MOORHEAD – Paced by a season-best 15 points from freshman Mallory Russell, three Lady Rangers finished in double figures despite a 70-65 loss to Baton Rouge in a neutral-site contest at Mississippi Delta on Monday.

Northwest dropped its third straight result, falling to 2-5 on the season. BRCC moved to 2-5.

Baton Rouge jumped on the board quickly in the first quarter, racing out to a 7-0 lead due in part to a pair of Kayla Watson baskets.

The Lady Rangers would trim the deficit to three with a Nakia Walker layup but never took the lead in the opening quarter and instead trailed 14-9.

Northwest continued to chip away at the Lady Bears' lead, and after tying the contest at 18 apiece, freshman Madison Pharr gave the Lady Rangers their first lead, 21-19, on a three from the corner with two minutes left in the first half.

After taking a 26-25 advantage into the locker room, the Lady Rangers quickly lost the lead in the early stages of the third quarter, as Desrael Schnyder's three-pointer put Baton Rouge back ahead 28-26.

Baton Rouge would hold the lead for most of the third period, aside from a brief go-ahead jumper from Sydney Liddell at the 1:32 mark that put the Lady Rangers up one.

Although Northwest never trailed by more than nine and managed to tie the contest twice in the final quarter, the Lady Rangers were never able to regain the lead. Even after cutting the deficit to 67-65, Northwest couldn't find its offense over the last 1:27 and fell by the 70-65 margin.

Aside from Russell's 15 points, Northwest also got a pair of 10-point boosts from Liddell and freshman Ariel Tunstall. Russell and Liddell would also combine for 13 of the Lady Rangers' 32 rebounds on the afternoon.

Watson proved to be an unstoppable force for the Lady Bears, leading all scorers with 26 points. Schnyder and Harlee Doucet also tallied 14 and 10 points, respectively.

Northwest will resume action following Thanksgiving Break, hosting SAU Tech on Tuesday, Nov. 27 at 5 p.m. at Howard Coliseum. A live video broadcast of that game will also be available on nwccrangers.com/watch.