CLINTON – A fantastic season came to an end Thursday night at the Region 23 Tournament at A.E. Wood Coliseum, as a short-handed Northwest team fell to Itawamba 70-51 to close the year.

Itawamba improved to 17-9 and advances to the region semifinals against Copiah-Lincoln on Friday at 8 p.m., while the Lady Rangers end the year at 18-7 overall.

The 18 wins tie the most wins since the 2004-05 season to go along with a north division championship.

Northwest got limited minutes from Shaquilla Isom and Bethany Lytle, both battling injuries the last 3-4 weeks, and struggled as a team from the floor for a second straight outing. The pair provided a bulk of the scoring all year and managed just 8 minutes each and no points.

A team that averaged 73 ppg when healthy during the regular season averaged 50.5 in the postseason.

Itawamba never trailed in the game, taking a commanding 40-17 halftime lead. The Lady Indians outshot Northwest 49 to 19 percent in the period and never looked back.

Northwest fought within 15 points with 11:37 to play before Itawamba put it back out of reach.

Monique Biggins ended her career with an 18-point, 8-rebound performance on 7-of-11 shooting, while Carshava Sutton added 10 points and four rebounds.

Itawamba was led by Ty-Nita Baker with 20 points, followed by 16 points from Jasmine Hampton and 12 points, eight boards and eight assists from Ayanne Lynn.

Northwest's last win at the region tournament was back on March 6, 2006 against Holmes.