FULTON - Despite seeing four players score in double figures, Northwest simply had no answer for the duo of Demetria Shephard and Amelya Hatch, as the two Itawamba players combined for 50 points in a 76-70 Lady Ranger loss on Monday evening.

Freshman Maura Nunley led the way for the Lady Rangers with 20 points, followed by identical performances from Claire Leak and Tierra Trotter, as both players earned 15 points and nine rebounds.

Both teams stormed out of the gate to start the contest, with Shephard delivering the first basket for Itawamba and a layup from Ashanti High counting as the first points for Northwest. The Lady Rangers would stretch their lead to as many as eight midway through the first period, but back-to-back three-pointers brought ICC back within two.

Aside from a brief two-point swing with 7:06 left in the second period, Northwest held a slim lead for the majority of the first half and led 34-32 at the break. The Lady Rangers would even push their lead back to as many as six within the first three minutes of the second half, thanks to a pair of quick layups from Nunley and Trotter.

Trailing 42-36, a jumper from Shephard sparked a 10-3 run for Itawamba as the Lady Indians regained a 46-45 lead on a steal and fastbreak layup from Che'mya Carouthers. Trotter would then deliver a jumper on the other end, igniting a back-and-forth battle between the two teams.

Itawamba opened the fourth with a 55-53 advantage and quickly swelled its lead to eight points in the early stages of the quarter. Though consecutive baskets from Nunley and Kolten Blakeney helped trim the deficit back to four, Northwest was never able to regain control, despite staying within striking distance for the duration of the final 10 minutes.

Shephard delivered a whopping 30-point performance and nine rebounds, while Hatch provided 20 points to lead Itawamba in scoring. Nadia Gillespie also accounted for 12 Lady Indian points, while Ky'leo Worriels tallied seven points and a team-high 12 rebounds.

Aside from the efforts of Leak, Nunley and Trotter, I'Yana Ragin also totaled 10 points and five rebounds for the Lady Rangers. Leak also collected five assists to lead Northwest in that category.

Both teams finished near-even in shooting percentage, with Itawamba shooting 38 percent followed by 37 percent from Northwest. The biggest difference came at the charity stripe however, as Itawamba shot 69 percent (18-26) compared to 54 percent (7-13) for the Lady Rangers.

Another difference came on the boards, where the Lady Indians out-rebounded Northwest 57-42.

With the loss, Northwest dropped to 4-2 on the season as Itawamba moved to 5-1. The Lady Rangers will return to action on Thursday, November 18 at Mississippi Delta, before hosting Coahoma on Saturday, November 20 at 1 P.M.