IOWA – Trailing long-time nemesis South Beauregard Friday night, Iowa needed a boost, and it came from sophomore Kamylle Jones.

She made huge plays on both ends of the court to give the Yellow Jackets a 59-52 win and the school’s first over South Beauregard in decades.

Jones scored 16 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked six shots.

“Her hitting those two threes, and then us finishing with just making our free throws, it sealed the game,” Iowa head coach Courtnee Hollins said. “She’s a real long guard, so she was in a lot of help (situations) for us because she can block shots.

“She finally did a better job in the second half at attacking the paint, scoring the paint, and not just shooting threes. In the second half, I felt like she came alive and did what it took for us to win.”

It is not known when the last time Iowa (14-6) beat South Beauregard (14-9) or if ever. The Lady K’s beat Iowa 24 times since 2006, including 34-32 in the Nonselect Division II quarterfinals last season.

“We went in there, we celebrated,” Hollins said. “This is the first time that anybody can remember that we beat South Beauregard.

“We’re pumped about that. I think that was something that they needed to do to realize that they’re just as good as everybody else.”

Down 42-40 with 56 seconds left in the third quarter, Jones hit the first of her three second-half 3-pointers to put the Lady K’s on top. She hit two free throws with 14 seconds on the scoreboard, then hit back-to-back 3-pointers early in the first quarter to give Iowa a double-digit lead, 55-44.

Neither team held a lead larger than five points through the first three quarters with 10 lead changes and five ties.

“It was definitely a back-and-forth game,” Hollins said. “It was a very physical game, very physical game.

“We’re super young, but overall, there were times in the game where we could have fallen apart, and we didn’t,” Hollins said. “We kept fighting, and we did the right things.”

South Beauregard controlled the boards in the first half, outrebounding Iowa 19-13 and tied the game at 27-27 on Faith Johnson’s putback with 1:14 left in the second quarter. But Toni Brown hit a pair of free throws, and Kimora Celestine added a 3-pointer to give Iowa a 32-27 lead at halftime. South Beauregard outrebounded Iowa 36-30 for the game.

South Beauregard led 39-24 with 3:10 left in the third quarter Johnson scored six consecutive buckets on a putback, layup and two free throws. Johnson had a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Madison Derouen finished with 14 points.

Iowa had four players in double-figures, including Jones. Celestine and Aubrey Young turned in 13-point performances, and Di’Amon Levings added 10 points.