WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. – A strong showing from the Northwest reserves wasn't quite enough to take down Arkansas State Mid-South on Monday evening, as the Lady Rangers suffered the 67-61 loss.
Northwest scored a total of 41 points off the bench for the evening, led by
Kayla Freeman's double-double (14 points, 13 rebounds) and 11 points and four rebounds from
Cloe Messer.
ASU Mid-South jumped out to a 4-0 lead before back-to-back baskets by
Tamarah Sykes tied the contest up with 6:41 left in the first quarter. The Lady Greyhounds would close the quarter on a 15-5 run however, taking a 19-9 advantage.
Northwest got hot to start the second quarter, embarking on a 9-2 run that was capped off by a
Morgan Hodum three-pointer, cutting the lead down to 21-18 with 4:26 left before halftime.
ASU Mid-South never surrendered the lead though, pushing its margin back to eight twice before the half, entering the locker room with a 32-27 advantage.
Northwest once again cut into the Lady Greyhounds' lead, fighting back to get within one at 34-33 in the early stages of the third quarter. The effort would be short lived though, as ASU Mid-South used a 19-5 run to increase the Lady Rangers' deficit to 15 points and take a 53-38 lead with two minutes left.
Trailing by 16 to open the final quarter of action, Northwest once again fought back to cut the deficit under 10, only to see the Lady Greyhounds extend the lead back to double digits at 63-53 with 2:47 remaining in regulation.
Despite a final gasp of energy that cut the Lady Greyhound lead down to five twice within the final two minutes, the Lady Rangers were ultimately unable to overcome the deficit, suffering their first loss of the season.
Sykes finished just shy of a double-double, earning eight points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
ASU Mid-South was led by a 21-point, 12-rebound effort from Adrianne Chambers, while Cierra Penn also posted a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Northwest shot 32.5 percent from the floor but just 10 percent from beyond the arc. ASU Mid-South shot 30 percent on the evening but was aided by a 64 percent effort from the charity stripe.
At 2-1 on the season, Northwest returns to the friendly confines of Howard Coliseum on Thursday, Nov. 14 against Mississippi Gulf Coast at 5 p.m.
