POPLARVILLE - The Northwest Mississippi Community College women's basketball team (22-8, 11-3) stormed to a 77-60 victory over Itawamba Community College (22-8, 12-2) in the semifinals of the Region 23 Women's Basketball Tournament.
From tip off, the first quarter was tightly contested with both the Rangers and Indians trading baskets. However, the Indians simply could not miss. Itawamba started the game off on fire from the floor, shooting 53.8% from the floor. In comparison, Northwest only shot 31.3% from the floor. However, NWCC's defense forced five turnovers in the first quarter, and NWCC capitalized on the rare ICC mistakes.
The Rangers showed their grit in the second quarter with their defense shining. The highlights of the second frame came from a Dekyra Mitchell steal in transition and from a Zoe Metcalf steal off of an Indian inbound pass. The Metcalf steal signaled that, although only a one point game, the momentum was fully with Northwest and prompted Itawamba to take a timeout.
The spectacular display of NWCC defense led to their offense excelling as well, closing out the half on a 9-0 run to take a 30-25 lead into halftime.
The third quarter started much like the first with both teams trading baskets. That theme would continue throughout the quarter with both the Ranger and Indian offense exploding to score 18 points each.
Northwest's offense dominated in the first minutes of the fourth quarter, going on another 9-0 run in the opening two minutes of the frame. These nine points came from three straight NWCC three-point shots. This allowed the Rangers to jump out to a 14 point lead early in the final quarter.
The offense would not slow down for the rest of the game, scoring 29 points in the fourth quarter and only allowing 17 from the Indians. The Rangers would not relinquish the lead the rest of the game.
The energy was palpable on the NWCC bench the entire game, especially during the fourth quarter.
"One thing I tell our teams all the time is just make sure everybody understands that their role is important," Head Coach LaTaryl Williams said. "The bench has been doing that all year, so they're going to bring that energy"
Three Northwest starters had over 15 points. Takera Bland had 17 points and nine rebounds. Alorian Story had a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Dekyra Mitchell led all scorers with 21 points.
"I was just driving the ball, getting to my strong hand," Bland said. "My jumpshot was falling, and I saw that, so I just drove the ball. They couldn't stop me being in front of me, so I just took what the defense gave me.
Another key to Northwest's success was their ability to take care of the ball, only accumulating eight turnovers to the Indians' 20.
NWCC will look to take this momentum into the Region 23 Championship.
"Just one more game, continue what we've been doing all season," Coach Williams said. "We had a goal at the beginning of the year, back in July, and they're following the game plan to finish that goal now."
The Region 23 Championship game will be played on Friday, March 13 at 6 p.m. They await the winner of the semifinal between Pearl River Community College and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
To stay up to date on the NWCC women's basketball team, follow the Ranger social media accounts or go to nwccrangers.com.
