BOONEVILLE - Northwest fell behind 22-6 in the first quarter and was outscored 30-14 in the fourth period, as Northeast handed the Lady Rangers a 92-64 loss on Thursday evening.

With the loss, Northwest dropped to 8-8 overall and 4-2 in the MACCC, as the Lady Tigers moved to 12-9 on the season and 4-2 in conference play. The Lady Rangers were also outdone 80-50 in the rebound column, while surrendering 52 points in the paint, 34 second chance points and 28 bench points.

Northeast jumped out to a 9-0 advantage before Mariah Reed-Jones provided the first Northwest basket at the 6:34 mark of the first quarter. Still, the layup did little to faze the home team, as the Lady Tigers' lead swelled to a 15-point margin by the end of the quarter.

Northeast flirted with a 20-point advantage early in the second period, but a brief run from the Lady Rangers cut the deficit to 27-14 with 6:28 left before halftime. Later, Aaliyah Taylor's three-pointer brought Northwest back within 11, only for the Lady Tigers to close the first half on an 8-0 run, taking a 42-23 into the halftime break.

Taylor opened the second half with a quick jumper, but Northeast responded by pushing its lead over the 20-point threshold with Kamiyha Griffin's layup at the 8:07 mark of the third quarter. Though the Lady Rangers later trimmed the margin down to 11 points, Northwest never pulled within single digits, as the Lady Tigers' fourth quarter scoring fury killed any notion of a rally.

Northwest shot over 50 percent from the floor in the second and third quarters, but finished the evening with a 35 percent shooting average, thanks to a meager 14 percent effort in the first quarter. Though Northeast didn't finish with an overwhelmingly better shooting percentage (36%), the Lady Tigers' 80 rebounds and 16 steals certainly made a difference.

Reed-Jones came away with a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Lady Rangers, while Taylor and Takera Bland each finished with 10 points apiece. Layla Hampton added nine points for Northwest and Bland chipped in seven rebounds and five blocks to go with her scoring total.

Northeast nearly had six players reach double figures, sparked by Griffin's 23-point effort and a 10-point, 15-rebound double-double from Tyesha James. Jakeria Hawkins and Anna Greene totaled 11 points each, while Nakyiah Walker provided 10 points off the bench. Maniya Kirksey and Audria Houston contributed 13 and 12 rebounds each, as Houston finished with nine points of her own.

Northwest will seek to rebound on Monday evening against 19th-ranked Pearl River at Howard Coliseum. The Lady Wildcats (16-2, 5-1 MACCC) have won three straight games, most recently earning a 75-49 triumph against Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Tipoff is set for 5:30 P.M. with live broadcast coverage on Action News 5 Plus and Ranger TV.  Read Full Article