9 Thunderbirds fate rested in the hands of the selection committee for an at-large bid to the NJCAA DI Women's Basketball Championship in Casper, Wyoming.

The selection show took place on the NJCAA Network Sunday, March 17 at 8 p.m. EDT and NMJC was chosen as the No. 8 seed in the national tournament.

Region V only receives three bids to Casper.  Collin College received the automatic bid after winning the Region V title. Odessa was the first at-large team from Region V coming in at the No. 7 seed.

The final postseason spot went to the T-Birds over McLennan College due to the T-Birds advancement in the region tournament and McLennan's early first round exit.

The first eight seeds earn a first round bye in the tournament. NMJC will play the winner of No. 9 Trinity Valley and No. 24 Monroe on Wednesday, March 27 at 4:45 p.m. MDT!