SENATOBIA - Following a season that saw the Northwest Mississippi Community College women's basketball team claim the Region 23 Championship and make their first NJCAA DI Women's Basketball National Tournament appearance in 21 years, the Rangers will look to repeat their success. 

After a 63-50 loss to Dodge City Community College in the first round of the NJCAA DI Women's Basketball National Tournament, Northwest ended their 2025-26 season with a 23-9 overall record. Although the Northwest Rangers saw an extremely talented class graduate, the goal remains the same. 

"The expectations haven't changed much," Head Coach LaTaryl Williams said. "We lost a lot of really good players, but our expectations for our program will always be the same, to compete at a high level and compete for a championship." 

With only three players returning from that Region 23 Championship team, the Rangers will have to count on the leadership of the returning sophomores, as well as, look for the freshmen and newcomers to make an immediate impact.  

In the three returning players, A'Destiny Bogan, Zoe Metcalf, and Andrea Rios, only Metcalf saw herself consistently in the starting line up for NWCC. Metcalf averaged 3.4 points and 14.9 minutes a game. Rios averaged 1.6 points on just under nine minutes per game, and her sophomore teammate, Bogan, also averaged 1.6 points on 8.5 minutes per game.  

"All three of those young ladies had an opportunity to play on the championship team from last year, so the experience they gained as freshmen is going to boost value for us with a young team," Williams said. "I look for them to be leaders on and off the court and show these young ladies what it takes to play at the championship level." 

The Rangers will see one transfer join their 2026-27 roster in Sophia Yancy. A native of Laveen, Ariz., Yancy played for the NCAA DII institution of Davis & Elkins College. Yancy appeared in 13 games for the Senators and accumulated a season high of 14 minutes in a contest against Concord. 

With five guards and five forwards, the freshman class will see a mix of guard and post presence.  

One of the players looking to make an immediate impact is 5'9" guard Laylah Johnson. Johnson hails from Brandon and is a graduate of Pisgah High School. During her senior year, Johnson helped lead the Dragons to a MHSAA Class 3A Final Four appearance while averaging 16.9 points, 12 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 3.7 steals, and 1.4 blocks.  

Former Independence High School teammates guard Sacari Burnett and forward Madison Holts will reunite on the court for the Rangers. In their senior year, Burnett and Holts helped lead the Wildcats to a district championship, Elite Eight appearance, and a 27-4 record.  

Burnett was named the Wildcats' co-offensive MVP and named to the All-District team for the 2025-26 season, and Holts also landed on the All-District team while averaging 15 points and 8 rebounds per game.  

Freshman forward Morgan Thompson will look to continue to develop her presence as a rebounding force. After leading the Velma Jackson High School Falcons in rebounding for three separate seasons and averaging 15.8 points and 9 rebounds per game her senior year, Thompson was named the Region 6-1A Defensive Player of the Year and Region 6-1A Player of the year.  

A native of Grenada, Carlei Brown averaged 17.9 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game during her senior season at Grenada High School. Additionally, Brown helped lead the chargers to a 19-6 record and the MHSAA Class 6A playoffs her senior year.  

"They're just dynamite. They've been working hard since we've been here," Williams said. "It's hard to just single out three or four players that're going to make an impact. I think as a group these freshmen are going to make a major impact." 

NWCC women's basketball will open their season with a nonconference schedule that will see them face three opponents that were ranked in the NJCAA DI women's basketball national preseason poll.  

Northwest's first game of the season will take place at home in Senatobia on November 2 with a matchup against Bishop State. 

Later that week, the Rangers will travel to Poplar Bluff, Mo., to participate in the Three Rivers Classic where they will take on #10 Three Rivers on November 6 and #17 State Fair on November 7. 

Northwest will then return to Howard Coliseum to take on East Mississippi Community College on November 10 before once again going on the road and travelling to West Memphis, Ark., to participate in the ASU Mid-South Greyhound Classic where they will take on National Park College on November 13 and ASU Mid-South on November 14. 

At the end of November and into early December, the Rangers will have a five game stretch of only home games. NWCC's homestand begins with a matchup against Hinds Community College on November 16 before taking on Jackson State Community College on November 19. 

After the Thanksgiving holiday, Northwest will return to action with a matchup against Dyersburg State Community College on November 30. The Rangers will close out their multi-week stretch of home games with contests against #5 Shelton State Community College on December 3 and #10 Three Rivers College on December 7.  

In their last nonconference matchup, NWCC will travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to take on #5 Shelton State on January 7. 

"We have some really tough competition, and I think it bode well for us last year that we had a very similar schedule to get us prepared for conference play," Williams said. 

The Rangers will then immediately jump into MACCC action when they travel to Scooba to take on East in their conference opener on January 11.  

Northwest will then welcome Holmes Community College to Senatobia on January 14 before traveling to Fulton to take on Itawamba Community College on January 19. 

Coahoma Community College will come to town for a MACCC matchup on January 21, and to close out January, the Rangers will travel to Booneville to take on Northeast Community College.  

The month of February starts off with Northwest welcoming Copiah-Lincoln Community College to Senatobia on February 1. Then, the Rangers will travel to Poplarville to take on Pearl River Community College on February 4 before playing Meridian Community College at home on February 8. 

The grueling conference schedule continues when the team travels to take on Jones Community College on February 11.  

Then, it will be time for a north versus south battle when Southwest Community College comes to town on February 15.  

The Rangers will enter the last stretch of their regular season with an away contest against Hinds Community College on February 18. The team will then welcome Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College to town on February 22. 

Northwest's last away game comes with a trip to Decatur to take on East Central on February 25, and their last home game of the regular season comes with a contest against Mississippi Delta Community College on March 1. 

"They can't take any days off," Williams said. "Being the defending Region 23 Champions, we're going to get everybody's best, so we have to be at the top of our game every time we step on the court." 

To stay up to date on the NWCC women's basketball team, follow the Ranger social media accounts or go to nwccrangers.com. Coverage of home games can be found on Ranger TV.