SENATOBIA – Sophomore defender Tempest Shepherd will continue her women's soccer career at the four-year level, signing with Southern University on Wednesday.

"Tempest has been great for us on the back line these past two years," Northwest coach Levi Nunnally said. "She is an intense competitor and desires to get better every day.  It has been a pleasure to coach her and see her develop during her time here at Northwest. I believe she will be a big contributor at Southern University and I wish her all the best moving forward academically and athletically."

A native of Horn Lake, Shepherd played and started in all 29 games during her two-year Lady Ranger career and helped Northwest to 11 shutouts. She was a pivotal part of the team's turnaround in her sophomore campaign, helping Northwest to an 11-6 record, an upset victory over Pearl River in the first round of the MACJC Playoffs and a semifinal appearance in the 2017 MACJC Tournament.

Shepherd is just the third Division I signee in program history, joining Morgan Taylor (Lipscomb University, 2011) and Elyse Lovelace (Austin Peay, 2006).

Shepherd will play for head coach Jeremy Fontenot at Southern. The Lady Jaguars compete in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).