Johnson County Community College women reach NJCAA Division II championship game

The Johnson County women’s basketball team will be playing for a national title, and on its home floor.

The Cavaliers, seeded third in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II tournament, beat No. 2 seed Owens (Ohio) 74-64 on Friday in the semifinals at the JCCC gymnasium.

Johnson County, which is the host of the tournament, will play for the championship on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The Cavaliers will face top-seeded Parkland (Ill.).

Parkland beat No. 5 seed Monroe (N.Y.) 78-62 in Friday’s other semifinal. Parkland is 35-1.

Johnson County advanced to the national championship game for the second time in school history

Erica Nelson had 24 points, eight rebounds and four assists on Friday for Johnson County, which improved to 33-2 on the season.

Nieka Wheeler also came up big for the Cavaliers. Wheeler finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

Johnson County got control of the game in the first half, when the Cavaliers outscored Owens 40-26.

Ashley Tunstall had 19 points and seven rebounds for Owens, which finished the season 33-2.

This story was originally published March 20, 2015 at 9:24 PM with the headline "Johnson County Community College women reach NJCAA Division II championship game."