CLINTON – Just over a week after bowing out to Copiah-Lincoln in the quarterfinal round of the MACJC Tournament, Northwest fell victim again to the Lady Wolves, dropping an 86-75 decision in the quarterfinals of the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament Wednesday night.
Co-Lin improved to 22-4 and advances to Friday's semifinal game against Holmes, who snapped East Central's 19-game winning streak. Northwest ends its season at 16-6 overall.
Co-Lin got off to the quick start early and scored the game's first seven points. The Lady Wolves quickly stretched their lead to 12 points midway through the second quarter before a 10-0 Lady Ranger run, sparked by
Brianna Williams, pulled Northwest within one, 34-33, late in the period.
Northwest had all the momentum in the closing seconds of the first half until Jamilah Sanders banked in a half court shot at the buzzer, giving Co-Lin the 43-37 halftime lead.
With Co-Lin leading 67-51 in the final seconds of the third, Northwest tried to mount the comeback in the final period of play. The Lady Rangers embarked on a 16-3 run to cut the deficit to 70-67 with 5:10 left after a pair of
Averyale Joy free throws.
The Lady Wolves, however, never surrendered the lead and closed the contest on a 16-8 scoring run to seal the victory, ending the Lady Rangers' postseason run.
Northwest was led by 23 points from Williams and
Sara Lytle, who tallied her ninth double-double of the season and the 13th of her Lady Ranger career with 21 points and 10 boards.
Janesha Johnson and
Kelsey Brown also reached double figures for the Lady Rangers, tallying 12 points each.
Five players reached double digits for Co-Lin, highlighted by a 20-point effort from Alexis Collins. Debraia Bell scored 16 points and added eight rebounds off the bench for the Lady Wolves, while Kelly Allen provided a double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds).
Northwest's sophomore class, made up of Lytle, Brown, Williams,
Alyssia King,
Alexis Thomas and
Hayley Davis, finished their two-year career a combined 35-13 (17-7 north division) with a pair of conference and region tournament appearances.
