SENATOBIA - Sophomore forward Kolten Blakeney notched 16 points and 12 rebounds to earn her first double-double of the season, as Northwest defeated East Mississippi, 65-56, on Monday evening.

With the win, the Lady Rangers survived an early season test against the Lady Lions, improving to 3-0 overall. East Mississippi dropped to 1-2 with the loss.

Northwest started out an early lead following back-to-back baskets from Blakeney and Claire Leak, but the Lady Lions went on a 10-2 run over a three-minute span to take a 12-6 advantage.

After trimming the deficit to 14-10 at the end of the first period, Northwest tied the game on a Jamia Chambers layup midway through the second period and subsequently regained a 19-17 lead on a layup from Leak with five minutes to go.

Northwest pushed its advantage to as many as seven points late in the quarter, only for East Mississippi to respond with a Kyunna Thomas layup and a pair of free throws from Shakira Wilson, sending the Lady Rangers to the locker room with just a three-point lead, 26-23.

Neither team started out the second half particularly well, as turnovers, missed baskets and fouls kept the score frozen for the first three minutes and change of the third period. Thomas finally broke the ice with a layup at the 6:43 mark to cut the Lady Lions' deficit to one, before Wilson's fast-break layup put EMCC back ahead, 27-26.

East Mississippi's lead would be short-lived however, as a three-pointer from Ragin gave Northwest the lead and its first points of the second half at the 5:58 mark of the quarter. From there, both teams would trade baskets, resulting in three ties until the final two minutes of the quarter.

Leading by four entering the final period of regulation, Northwest saw its lead taken away once more as the Lady Lions tied the game at 47 with 6:21 left to go. The Lady Rangers quickly regained the lead on the next possession, thanks to a pair of free throws from Maura Nunley, followed by baskets from Blakeney and Ashanti High, pushing Northwest back to a six-point advantage.

Northwest would outscore East Mississippi 18-9 down the final stretch, highlighted by 10 points from the charity stripe, keeping the Lady Rangers in the win column.

Aside from Blakeney's double-double, Ragin and Nunley also reached double figures, scoring 14 and 11 points, respectively. Leak also came close to her first career double-double, providing eight points and eight rebounds. 

Off the bench, High scored six of the Lady Rangers' 13 reserve points, while also collecting eight rebounds.

For the game, Northwest shot 38 percent from the floor, 17 percent from beyond the arc and 78 percent from the free throw line. By comparison, East Mississippi finished 35 percent from the floor, 15 percent from three-point range and 61 percent from the charity stripe.

Danyjhia Williams led EMCC with 17 points, while Thomas earned a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double.

Next up for Northwest will be a pair of games against ASU Mid-South and National Park College in the ASU Mid-South Greyhound Classic, set for Friday, November 12 and Saturday, Nov. 13 in West Memphis, Ark. Coverage details for both games will be announced later in the week.