SENATOBIA – Sophomore Claire Fleming led all scorers with 16 points and forward Mallory Russell posted a 12-point, 19-rebound double-double as Northwest used a strong second half rally to defeat Southwest Mississippi 61-57 on Tuesday evening.

With the win, head coach Troy Howell earned his first career victory and got his Lady Rangers off to a 1-0 start. Southwest Mississippi dropped to 1-1 with the loss.

Both teams had trouble getting started in the early going, but back-to-back three-point baskets from Zanaiyah Daniel and SMCC's Jolie Williams got the scoring started three minutes into the first quarter.

Northwest had trouble getting shots to fall throughout the first quarter, allowing the Lady Bears to push their lead to six as the opening period came to a close. The Lady Rangers' woes continued into the second quarter, as Southwest Mississippi took its largest lead of nine as the first half expired, 28-19.

With her 10 points in the first half, sophomore guard Ariel Tunstall played a significant role in keeping the Lady Rangers within striking distance.

Williams drained a three for the Lady Bears right out of the gate to start the second half, as Southwest Mississippi gained its largest lead of 12 points. It wouldn't take long for Northwest to begin chipping away at the deficit however, as baskets from Russell and Taylor Fletcher cut the lead to seven, 31-24.

After the Lady Bears pushed the lead back to 11, Northwest embarked on a 13-0 run late in the third quarter thanks to three consecutive three-point baskets from Fleming and Fletcher, allowing the Lady Rangers to take a 37-35 advantage.

Trailing by nine points with less than two minutes left in regulation, Southwest Mississippi threw a scare into the Lady Rangers, clawing back and taking advantage of missed Northwest free throws. A Sydni Tangle jumper trimmed the Northwest lead to just two with 49 seconds to go, but a pair of clutch free throws from Fleming helped give the Lady Rangers some breathing room.

With six seconds remaining, Williams missed a three-pointer and a quick SMCC foul sent Tamarah Sykes to the charity stripe, where she sealed the victory by sinking both free throws.

Aside from the two solid outings from Fleming and Russell, Tunstall also reached double figures with 13 points while Daniel came up one point shy, earning nine apiece. Sykes also pulled in 10 rebounds to help the Lady Rangers.

Williams and D'Mya Wilson led Southwest Mississippi with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Wilson finished just shy of a double-double with her eight rebounds on the evening.

As a team, the Lady Rangers turned a first half shooting percentage of 23 percent into 41 percent in the second half, finishing the contest with 32 percent. Thanks to the efforts of reserves Fleming and Tunstall, Northwest also saw 31 of its 61 points come from the bench.

Northwest returns to action on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 5:30 p.m. against Pearl River at Howard Coliseum.