SENATOBIA – For the second straight contest, sophomore Claire Fleming provided the hot hand for Northwest in the second half, as the Lewisburg native scored 15 of her 17 points from beyond the arc in a thrilling 63-60 victory against Pearl River on Thursday evening.

Fleming, who scored a team-high 16 in the Lady Rangers' season-opener against Southwest Mississippi, was held to just three points in the first half before catching fire to go 5-of-7 from three-point range in the second half.

After both teams traded threes to start the contest, the Lady Rangers used a layup from Mallory Russell and a three-pointer from Lindsay Hall to take a 12-9 advantage midway through the first quarter.

Leading 19-15 at the end of the first quarter, Northwest came out with a solid start in the second, as freshman Zanaiyah Daniel drained a three-point basket to extend the Lady Rangers' lead to 22-15. 

After Maliyah Bullard's layup helped Pearl River cut the Lady Rangers' lead to 24-21 midway through the second quarter, Northwest closed out the half on a 7-3 run to take a 31-24 advantage at the break.

Mychala Linzy and the Lady Wildcats came out strong to open the second half, going on a 10-1 run to regain the lead at 34-32 early in the third quarter. 

That's when Fleming and the Lady Rangers began to catch fire, as back-to-back three-pointers from Fleming and Ariel Tunstall pushed Northwest back ahead 43-37 with 1:33 remaining in the third.

Pearl River would close out the quarter on a mini-run of its own, highlighted by Linzy's three-pointer that cut the Lady Rangers' lead to 44-43 entering the final 10 minutes.

Both teams traded baskets in the early moments of the fourth quarter until a layup from Russell sparked an 11-2 run, capped off by a Fleming three-pointer, pushing Northwest to a 57-48 advantage with 4:38 remaining.

Pearl River continued to remain within striking distance however, as an Adia Rogers jumper brought the Lady Wildcats back within three, 57-54, with 2:47 left. The Lady Wildcats continued to slice into the deficit, trimming the score to 61-60 with 17 seconds left.

Taylor Fletcher would help to seal the close win for Northwest, hitting a pair of free throws down the stretch as Shania Wright followed with a missed Pearl River jumper, allowing the Lady Rangers to hold on for the close victory.

Northwest shot 44 percent from beyond the arc, compared to 32 percent from Pearl River. Both teams finished nearly even in rebounds with the Lady Rangers squeaking out a 45-43 advantage.

Ariel Tunstall scored 12 points on the evening, while Tamarah Sykes added nine points and five rebounds. Russell was held to just six points but contributed 12 rebounds in the win.

Linzy led all scorers with 19 points for Pearl River, finishing as the only Lady Wildcat in double figures.

With the win, Northwest improved to 2-0 on the young season as Pearl River fell to 1-1. The Lady Rangers will resume play on Monday, Nov. 11 at ASU Mid-South.

Tipoff for that contest is slated for 5:30 p.m. in West Memphis, Ark. Live stats will be available through nwccrangers.com.