SENATOBIA – Sophomore Tamarah Sykes had the biggest game of her Northwest career on Monday evening, racking up 22 points and earning seven rebounds in a 79-62 victory against ASU Mid-South at Howard Coliseum.

It wasn't the first time that the sophomore from Aberdeen hit double figures but it was the first time that she scored more than 20 points in her career. Her two previous career-highs of 16 points came this season against Snead State in November and East Mississippi two weeks ago.

Northwest improved to 11-6 on the season in the non-division triumph, while the Lady Greyhounds fell to 6-15 on the year. The win also avenged a 67-61 road loss to ASU Mid-South on Nov. 11.

Sophomore Claire Fleming got the scoring started for Northwest as the Lewisburg native continued her red hot shooting streak with a three-pointer in the opening minutes. 

Kaylan Larry's three-point basket put ASU Mid-South ahead 9-3 at the midway point of the first quarter but Zanaiyah Daniel would respond with a trey of her own to cut the lead to 9-6.

Trailing 11-6 with 4:12 left in the first quarter, Northwest went on an 8-0 run over the next two minutes and change to take a 14-11 advantage, sparked by a fastbreak layup from Morgan Hodum and another three from Daniel.

Tied at 14 even, the Lady Rangers closed out the opening period on a mini 5-0 break to enter the second quarter with a 19-14 lead.

Northwest continued to widen the gap in the second quarter as a free throw from I'esha Mosby made it a 10-point margin for the Lady Rangers, 25-15, just over two minutes into the quarter. The lead would eventually swell to its largest point of 14 with 1:03 left in the first half, as Hodum's fastbreak layup made it a 42-28 advantage.

Leading 42-30 to open the second half, Northwest continued to keep its foot on the gas, going on an 11-4 run during the first 3:12 of the third quarter.

Back-to-back layups from Sykes off the bench would allow the Lady Rangers to stretch the deficit to 23 points, 66-43, with 2:57 left in the third. The Lady Greyhounds would cut the lead down to 15 during the fourth quarter, but Northwest remained well in control throughout the final eight minutes of the contest, never losing its double-digit lead.

Once again, the Lady Rangers received another strong outing from their bench, as the reserves accounted for 61 of the team's 79 points. Led by 22 from Sykes, the bench also produced 13 points from Daniel and 10 from Cloe Messer. Fleming was the only starter to reach double figures with 11 points, nine coming from three-point range.

Aaliyah Lee led ASU Mid-South with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Adrianne Chambers provided 13 points and six rebounds in the loss.

Despite being outdone in three-point shooting (41%-24%) by ASU Mid-South, both teams finished about even from the floor with Northwest shooting 40 percent, compared to 39 percent from the Lady Greyhounds.

Northwest also finished with 19 points off turnovers and 44 points in the paint.

Northwest will enter into the second leg of MACJC North Division competition on Thursday, Jan. 30 against Itawamba at 5:30 p.m. from Howard Coliseum. The Lady Rangers are 3-3 in division play and fourth place in the standings, while ICC sits at 5-1 and second place.

Broadcast and live stats links for Thursday's game are available at nwccrangers.com.