JASPER, AL – In their final tournament of the fall, the #10 Northwest Mississippi Community College women's golf team finished in seventh place out of thirteen teams, competing in one of the toughest fields they have seen this year, featuring six top ten teams from the NJCAA Division II and the eleventh ranked team from the Division I ranks.
"When we go to Alabama, your kind of really know where you stand because you are playing some of the best teams in the country. You have to get better quick, or you are going to get run over really quick, so I like how our girls loved the challenge," Head Coach Adam Payne said.
The Rangers had a good showing, finishing with a 77-over 361 on Monday's first round before closing the tournament with a 68-over 352 on the second day, jumping from eighth to seventh. They also finished as the top team from Mississippi in the field, ahead of Northeast Mississippi Community College by 33 strokes.
"Round one we fought a little bit of cold weather for the first time this year, so we definitely had to layer up," Payne said. "The course was extremely wet, so I felt like we had a little bit more anxiety in some of our decision making on the first day. Day two we came out much calmer and relaxed, and I thought they handled the adverse conditions much better."
Analeigh Little continued her strong play on the season, posting an 84 on day one and rolled through day two with a 77 which included a pair of birdies on the back nine for her best round of the season, besting a 78 that she posted at the NJCAA DII South District Preview on September 30th. She would finish in 15th place in the field of 73.
"[Analeigh] just has a really good mindset about her," Payne said. "Monday, with the extra clothes she got a little out of sync with her swing, but day two she was more calm and relaxed and made a bunch of really good swings."
Monday's best round for the Rangers came from Bella McNeil who shot an 80 on the opening day to put herself in eighth place, playing a consistent round with only pars and bogies on the card. Her second day was a little more up and down, particularly out of the gate where she was ten-over after seven holes. The freshman rallied on the back nine and added birdies on the 12th and 13th holes to card an 86 on the day and finished in a tie for 20th.
"[Bella's] swing has been kind of off a bit, but she has been working hard to get back to being comfortable with it. She had a few subtle mistakes early, but she really fought back well. She's going to be huge for us in the spring," Payne said.
The 24-over par for the tournament was her best two-day total of the season, besting a 25-over she shot at the South District Preview.
Playing as an individual, Sarah Niblett had one of her best tournaments this season with a 46-over putting her in 48th place in the field. She shot a 93 on the second day for a personal best and added a birdie to her card on the opening day. It was the only birdie for the Rangers in the first round coming on the par-four eighth.
A cluster of Northwest players were found in the middle of the pack along with Niblett.
Madison Baker finished with a 25-over on day one and followed with a 26-over on the second day to card a pair of rounds under 100. It placed the sophomore in 54th place, just ahead of Addison Forbes who bounced back well on the second day after shooting a 30-over on day one. Her 93 on the second day bumped here up two spots in the standings, and she finished the tournament on a high note with two pars on the final five holes.
Zae'Ja Davis also bounced back well on the second day after shooting a to kick off the tournament. She rallied with a 97 on her second round to finish off a Tuesday that once again saw all six Rangers finish under triple digits for the day.
The team has had plenty to be proud of as they head into the break between seasons but there isn't an attitude from them that they want to kick back and relax.
"The best sign this fall is not only have we had a bunch of personal bests but on the ride back home, they wanted to plan for the winter and were talking about things they wanted to get better at for the spring," Payne said. "Sometimes teams want a break, and it was refreshing to hear these girls wanting to push harder for their spring season. It's a special group when they are all pushing each other and all want to get better."
As a team, Northwest continues to sit at tenth in the NJCAA Division II rankings and are the top Mississippi team in the rankings, ahead of Northeast Mississippi who are ranked 21st in the most recent standings.
Little stayed at tenth in the polls and only Andie Kate Ramey sits above her in the October 29th poll. Payne said that comes from the confidence she came into the year with.
"She came into the year playing really relaxed. She has been a big key to our success to this point," he said.
McNeil moved up to 29th in the rankings after her last performance, an improvement of three spots from the previous rankings.
The Ranger women have wrapped up their fall season and will be back on the links in February when the season resumes. For more on the NWCC women's golf team, you can visit nwccrangers.com or follow the Rangers on social media.
