ELLISVILLE – Missy Bilderback knew that Jones County Junior College had never made it to the NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament. So, the second-year head stressed to her Lady Bobcats they had a chance to make history this season. "We knew that and we kind of dangled that out there for them," Bilderback said Thursday morning. "We knew the Region 23 title had always eluded them, even though Jones has had some incredible teams and great players to come through here. But that region title had always gotten by them and we tried to use that for motivation this year." It obviously worked because the Lady Bobcats captured the Region 23 championship on March 10 with a convincing, 85-67 victory over Hinds. JCJC will now play in the national tournament in Lubbock, Texas, at 6 p.m. on Monday against Region 9 champion Western Nebraska. The Lady Bobcats enter the tournament as the No. 13 seed, while the Cougars are the 20th seed. The Lady Bobcats have posted a 28-1 record, which is a school record for wins, and they are riding a 23-game winning streak. Bilderback thinks her team will represent well in the national tournament. "I really believe we are playing our best basketball right now," she said. "It's been an unbelievable run for us. The players had a few days off after winning region, but they are back and ready to go." Bilderback said the foundation for the team's success was built during the offseason. "This all started back in the summer when we first got together as a team," she said. "Our goal as a group was to find a way to win games. They compete hard in practice and they challenge each other and they have done well. "This is such a special group. You may coach another 20 years or so and not have a group who loves to compete like this." The heroes are many for Jones. Freshman guard Alexis Tolefree (Conway, Arkansas) leads the team in scoring at 19.1 points per game and steals at 2.7 per game. She leads the team in 3-pointers, making 73-of-190 for 38.4 percent. Freshman forward Nique Cherry (Heidelberg) averages 13.2 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Tatyana Lofton (Madison-Ridgeland Academy) averages 11.9 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Freshman guard K.K. Tassin (Terry) averages 10.8 points per game and sophomore forward Myyah West (Prentiss) averages 10.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Zan Ratcliffe (West Jones) averages 5.3 points and 3.7 assists per game and freshman guard Kira Bonner (Quitman) averages 5.6 points per game. Freshman forward Julie Esadah (Warri, Nigeria) averages 5.2 rebounds and sophomore center Kyle Felton (Lithonia, Georgia) averages 4.7 rebounds per game. Rounding out the roster are sophomore forward Patrice Tate (Velma Jackson), Madison Bishop (Collegiate Christian) and Hayle Lott (Petal). Hanah Lott (Petal) and Jaresa Brooks (North Forrest) are being redshirted this season. JCJC outscores its opponents, 83.1 to 52.8 points per game. Bilderback is not surprised by the success of her team and she credits the environment at JCJC with being critical to that. "When I took the job at Jones, I knew they had high expectations and I knew the administration would provide the tools to be successful," he said. "Our kids sat there and watched our baseball and softball teams do well last year (both currently ranked No. 1 this year) and to be able to be a part of something great like this at Jones is special." JCJC will face an interesting matchup against 28-4 Western Nebraska. None off the 13 players on the Western Nebraska roster are from Nebraska and six are foreign student-athletes. They feature players from Montenegro, Turkey, Australia and Brazil. The Cougars prefer a slower pace of play than JCJC. Western Nebraska outscores its opponents, 73.3 to 55.6. In their Region 9 title win over Eastern Wyoming College, they posted a 53-51 victory. They also had a 74-70 overtime win over Northwest College (Wyoming) in the first round of the region tournament. "They are a really good basketball team," Bilderback said. "They have quite a few international kids and they have excellent shooters. They try to play a halfcourt game, while we try to play pretty fast and use our depth and athletic ability. "They will run when they have the opportunity, but they like the halfcourt game. Whoever controls the tempo will be a big factor in the game." The Cougars will be making their 13th appearance in the national tournament. They are led by 6-foot sophomore guard/forward Sladjana Rakovic of Montenegro, who averages 14.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.