SENATOBIA - As of late, the third quarter of games has been kind to the Northwest Lady Rangers and Monday night was no exception.

After heading into halftime in a 27-27 draw, the Lady Rangers outscored Itawamba 25-15 over the span of the third quarter and held off a furious rally from the Lady Indians, earning a 70-61 victory at Howard Coliseum.

With the win, Northwest extended its winning streak to three and improved to 12-7 overall and 6-4 against MACCC competition. On the flip side, Itawamba dropped to 11-6 on the season and 6-3 in conference play.

Northwest tested the Lady Indians from the opening tip, building a 10-4 advantage midway through the first quarter. Even though the three-point line began to benefit ICC over the final five minutes of the quarter, the Lady Rangers held on to the lead through the end of the period, entering the second with a 17-13 advantage.

Turnovers and missed opportunities struck both teams in the second period, but Itawamba briefly got the better of the Lady Rangers, gaining a three-point margin with roughly 30 seconds to go. With 28 seconds until halftime, Claire Leak brought the game back to a tie with her open three, sending both teams deadlocked into the locker room.

Northwest quickly came out on a hot streak to open the second half, as Tierra Trotter and Maura Nunley knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to gain a six-point advantage. Even an Itawamba timeout couldn't stop the Lady Rangers, as the lead grew to as many as 16 and ended with a 52-42 score entering the final 10 minutes of regulation.

Although Northwest remained ahead by double figures for most of the fourth quarter, Itawamba continued to lurk, closing the gap to eight with 2:56 left to go. However, the Lady Rangers burned the clock and hit shots where it counted to hang on for the crucial conference victory.

Northwest shot just 28 percent for the first half, but hit 68 percent of its second half shots to finish the evening at 44 percent. The Lady Rangers were also perfect from beyond the arc in the second half, going 4-for-4.

Itawamba shot 31 percent for the evening, but finished 4-of-19 from three-point range. The Lady Indians were also outscored 19-7 in points off turnovers.

Trotter had 17 points to lead the Lady Rangers, while Nunley and I'Yana Ragin earned 13 points on the evening. Kolten Blakeney also fell shy of a double-double, notching nine points on eight rebounds.

Ky'leo Worriels led ICC with 18 points on the evening, followed by 11 points and eight rebounds from R'Daztiny Harris. 

Next up for Northwest is a road test at Meridian, scheduled for Thursday, February 3. The Lady Rangers and Lady Eagles have only faced each other once in the last 12 seasons, with Northwest earning a 77-75 decision in the 2015 NJCAA Region 23 Tournament.

Tipoff for Thursday's battle is scheduled for 5:30 P.M. with broadcast coverage available on mcceagles.live. Read Full Article