SENATOBIA - Led by an 18-point outing from freshman Maura Nunley, four Northwest players reached double figures on the stat sheet in Monday night's 77-63 victory against Mississippi Delta at Howard Coliseum.

Nunley picked up 11 of her 18 points in the first half, along with 11 from Sha'Kirria Everett, as the Lady Rangers improved to 8-5 overall and 2-2 in MACCC competition. Mississippi Delta dropped to 4-7 on the season and 0-3 in conference action.

Northwest built a 10-4 advantage early in the first period, only for Mississippi Delta to storm back and close the opening quarter on a 13-5 run, gaining a two-point lead to enter the second. 

Although the Lady Trojans built a five-point lead early in the second quarter, Mississippi Delta would quickly surrender its advantage on a 10-0 Northwest run, punctuated by a three-point basket from Nunley. The Lady Rangers would remain ahead the rest of the way, adding two free throws from Everett as the first half expired, sending Northwest into the locker room with a 36-27 lead.

Northwest struggled to score in the first two minutes of the second half, but after the Lady Trojans cut the deficit to five, the Lady Rangers pulled back to a 10-point lead on a three-pointer from Claire Leak. Defensively, Northwest shut down Mississippi Delta, outscoring the Lady Trojans 16-3 over the final five minutes of the quarter to take a commanding 59-36 lead into the final period.

I'Yana Ragin opened with a layup to bring Northwest to a 25-point advantage, its largest lead of the contest. From there, Mississippi Delta slightly chipped away and eventually sliced the deficit to 11 points late in the fourth. However, that was as close as the Lady Trojans would come, as Northwest earned the 14-point victory on the home floor.

Nunley's 18-point effort marked her eighth game in double digits, as Everett finished with a new career-high of 17 points. Ragin earned 16 points on the evening, while Trotter added 15 of her own. 

Northwest shot 36 percent from the floor and 33 percent from beyond the arc, while Mississippi Delta shot 35 and 36 percent, respectively. The Lady Rangers also outscored MDCC 28-21 in points off turnovers and both teams finished near even in total rebounds, with the Lady Trojans earning a 50-48 edge.

Additionally, Northwest finished with six total blocks on the evening, four from freshman Cailey Walker. Kolten Blakeney led the Lady Rangers with eight rebounds, followed by six apiece from Leak and Walker.

Mississippi Delta was led by 20 points and 11 rebounds from Makia Willis, while LaDiamond Body added 18 points. Shoquada Joshua also picked up 13 rebounds for the Lady Trojans.

Northwest improved their home record to 5-1 and stretched its all-time series lead to a 66-25 advantage against the Lady Trojans. The Lady Rangers will resume conference play at Northeast on Thursday, January 13 at 6 P.M. In the previous meeting between the two teams, Northwest claimed a 76-50 victory against the Lady Tigers back on November 1.

Tipoff is scheduled for 6 P.M. in Booneville, with a live stream available on nemcctv.com/goldchannel.