SENATOBIA – Sophomore forward Mallory Russell finished with a combined 18 points and 18 rebounds for Northwest, as the Lady Rangers dropped a close 63-59 decision to Mississippi Gulf Coast and defeated Mineral Area College 61-50.

Both games were part of the annual Lady Ranger Classic that also featured Mississippi Delta playing against the aforementioned opponents.

Against Gulf Coast, the Lady Rangers matched up well with their opponents, as both teams swapped nine lead changes with six ties in the first half. Both teams were tied at 29-29 at halftime, with Taylor Fletcher scoring seven points to lead Northwest.

Both teams continued to go back and forth over most of the second half as well, but Northwest had a difficult time finding a way to slow down reigning MACJC Player of the Week Daphane White. Behind 14 second half points and 12 rebounds, White also posted all seven of the Lady Bulldogs' blocks, helping take away the inside game for Northwest.

A layup from Russell started the fourth quarter and gave the Lady Rangers a five-point advantage, but MGCCC would quickly erase that deficit and regain the lead on a Kelsi Jackson three-pointer with 6:33 left to go.

From there, Gulf Coast never relinquished the lead and led by as many as nine with 1:23 remaining.

Trailing by eight with 35 seconds left to go, the Lady Rangers used one last gasp to cut the deficit down to three, thanks to a three-pointer from Zanaiyah Daniel and a layup from Ariel Tunstall. A missed free throw from Ataliya Brown would give Northwest a fighting chance with 12 seconds to go, but Daniel's three-point attempt wouldn't fall, allowing the Lady Bulldogs to hang on.

Fletcher and Daniel finished with 10 points apiece to lead the Lady Rangers, while Russell fell just shy of a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds. Tunstall also finished with nine points in the loss.

Northwest responded with a gritty effort on Friday morning with its win against Mineral Area College. After trailing for most of the opening quarter, the Lady Rangers finished with back-to-back threes from Fletcher and Lindsay Hall to take a 16-10 lead on the Lady Cardinals.

A jumper from Cloe Messer less than two minutes into the second quarter helped Northwest take its largest lead of seven, but the Lady Cardinals quickly moved within striking distance off a three-pointer from Natalia Lalic, cutting the Lady Rangers' lead down to three.

Trailing 26-25 at the break, Mineral Area finally regained a three-point lead at 34-31 with 3:17 remaining in the third quarter. The Lady Cardinals' lead would be short-lived however, as a Fletcher three-pointer and a layup from Russell helped Northwest jump ahead by five, 41-36.

Tied at 41-41 early in the fourth quarter, Northwest broke loose on a 15-3 scoring run that turned into a 56-44 Lady Ranger advantage with 4:14 left to go.

Angela Sorrell's layup with 3:16 remaining helped Mineral Area pull within 10 but that was all the Lady Cardinals could do down the stretch, as the Lady Rangers pulled away for the 61-50 victory.

Four Northwest players finished in double figures, including 12 points apiece from Sykes and Fletcher. Daniel and Russell combined for 10 points apiece, with Russell earning eight rebounds.

With the split, Northwest improves to 3-2 on the season. The Lady Rangers will be back in action at Howard Coliseum on Thursday, Nov. 21 against Hinds.