SCOOBA - Though both offenses struggled in Thursday evening's MACCC battle at East Mississippi, Northwest finished with a little more success on both sides of the ball, as the Lady Rangers left with a 46-35 victory.

For Northwest, the Lady Rangers were held to their lowest point total of the season and finished with their lowest winning point total in a game since the 1951-52 season (W, 39-34 vs. Mississippi Delta). On the other hand, the Lady Lions' 35 points were the lowest scored against Northwest since November 19, 2016, when the Lady Rangers earned a 78-27 victory against Blue Mountain Christian JV.

After the game experienced a 30-minute delay due to technical difficulties with the scoreboard and shot clock, Northwest raced out to a 7-2 advantage over the first three minutes of the first quarter and entered the second period with a 13-7 lead. 

It was in the second quarter where the offense came to a grinding halt. The Lady Rangers scored the only two points of the first four minutes, before East Mississippi finally broke its scoreless drought at the five-minute mark.

A late push before halftime helped Northwest create some separation at the break, as the Lady Rangers outscored the Lady Lions 9-4 in the quarter and led 22-11 at the break.

Although East Mississippi shook off the rust in the third quarter, Northwest still maintained a 35-26 lead entering the final 10 minutes of regulation. The Lady Lions outscored the Lady Rangers 15-13, but NWCC closed out the game on an 11-9 stretch to seal the win.

Northwest shot 33 percent from the floor, finishing 18 of 55. Meanwhile, East Mississippi shot just 19 percent and finished 13-for-68. From three-point range, the Lady Rangers finished 13 percent and the Lady Lions ended the night at 11 percent, attempting 18 three-pointers.

From the free throw line, Northwest went 9-for-14 (64%) and EMCC finished 50 percent.

Sophomore Mariah Reed-Jones led all scorers with 15 points, while freshman forward Alorian Story added eight points. Jamaiya Hasley finished with a team-high eight rebounds for the Lady Rangers, while Reed-Jones and Takera Bland contributed seven rebounds each.

Additionally, Bland chipped in seven points, followed by six points each from Layla Hampton and Aaliyah Taylor.

East Mississippi was led by eight points from Leah Wilcher and six apiece from Kennedi McCray and Micaiah Satcher. In rebounds, the Lady Lions were led by eight from Satcher and seven from Wilcher.

With the win, Northwest moved to 6-6 on the season and 2-0 in the MACCC, while East Mississippi fell to 5-9 overall and 0-2 in conference play. The Lady Rangers lead the all-time series, 65-38.

Northwest returns home on Tuesday, January 21 to host Holmes at 5:30 P.M. The Lady Rangers and Lady Bulldogs played previously on Thursday, November 7 in a non-conference contest, with Holmes earning an 80-73 win. Northwest also leads the all-time series, 67-35. Read Full Article