SENATOBIA – After trailing at the half, the Northwest Mississippi Community College women's basketball team improved to 9-4 to open the second half of their season thanks to a 69-57 win on Monday night at Howard Coliseum over Lawson State Community College.
The Cougars (6-8) weren't given anything early as the Rangers came out stroking the ball from three with Dekyra Mitchell hitting three of her four three-point baskets in the opening quarter and helped the Rangers up to a 17-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
"We brought Mitchell in for is to provide some scoring for us from outside because we knew what we had on the inside. Getting her coming in was a huge plus for us and she is definitely someone we really rely on for outside contribution," Williams said.
That lead would only expand in the opening minutes of the second quarter as Northwest increased the lead to 22-10 on a 5-0 burst at the start of the frame.
Northwest took a few punches over the next few possessions as Lawson State showed their fight and thanks to some key threes of their own, the Cougars not only closed the gap, but rushed out with 25 points in the quarter and took their first lead of the game in the late moments, carrying a 35-34 lead into the locker room.
There was a definite change of pace in the second half for NWCC and it took them almost no time to reclaim the lead, trading leads on the opening three baskets but taking it for good at 39-38 when Mitchell hit a three that sparked a run that resulted in a 19-11 score in the quarter and a 53-46 lead going into the final quarter thanks to a Jhaniya Davis three that curbed any Cougar momentum.
Mitchell said the conversation in at the half helped to trigger the different energy.
"We had to get the loose balls and stop giving up the second chance opportunities and keep playing."
Lawson State ran into Alorian Story in the final quarter as the sophomore went to work in the second half, scoring 14 of her 20 points in the second half and earning a fourth straight double-double.
Northwest took their second double figure lead of the game with seven minutes to go in the fourth at 61-49 and the Rangers would coast their way to a 69-57 win on their return from the holiday break.
"It was very impressive for us. We've had some trouble closing games out in the past, but we had a talk before the fourth quarter, we had a nice lead, and we needed to continue to do the things that had gotten us that lead. It's very impressive to see us close that game out against a very veteran team in Lawson State," Williams said.
Mitchell was the leading scorer for the Rangers in the game with 21 points, added three rebounds and an assist. Story finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds on 10-19 shooting from the field.
The duo has been huge all season long, and Mitchell said the key has been saying locked in each game.
"Staying focused and not getting distracted. I come to play the game and I know my roll," Mitchell said. "I keep my focus and keep my composure and don't get distracted."
Layla Hampton led the team in assists once again with six, paired with a seven-point game and was aided in the passing attack by Zoe Metcalf who finished with seven-points, four-assists, and six-rebounds.
As a team, Northwest was able to force 29 turnovers from the Cougars while only having 16 of their own. Metcalf had a five-steal game and combined with Hampton for nine of the Rangers eleven steals as a team.
Williams said his team did a good job on defense to take advantage of it being the first game back from break.
"A long break, a little rust, I looked at their team, and they were a little sluggish and got down, and I think a lot of those turnovers were because they were fatigued. We talked before the game about defending without fouling and make them shoot and pass over contesting hands," Williams said.
The Rangers also did it while not fouling, or at least not sending the Cougars to the line. Northwest outshot Lawson by going 12-18 from the line to the Cougars 4-11.
Northwest keeps the momentum going this week as they return the game to Lawson State on Wednesday when the Rangers travel to Birmingham, Alabama with the opening tip scheduled for 5:30 pm.
You can keep up with this game and the full Northwest women's basketball schedule by visiting nwccrangers.com or by following along on Ranger social media accounts.
