FULTON - Despite leading for the entire first half and early in the second half, Northwest fell victim to a 27-point outburst from Itawamba in the third quarter as the Lady Indians pulled away down the stretch for a 76-68 victory on Wednesday evening.

With the loss, Northwest saw its Region 23 Tournament run come to an end in the second round, closing out the second consecutive postseason appearance in coach Troy Howell's tenure.

Aside from an opening basket from Itawamba's Xhiir Burgess, the Lady Rangers led for the entirety of the first half, sparked mostly by a career-high 27 points from Tierra Trotter. The Bryant, Ark. native ended the first quarter with 10 points and later totaled 21 first half points.

Northwest led 21-16 at the end of the first and stretched its lead to as many as 10 points late in the second half, as the Lady Rangers stunned Itawamba with a 36-29 halftime advantage.

Itawamba opened the second half by closing the gap to just two points, but the Lady Rangers responded with a three-pointer from Trotter, a layup from Curenity Emerson and a jumper from Kolten Blakeney, stretching the lead back to nine at 44-35.

However, a quick timeout from Itawamba stopped the bleeding and allowed the Lady Indians to reset for a 9-0 run to tie the game. Back-to-back layups from R'Daztiny Harris allowed ICC to finally take the lead, eventually sparking a seven-point lead at the end of the third.

Despite the newfound momentum from Itawamba, Northwest remained in striking distance for most of the final 10 minutes of action. After Nadia Gillespie pushed ICC's lead to 10, Trotter drained another three and Morgan Hodum followed with a layup, cutting the deficit down to five.

With Itawamba leading by eight with five minutes remaining, Hodum struck again with another layup and Ashton Stanley sank a pair of free throws after drawing a foul, bringing Northwest within a 65-61 deficit.

Unfortunately for the Lady Rangers, Itawamba gained steam over the final four minutes and change. The Lady Indians scored 11 points and took a pair of 10-point leads, stopped only by a Blakeney layup with 32 seconds left, as ICC punched its ticket to the third round.

Trotter's 27 points was enough to lead all scorers, while Blakney fell shy of a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds. Hodum also closed out her Northwest career with an 11-point effort, her ninth career game in double figures.

Five players reached double figures to lead Itawamba, highlighted by an 18-point evening from Amelya Hatch. Burgess and Gillespie notched 14 points apiece, while Burgess also led in rebounds with 11 boards. Ky'Leo Worriels closed out the main scoring efforts from the Lady Indians with 10 points.

Itawamba shot 44 percent from the floor, compared to 39 percent from the Lady Rangers. Northwest was also outdone in rebounds (48-32), second chance points (18-5) and bench points (20-8).

Northwest concludes the season with a 5-11 overall record, while Itawamba improved to 13-2.