GOODMAN – Sophomores Monique Biggins, Nikki McChristian and Shaquilla Isom all posted double-doubles for Northwest on the night but it wasn't enough as Tamia Grady scored a career-high 30 points and single handedly willed Holmes to a 71-64 win Monday at Frank Branch Coliseum. | Box Score
Holmes won its fourth straight meeting in the series and improved to 7-10 overall and 2-4 in the north division. Northwest dropped to 13-4 overall and 4-2 in the north.
The two teams traded leads in the game's opening 8 minutes before Northwest took its largest lead of the game, 13-8, with just under 12 minutes left in the half.
Holmes then began to find its rhythm from the floor and shots started falling from all over.
Trailing 25-21 with 5:41 left in the half, Holmes hit five consecutive shots, including a pair of 3-pointers from DeNesha Dillard and Dasha Adams, and strung together a 15-0 run over the next 3 minutes to take an 11-point lead. Northwest went 0 for 8 from the floor during the stretch.
Holmes closed the half shooting 50 percent against 32 percent shooting from Northwest and enjoyed a 38-29 lead at the break.
Out of the locker room Northwest showed a sense of urgency and quickly put together an 8-0 to cut the lead to to 38-37 with 17:39 to play.
Riding 18 second half points from Grady, Holmes stretched its lead out to as many as 13 late in the game before another Lady Ranger run closed the gap to 67-64 with 1:32 to play.
Northwest, however, couldn't come up with the clutch basket down the stretch as they missed their final seven shots and Holmes was able to connect on late free throws to seal the win.
Grady led all scorers with 30 points on 9 of 12 shooting, while Dillard and Adams followed with 18 points and 11 points for Holmes.
Biggins led Northwest with 22 points and 12 rebounds, while McChristian added 13 and 12 and Isom had 11 and 10. Shequana Sledge dished out a career-high seven assists in 22 minutes off the bench.
Northwest will face a hostile environment again on Thursday, traveling to Coahoma for a 6 p.m. tipoff.
