SENATOBIA – Sophomore Chrissah Shaw totaled a career-high 27 points on Monday night but it wasn't enough to upend rival Northeast, as Northwest fell to the visiting Lady Tigers 89-78.

Northwest dropped to 10-8 overall and 5-3 in the MACJC North Division. Northeast improved to 14-5 on the season and retained sole possession of first place in the division at 7-1.

Northeast jumped out to a 6-0 lead within the first few minutes of the contest before the Lady Rangers responded with an 8-2 run, capped by a Brooke Walker three-pointer, to tie the game midway through the first quarter.

Northwest would push its lead to five but the Lady Tigers clawed back to regain a 21-15 lead at the end of one.

A pair of layups and a three-pointer from Adallice Young would keep Northeast going in the second quarter, as the Lady Rangers fell behind by as many as 12 with under five minutes remaining in the first half. 

Shaw would then help rally the Lady Rangers with a breakaway layup that sparked a 9-0 run, cutting the Northeast lead down to 36-33 at the 1:55 mark of the second.

That run would be short-lived, however, as the Lady Tigers outscored Northwest 10-2 down the stretch to push the halftime lead to 46-35.

Leading 58-50 in the early stages of the second half, Northeast quickly pulled away with a 13-2 stretch, which included nine points from Young, to extend the lead to 71-52.

Northeast led by double digits until late in the fourth quarter, as the Lady Rangers trimmed the lead down to seven with 1:21 remaining. The Lady Tigers would go 6-for-8 from the free throw line, however, squashing Northwest's final comeback attempt in the 89-78 defeat.

Mercades Ward and Ciara Pettis scored 10 points apiece in the loss for Northwest, with Ward finishing just shy of a double-double with nine assists. Ward and Walker each collected six rebounds to lead the team.

Four players finished in double figures to lead the Lady Tigers, paced by 21 points from Young. Aundrea Adams came away with a double-double (19 points, 11 rebounds), as Dayzsha Rogan and Tyra Tucker scored 18 and 17, respectively.

Northwest shot just 52 percent from the charity stripe, compared to 67 percent by Northeast. The Lady Rangers were also bested from outside the arc, as NEMCC shot 58 percent (season-high 11 makes) compared to 21 percent by Northwest.

Northwest will look to get back in the win column on Thursday night against Holmes (12-6, 6-2). Tipoff from Howard Coliseum is set for 5 p.m. on nwccrangers.com/watch.