SUMMIT - For the second time in as many seasons, Northwest women's basketball coach LaTaryl Williams has guided his Lady Rangers' squad to the postseason.

Now, Northwest will have to make its second trip in the same week to Southwest Mississippi for the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament opener. The matchup between the 11th-seed Lady Rangers and No. 6 seed Lady Bears is slated for a 5:30 P.M. tipoff on Thursday, March 6.

This marks the fifth appearance in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament for Northwest in the last six seasons. In Williams' first postseason appearance last season, Meridian put an end to the Lady Rangers' playoff journey, earning the upset as the No. 11 seed.

More recently, Northwest (10-14, 6-8 MACCC) and Southwest Mississippi (17-10, 7-7 MACCC) faced off Monday evening in Summit, where the Lady Bears came away with a 73-46 victory. Despite the win, the Lady Rangers lead the all-time series by a 23-21 margin.

Northwest is led in scoring by the combo of sophomore guard Mariah Reed-Jones and freshman forward Alorian Story. Reed-Jones, a native of Oxford and recent Jackson State University commit, is averaging 13.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, while also ranking second on the team in assists (53) and steals (26).

Story, a two-time MACCC Player of the Week selection, leads the Lady Rangers with an average of 14.3 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. The Ripley native also has 20 blocks on the season, ranking second only to Takera Bland (39).

Freshman guard Layla Hampton is also the Northwest leader in assists, with 101 for the season. The Memphis native also has a team-high 47 steals and owns 99 rebounds, good for fourth on the team.

On the other side, Southwest Mississippi has three players averaging double figures, led by Kara Beth Addison's 15.3 points per game. She also leads the Lady Bears with 8.3 rebounds per game and has totaled a team-high 37 steals.

Behind Addison is Bethany Graves, who averaged 12.3 points per game in the regular season. Gracie Miller has been a strong option off the bench for Southwest Mississippi, averaging 10.2 points per game despite earning only one start.

Mookie Lampley rounds out the most notable players for the Lady Bears, averaging 9.6 points per game. Her 87 assists are second only to 100 from Kalea Williams.

Should Northwest win the rematch at Southwest Mississippi, the Lady Rangers would face No. 3 seed Coahoma on Monday, March 10. The tournament semifinals and championship games are scheduled for March 14-15.

Thursday's contest can be seen live on go.smccbears.tv, with a live radio option also available here.