POPLARVILLE – In a rematch of last year’s state championship final, the Co-Lin Lady Wolves got a little late revenge as they defeated the Itawamba Lady Indians 61-60 to earn a berth in the championship game of the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior College’s (MACJC) State Tournament. Itawamba defeated Co-Lin 75-67 in last year’s championship game.

Coach Gwyn Young’s Lady Wolves (22-3) will play the North No. 3 seed Northeast Mississippi Lady Tigers (14-10) in the championship game today at 5 p.m. in Shivers Gymnasium. The Lady Tigers ran away from the South No. 4 seed Jones County Lady Bobcats 68-49 in the other semifinal game.

In the men’s championship game, host Pearl River plays Mississippi Delta at 7 p.m. The host Wildcats (21-4), seeded No. 1 out of the South Division, eliminated Northwest 65-62. Delta eliminated Gulf Coast 75-64.

“We put ourselves in a position where we had a chance to win,” said Coach Young. “We struggled in the game and were lucky to win.”

This will be Co-Lin’s first meeting with Northeast this year. “Northeast is pretty well balanced,” said Young. “They have three players who can score. They are solid on defense.”

A basket by sophomore guard Tiffany Sims, with 4:44 remaining, gave the Lady Wolves a 59-51 advantage as Co-Lin looked to be cruising along. But Itawamba’s TyNita Baker scored 8 straight points to tie the game at 59-all with 2:11 left in the game.

Itawamba’s Ayanna Lynn hit 1-of-2 free throws to give the Lady Indians a 60-59 lead capping a 9-0 run with 2:02 remaining.

Sophomore Chanta Poole stole the ball and scored on a layup with 1:23 on the clock to put the Lady Wolves up 61-60. Itawamba had two opportunities to win the game as Baker drove the ball up the court and missed a layup. Itawamba’s Ashley Wiley rebounded the ball but missed the putback.

Co-Lin’s Ashley Minor grabbed the rebound and headed down the court and was fouled with 1.1 seconds remaining. Minor missed the front end of a one-and-one and Lady Indians grabbed the rebound, but were unable to get off a shot as the clock expired.

Sophomore LaVasha Allen led the Lady Wolves with 13 points and 6 rebounds. Vintrice Briggs was back in action and chipped in 11 points. Briggs has been out for over a week with an injury. T’Keya Moore added 9 points and Chanta Poole had 8 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

Ayanna Lynn had a game-high 20 points, 4 assists and 7 rebounds for the Lady Indians. TyNita Baker added 13 points. Latoya Collins chipped in 9 points and pulled down 7 rebounds.

Co-Lin shot 46 percent (24-of-52) from the field while Itawamba shot 31 percent (22-of-71). The Lady Wolves bench outscored the Lady Indians 22-9 and held a slight lead in rebounding 44-40.

The championship game will be webcast live at www.ihigh.com/prcc, listen live at www.colinathletics.com or on WMJU 104.3 FM in Brookhaven.

This marks the Lady Wolves’ fifth straight appearance in the championship finals. Co-Lin last won the State Championship in 2011.

Co-Lin 61, Itawamba 60

Co-Lin (61) LaVasha Allen 13, Vintrice Briggs 11, Sims 3, Wison 4, Poole 8, Minor 2, Jackson 0, Moore 9, Wright 0, Patterson 6.

Itawamba (60) Ayanna Lynn 20, TyNita Baker 13, Collins 9, Wiley 3, Hampton 6, robinson 5, Gillom 0, Payne 2, Coleman 2.

Halftime: Co-Lin 24-22.

Total fouls: Co-Lin 15. Itawamba 14. Fouled out-none. Free Throws M-A: Co-Lin 11-18. Itawamba 11-19.

3-Point Goals: Co-Lin Itawamba 5-24. (Baker 1-11, Lynn 1-2, Collins 1-3, Wiley 1-3, Robinson 1-3, Coleman 0-2) Co-Lin 9-11 (Poole 0-5, Briggs 1-1, Minor 1-2, Moore 0-1).

Rebounds: Co-Lin 44 (Allen 6). Itawamba 40 (Lynn 7, Collins 7).

Turnovers: CoLin 20. Itawamba 13.

Field Goals M-A: Co-Lin 24-52. Itawamba 22-71.