Jameika Hoskins and Shay Bonner have made the most of their chances to grow.
Now the sophomores want to help the Itawamba Community College women’s basketball team reach the game’s biggest stage.
At 6 tonight, the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges state champion ICC women (24-2) will take on Coahoma C.C. in the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 23 tournament at A.E. Wood Coliseum on the campus of Mississippi College in Clinton.
ICC advanced to the Region 23 tournament after beating Copiah-Lincoln 74-67 Thursday in the championship game of the MACJC tournament in Fulton. Hoskins, a former standout at Aberdeen High School, had 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Bonner, a former standout at Starkville High, had 18 points, three rebounds, and three steals to lead four players in double figures. Bonner and Hoskins and Bonner hit free throws in the final minute to seal the deal.
“They’re leaders,” ICC coach Nanci Gray said of Bonner and Hoskins. “Both of them do a great job. They have been invaluable to the success we have had this season.”
Hoskins, a 5-foot-10 guard, averages 14.9 points and 10.3 rebounds (26th in the NJCAA) per game. She also contributes with 2.6 assists and 2.0 steals per game, and is 26th in the NJCAA at 40 percent from 3-point range.
Bonner, a 5-8 guard, averages 9.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 2.0 steals per game. She is tied for 12th in the NJCAA at 43.9 percent from 3-point range.
Hoskins signed to play basketball at Division I Alcorn State as a senior at Aberdeen High, but she changed her mind and opted to go to ICC. Her goal at the time was to take the next two years to improve as a player and to earn a chance to play basketball at a four-year school. Hoskins said that goal looks to be within reach. She said she has talked to coaches at Delta State, Jacksonville, Alabama State, West Alabama, Montevallo, and Southeastern Louisiana. She knows taking the next step will be a challenge, but she feels she has learned plenty at ICC to make that jump.
“It has helped me a lot,” Hoskins said of her decision to go to ICC. “Coming out of high school, I had signed with Alcorn but I didn’t think I was really ready for it. Coming here helped me with my defense and helped me pick up more about the game.”
Hoskins feels her 3-point shooting and her defense have improved. She said she still uses her size to post up other guards, like she did in high school, but that she feels her game is more well rounded.
“In high school, my weakness was playing defense,” said Hoskins, who was named The Dispatch’s 2009-10 Girls Player of the Year after averaging 21.7 points per game as a senior. “Coming to ICC helped me become a little smarter on defense. I still have a lot of work to do.”
Gray said when Hoskins chose ICC that she was anxious to see her mature into a more consistent player. She said Hoskins arrived in Fulton as a good athletes and that she has emerged as a leader who reads the game well and reacts to what she sees.
Hoskins likes what she has done in two seasons, although she feels she can do even more. She admits she is “OK” with her game today, but that she knows she can do better and refine the things she has learned even more.
“It is going to be tough (going to the next level),” Hoskins said. “I know it is going to take some work, some hard work. But if I go there and work hard every day to get better like I did when I came here, I can be set.”
Bonner wants to do the same thing. She said has talked to coaches from the University of West Florida, the University of New Orleans, Montevallo, Mississippi College, and Jacksonville. She isn’t sure where she’ll end up, but she feels her defense will help get her there.
“I do great on defense to help the team out and to have their back,” Bonner said. “(Defense) has been my main focus since I have been playing.”
Bonner said the transition from high school to college was difficult because she had to learn to play better help-side defense and to understand team defensive concepts. Today, she is confident enough to be a presence on the defensive end.
“She always guards the other team’s best players,” said Gray, who was named Monday the MACJC Women’s Coach of the Year. “She is as quick as player I have coached. She had a good mind for defensive effort.”
While her defense may be her calling card, Bonner feels her offense has improved. Like Hoskins, she has improved her 3-point shooting. Her quickness also gives her the potential to be a scoring threat off the dribble. Bonner said she is working to improve on her ability to drive to the basket and score or create shots for her teammates. She is confident those skills will come because she has learned a lot in her two years at ICC.
Starting today, Bonner and Hoskins — and the rest of the team’s sophomores — intend to show just how much they have grown.
“We have been really dedicated and wanted it so bad,” Bonner said talking about the team’s success this season. “We have worked hard every day, and we work together every game. We have made sure we have each other’s backs, have fun, and win.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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