POPLARVILLE - Northwest Mississippi Community College women's basketball (23-8, 11-3) earn a tightly contested 60-55 win over Pearl River Community College (22-6, 13-1) to claim the Region 23 Championship.
"These young ladies have sacrificed a lot the last two years," an ecstatic Head Coach Williams said. "A lot of ups and downs throughout this year. We lost players. The ice storm. Injuries. A lot of adversity our girls had to fight through, so this means a lot to me. I'm so happy for them."
The Rangers could not have asked for a better start in the first quarter, opening the game on a 7-2 run and holding the Wildcats to 22.2% or 4-18 from the floor.
Due to her lingering shoulder injury, Alorian Story saw minimal minutes in the first frame. However, that did not matter as sophomore guard Layla Hampton had eight of Northwest's 17 first quarter points, helping the Rangers to finish the quarter with a 17-9 advantage.
In the second quarter, Pearl River's offense was able to find more success, outscoring Northwest 14-12. Additionally, the Rangers did not take care of the ball well in the second quarter and accumulated six turnovers. However, due to the lead built in the first quarter, NWCC was able to take a 29-23 lead into the halftime break.
Eventually, playing at your home court in a championship game will begin to work in your favor. That was the case for PRCC. The Wildcats opened the third quarter on a 7-2 run to bring Pearl River within one point, forcing the Rangers to take an early timeout. The momentum remained with PRCC as they went on a 10-0 run in just over three minutes. This allowed the Wildcats to take a 43-39 lead into the last quarter.
"I told them that those young ladies (Pearl River) are conference champions. They're playing at home," Coach Williams said. "You can't expect them to lay down and just quit. I knew they were going to fight back and have a run in them.:
Northwest was able to snatch the momentum right back from Pearl River, outscoring PRCC 10-5 in the first three minutes of the last quarter to retake the lead before the first timeout of the frame. The energy was palpable in the fourth quarter with both teams trading baskets and the lead tying and changing three different times.
The offense simply exploded in the last quarter scoring 21 points compared to the Wildcats' 12.
Two Ranger starters, Dekyra Mitchell and Takera Bland, found themselves in foul trouble early in the fourth quarter. However, they were able to play smart defense and stay in the game.
"I just knew I had to be smarter on defense," Bland said. "I really couldn't play defense how I wanted to play defense, but I had to be smarter."
Statistically the two teams were neck and neck in every category except free throws. Northwest was able to get to the line to take 23 free throws, and the Rangers made 18 of them. On the flip side, Northwest did a phenomenal job of keeping Pearl River from the free throw line, only allowing them nine shots from the charity stripe.
Bland, Mitchell, and Story all played pivotal roles for NWCC in the win. Bland secured a double-double with a game-leading 17 points and 12 rebounds. Hampton scored 15 points, accumulated seven rebounds, and dished out three assists. Story was able to battle through her shoulder injury to garner 11 points and six rebounds.
"When it pops out, it's going to be sore. It hurts. It's throbbing right now, but it's like you just got to forget about it and play," Story said. "I knew I could not sit out this whole entire game, so I just had to push through."
Defensively, Northwest was able to hold Pearl River to just 31.9% shooting from the floor. NWCC was also able to capitalize on the 16 PRCC turnovers.
The Rangers will advance to the NJCAA DI Women's Basketball National Championship Tournament for the first time since 2005 and eighth time overall with the first round beginning on Tuesday, March 24. Northwest waits for the draw to find out who they will face. No matter the opponent, the message will remain the same.
"Don't go against us!" Story exclaimed. "We will be practicing for these next two weeks . We're not done."
To stay up to date on the NWCC women's basketball team, follow the Ranger social media accounts or go to nwccrangers.com.
