SENATOBIA - It took just one match for Northwest sophomore forward Isabelle Cardenas to surpass her goals scored as a freshman.

Cardenas, the Houston native, scored three goals in the Lady Rangers' 5-2 win against Itawamba on Friday afternoon, earning the hat trick and helping Northwest to its first win against the Lady Indians since the 2017 season.

Although ICC struck first with a goal from Lexi Loden four minutes into the match, Cardenas tied things up for Northwest by landing a kick into the back of the net from Molly Rose in the ninth minute.

Northwest took the lead for good in the 14th minute, as two quick touches from Cardenas and Ally Bailey helped Katelyn Rock net her second goal of the season for a 2-1 advantage.

Itawamba turned up the pace on offense for the next 30 minutes as the Lady Indians put goalkeeper Maggie Olive to the test for the remainder of the half. However, ICC came up empty in spite of the added surge, while the Lady Rangers instead padded its lead to 3-1 with a late first half goal from Rose.

Less than 10 minutes into the second half, Cardenas struck again for the Lady Rangers by deflecting a free kick from Eliza Olive into the net. Less than five minutes later, Rock fed Cardenas on a corner kick to stretch the Northwest lead to 5-1.

Gracie Gustafson did provide Itawamba with a brief spark in the 60th minute to cut the deficit to 5-2, but the Lady Indians failed to complete the rally.

Both teams finished with 21 shots apiece and were nearly even in the shots on goal column, narrowly edged out by Northwest in a 15-14 margin.

Olive played all 90 minutes for the Lady Rangers, earning a season-best 12 saves and collecting the most stops since an 18-save performance in a 2019 matchup against the Lady Indians. Anna Kate Trost led Itawamba with 10 saves in the losing effort.

With the victory, Northwest improved to 4-2 on the season and 2-1 in MACCC North Division competition. The win also marked the first two-match winning streak for the Lady Rangers since starting 2-0 during the 2018 campaign.

Next up for Northwest will be its toughest test of the season, a road date at No. 2 Holmes on Monday, April 26. The match is slated for a 4 P.M. start in Ridgeland with live stats coverage provided on nwccrangers.com.