SENATOBIA - In a game that saw every Ranger score, Northwest Mississippi Community College women's basketball (5-2) roared to a 90-39 win over Arkansas State University- Mid South (2-6) on Tuesday night at Howard Coliseum.
"I thought it was a great team win. It's always a great accomplishment to have everybody on your team score in a game," Head Coach LaTaryl Williams said.
The Rangers scored the first 10 points of the contest on the way to a 24-point quarter and played from ahead the entire 40 minutes. The duo of Zoe Metcalf and Ahmari Lockart shot 100% from the floor, scoring six points each to lead the attack on the way to a 15-point lead at 24-9.
From the beginning of the game, Alorian Story dominated on the glass with six rebounds in the first quarter and 16 by the final whistle.
"As an all-conference player as a freshman, she has just picked up what she did from last year," Williams said. "She had a great game, dominating the glass like we always expect her to."
The Northwest offense came to life in the second quarter, scoring a season best 29 points in the frame. Dekyra Mitchell led the NWCC offense in the second quarter scoring seven points to bring her total to 11 and the sophomore transfer led all players in scoring at halftime.
The third quarter saw Northwest non-starters get valuable experience, but the pace never slowed down, particularly on defense where the Rangers held the Greyhounds to single digits in both the third and fourth quarters.
Offensively, the Ranger offense hit a plateau in the middle of the third quarter, but freshman Andrea Rios hit a key three-pointer in the frame to inject energy back into the team on the way to building the lead to 69-34 going into the final 10 minutes.
In the fourth, Story and Rios continued to provide a spark for the Northwest offense, scoring 13 of the team's 21 points in the quarter.
Not only did the NWCC offense shine, the defense excelled as well, only allowing double-digit points from ASU- Mid South in one quarter.
Williams said that communication and teamwork is one of the biggest keys to success on that side of the ball.
"Making sure that we are on the same page, making sure we're applying pressure on the ball, making sure we're in the passing lanes and disrupting their offensive rhythm," Williams said. "That's one thing we are trying to do each and every game, regardless of our opponent."
The team will be back in action this weekend at home in Howard Coliseum on Friday, November 21 at 7:30 p.m. when they take on the Trinity Valley Community College Cardinals (4-2). That will be part of the Guaranty Bank Holiday Classic, with a second game on Friday between Itawamba Community College and Kilgore College at 5:30 pm. Both of those teams were in the national tournament field in 2024.
Saturday will see the Rangers and Itawamba swap opponents with at 2:00 pm game featuring the Indians and the Cardinals before NWCC closes out the weekend against Kilgore at 4:00 pm.
To stay up to date on the NWCC women's basketball team, follow the Ranger social media accounts or go to nwccrangers.com.
