SENATOBIA – Freshman Jearica McBride pumped in her first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds and Northwest gave visiting Itawamba all it could handle Monday night before the Lady Indians squeeked out a 77-74 win.

Itawamba improved to 18-2 overall and stayed perfect in the north at 9-0 while Northwest dropped to 8-11 overall and 2-7 in the north division with three regular season games left to play.

The Lady Indians never trailed in the contest, with Northwest tying the game on four occasions.

After Northwest pulled within three, 35-32, after a McBride layup and free throw, Itawamba would close the half on a 13-2 run to take a 14-point lead into the locker room.

Itawamba built a 16-point lead late in the first and again midway through the second half, until Northwest fought back to make it a game down the stretch. Tiesha Tunstall started raining in 3s from all over the court, bringing the game within single digits.

Trailing 74-68 with 1:43 to play, Shaquilla Isom and Monique Biggins each knocked in a pair of free throws and Isom then added a slashing layup to knot the game up at 74-all with 25 seconds left.

LaPrecious Naylon connected 1-of-2 free throws to give Itawamba a one-point lead the ensuing Itawamba possession and then picked up a steal and layup on the other end to give the Lady Indians a 77-74 lead with 13 seconds left.

Northwest then had one final chance to tie and send the game into overtime, but Biggins' first 3-point attempt of the season bounced off the front of the rim no good to preserve the Itawamba win.

Vechatita Bonner and Jameika Hoskins scored 22 and 20 points to lead Itawamba offensively, while Northwest was paced by Isom's 19 points. Tunstall added 14 points and Biggins added 12 in addition to McBride's double-double.

Northwest will hit the road Thursday, traveling to Holmes (15-4, 8-2 north) for a 6 p.m. tipoff from Goodman.

Fans can follow along with live stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/northwestms/wbball/scoreboard.aspx