MOORHEAD – Sophomore
Kayla Freeman notched another impressive outing for Northwest on Tuesday afternoon, scoring 17 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season in a 75-61 victory against Baton Rouge.
Northwest limited Baton Rouge to just six points in the final period of action, ending the game on a 12-0 run over the final seven minutes.
An 8-6 lead quickly turned into a 10-4 scoring run for the Lady Rangers in the first period, as Northwest led by eight points twice over the final three minutes of the quarter.
Trailing 22-16 at the start of the second period, Baton Rouge twice trimmed the Northwest advantage to one after a fastbreak layup from Ivy Carr and a three-pointer from Desrael Schnyder.
Tied at 33 with 5:46 remaining in the first half, Northwest broke away for a seven-point lead only to see the Lady Bears cut the margin back down to one with 39 seconds left.
Morgan Hodum's fastbreak layup with eight seconds left allowed the Lady Rangers to come away with the final parting shot of the first half, leading 42-39 at halftime.
Northwest came out fast and strong to open the second half, as Freeman nailed a three-pointer and a layup before
Mallory Russell's layup put the Lady Rangers ahead 49-39.
Baton Rouge had no interest in going away anytime soon though, trimming the Lady Rangers' lead back to one on two seperate occasions, the latest coming on an Amani Barrow layup with 1:14 left in the quarter.
After back-to-back baskets from
Lindsay Hall allowed Northwest to stretch its lead to five entering the final 10 minutes, the Lady Rangers finally broke free over the final 7:30 of regulation, embarking on the 12-0 run that was sparked by a pair of jumpers from Hodum.
Sarah Berryman,
I'esha Mosby and
Tamarah Sykes posted nine points apiece for Northwest, with Sykes collecting 10 rebounds and two blocks. Hall also finished with eight points to further aid the Lady Rangers.
A'Zia Reed led Baton Rouge with 14 points, followed by 12 from Schnyder.
Northwest outscored Baton Rouge 22-6 in fastbreak points and shot 41 percent from the floor.
With the win, the Lady Rangers ran their winning streak to five and improved to 7-2 on the season. Northwest will resume action on Monday, Dec. 2 at Southwest Mississippi, a contest that's scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.
