CLINTON — The Co-Lin Lady Wolves had to fight off the peskyLady Indians of Itawamba in the second half to hold on to an 70-65victory Wednesday night in the semifinals of the NJCAA Regional 23Tournament at A.E. Wood Coliseum.

In the other women’s semifinals, the Meridian Lady Eagles clawedthe East Mississippi Lady Lions 80-72 for an overtime win.

In men’s semifinals, the East Mississippi Lions eliminated thePearl River Wildcats 89-80 and the Southern Shreveport Jaguarsedged Itawamba 68-66.

The defending Region 23 Champions Lady Wolves (24-2) are looking torepeat as champions as they face Meridian, today in the women’schampionship game. Tipoff is 6 p.m.

In the men’s championship game, East Mississippi battlesSouthern-Shreveport at 8 p.m.

Co-Lin 70, Itawamba 65

The Lady Wolves came out in the first half eager to defend theirRegion 23 crown and roared to a 37-21 halftime lead overItawamba.

In the second half, the Lady Indians refused to go down without afight and rallied to cut Co-Lin’s 16-point lead to one point on a15-0 run.

Co-Lin’s Kristin Newsome ended the Lady Wolves drought at 15:30mark as she sank a basket to give her a team a 39-36 edge. Itsparked a 6-0 run by the Lady Wolves and boosted their lead to51-42.

The Lady Indians surged back and took a brief 55-53 lead on VetorraCole basket with 6:40 left in the game.

The Lady Wolves refused to give up and regained the lead, 57-55,when freshman Ann Shelby Davis hit a 15-footer and sank two freethrows at the 5:15 mark. The Lady Wolves caught a breather whenShay Bonner fouled Alexus Sturgis and was called for a technicalfoul for slamming the ball on the court. Kiara Etienne sank the twotechnical free throws and Sturgis hit 1-of-2 free throws to putCo-Lin up 60-55.

Ebony Williams nailed a trey with 4:40 left to pull the LadyIndians within 2 points, 60-58, but that would be the closestItawamba would come. The Lady Wolves outscored Itawamba 10-6 in thelast 4-minutes of the game. Etienne put the final touches onItawamba’s fate when she nailed two crucial free throws in theclosing seconds.

Etienne was the only Lady Wolf to score in double in figures as shepumped in a game-high 19 points to lead the rest of the balancedscoring.

“We played really well in the first half,” said Co-Lin Coach GwynYoung. “Both teams battle hard and got in early foul trouble, butour subs did a great job coming off the bench to give us aspark.

“In the second half, we came out very flat,” continued Young.”Itawamba did a great job battling back. The main factor of thegame was our subs. They made the crucial plays and baskets down thestretch to help us get the victory.”

Ebony Williams knocked down a team-high 15 points to lead the LadyIndians (18-8). LaPrecious Naylon netted 13 points and JameikaHoskins added 11 points.

“It was a battle to the end,” said Itawamba coach Nanci Gray. “Ourgirls fought hard and battled back to make it a contest. I was verypleased with the girls’ effort and the season we had. I wish Co-Linthe best of luck in the finals.”

Meridian 80, East Miss. 72, OT

Freshmen forward Norianna Haynes pumped in a game-high 31 points tolead the Lady Eagles. Chasity Kearney netted 16 points and BiancaPowell provided 10 points.

Kiara Quinones-Noa was the leader for the Lady Lions with ateam-high 13 points. Chadisty Hickman and Natalie Tate contributed12 points apiece. Jamie Gunter added 10 points.

Southern Shreveport 68, Itawamba 66

Freshmen guard Corey Blake pumped in a team-high 17 points to leadthe Jaguars. Tydrick King contributed 11 points.

The Indians had three players to score in double figures. MelvinMorgan knocked down a game-high 22 points to lead Itawamba. WendellWilliams provided 15 points and Akeem Caddell added 14points.

East Mississippi 89, Pearl River 80

Sophomore forward Jonathan King was the leader for the Lions with agame-high 28 points. Deonte Alexander sacked 26 points.

Emil Jones knocked down a team-high 27 points to lead the Wildcats.Pedro Maciel contributed 18 point.