BATON ROUGE - Newcomers
Alorian Story and
Aaliyah Taylor played pivotal roles for Northwest in last weekend's season-opening sweep in the Lady Bear Classic, hosted by Baton Rouge Community College.
Northwest started off its season on Friday afternoon, defeating Shorter College by a 71-64 final. The Lady Rangers then carried over their momentum into Saturday evening, knocking off Baton Rouge by a 76-66 decision.
Against Shorter College, Northwest led 19-11 at the end of the first quarter and carried a 34-26 lead into halftime. Though the Lady Rangers never fully pulled away, Northwest withstood a 20-17 third-quarter scoring output from the Lady Bulldogs to earn the victory.
Both Story and Taylor finished in double figures for the Lady Rangers, with Story totaling a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds. Taylor, the transfer from Connors State College, racked up 16 points.
Additionally,
Mariah Reed-Jones nearly finished with a triple-double, scoring eight points with 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Shunqeisha Bobo added seven points and nine rebounds, while
Takera Bland led the team with 12 rebounds.
Shorter College had three of its players reach double figures, with TaMya Hughes leading all scorers with 25 points. Kayden Riley finished with a double-double of 15 points and 15 rebounds, while Kayla Kimbrough added 14 points.
In Saturday evening's battle with host Baton Rouge, Northwest held a narrow 18-16 lead entering the second period. Both teams scored 16 points each in the second, as the Lady Rangers still led by two at halftime.
Both teams remained neck-and-neck entering the fourth quarter, but the Lady Rangers pulled away down the stretch, outscoring the Lady Bears by a 23-19 margin.
Four Northwest players reached double figures, led by 17 points from Reed-Jones and 12 apiece from Story and
Layla Hampton. Story also finished with her second double-double, adding a team-high 10 rebounds.
Taylor rounded out the most notable scorers with 11 points, while Reed-Jones tallied seven rebounds. Hampton added four steals and five boards.
Shelcie LeBlanc led Baton Rouge with 17 points and Akiyah Carnes finished with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. Kinsley James also added 15 points, while J'nyria Kelly finished with seven points and nine rebounds.
Next up for Northwest will be a non-conference battle with Holmes, scheduled for Thursday, November 7 in Goodman. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 P.M.
