SENATOBIA - Although Northwest freshman
Alorian Story recorded her eighth double-double of the season and her 14th game with 10 or more points, it still wasn't enough to lift the Lady Rangers to a victory on Monday evening, as East Central left Howard Coliseum with a 64-53 win.
With the loss, Northwest dropped its fourth straight conference game and fell to 8-11 overall (4-5 MACCC). Meanwhile, the Lady Warriors (5-13, 1-7 MACCC) picked up their first conference victory of the season and snapped a nine-game losing streak, dating back to December 12.
East Central took an early 2-0 lead on a layup from Mikayla Holifield and the Lady Rangers were held scoreless until Story's jumper at the 6:59 mark of the first quarter. Northwest was sent to the free throw line various times in the opening period, but started 1-for-7, as the Lady Warriors ended the quarter with a nine-point advantage.
Although East Central stretched its lead to 12 points early in the second quarter, back-to-back baskets from Story and
Takera Bland sparked a 10-0 run for the Lady Rangers, closing the gap to 22-20. Kelviana Parhm's three-pointer briefly silenced the momentum, but Northwest still went into halftime with a reasonable five-point deficit, 29-24.
Ruby Brannon's layup marked the first basket of the second half for the Lady Warriors, but Story responded with a basket of her own to keep the Lady Rangers within five. However, the Lady Warriors soon stretched the lead to nine points, only for Story and
Ahmari Lockhart to hit three straight buckets, closing the gap to 37-34.
Just as quickly as Northwest mounted its comeback, East Central went on an 8-0 run and led 45-35 entering the fourth quarter. Soon, the Lady Rangers trailed by as many as 15 points and never came closer than a nine-point deficit the rest of the way.
Northwest shot 34 percent from the floor, but finished 0-for-17 from three-point range. The Lady Rangers were also just 7-for-19 from the free throw line, good for 37 percent. Meanwhile, the Lady Warriors shot 39 percent from the floor and 33 percent from beyond the arc, while also finishing 81 percent from the charity stripe.
Northwest did outscore East Central 34-26 in the paint and 19-14 in second chance points, but the Lady Warriors got 24 points from their reserves, while the Lady Rangers only had seven points off the bench.
Story led Northwest with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while also posting a team-high six blocks. Bland followed with 12 points of her own and eight rebounds, while
Layla Hampton and
Jamaiya Hasley combined for 13 points.
Holifield led all scorers with 22 points and eight boards for East Central, followed by 10 points apiece off the bench from Parhm and Alexia Johnson. Erica Lyons also added nine points.
Next up for the Lady Rangers is a road trip to Hinds on Thursday, February 13 at 5:30 P.M. The Lady Bulldogs (13-11, 1-6 MACCC) have lost three straight, including their most recent 77-62 overtime loss at Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Broadcast coverage of Thursday's contest can be found
here.
