SENATOBIA - After a slow start in the first quarter, the Northwest Mississippi Community College women's basketball team (12-5, 3-0) battled to a 56-52 victory over the reigning NJCAA Region 23 Champions Itawamba Community College (11-6, 2-1) in Howard Coliseum.
This win marks the best start to conference play under head coach LaTaryl Williams in his fourth season at the helm of the Ranger program.
"It means a lot because as the season goes on, the film starts to circulate more so everybody starts to realize what you're doing offensively and defensively," Williams said.
A key contributor to the Ranger win was once again sophomore forward Alorian Story. Story garnered her eighth straight double-double and 13th double-double this season before the first half ended. Story also played a key role defensively, tying her career-high in steals with four. She finished the game with a career-high in points with 26 and 19 rebounds.
In the first two minutes of the second quarter, Story went on a solo 8-2 run, sparking the Northwest offense. She would go on to score 13 of the Rangers' 17 points in the quarter.
"We signed her because we knew we needed somebody to be very productive in the paint, on both ends of the court, and that's what she's been doing," Coach Williams said. "This is not a surprise to me, and I'm very proud of her because she came up with a big night when we needed it."
Sophomore guards Dekyra Mitchell and Layla Hampton were both essential to NWCC's offensive production, scoring 11 and 10 points respectively.
The sophomore trio of Story, Mitchell, and Hampton proved to be essential in maintaining the lead in the second half of the game. In the third quarter, this trio of players combined for all of Northwest's 14 points.
After building an 11 point lead with four minutes left in the game, Itawamba hit a pivotal three-point shot that provided them with a spark. The Indians were able to get within one point from the Rangers.
However, the Ranger defense proved to be a tough opponent for the Indian offense, only allowing ICC to shoot 28.6% from the floor and the Rangers were able to force 14 turnovers, including stealing the ball nine times.
No steal was more important than the steal Mitchell had with 20 seconds left in the game. The steal came at a time where NWCC was holding on to a slim 53-52 lead and allowed Northwest to get to the free throw line to extend their lead.
Although the Rangers struggled throughout the night from the free throw line, shooting only 56.5%, Mitchell and Hampton were able to ice the game with three crucial free throws in the last seconds.
Northwest will aim to build upon this momentum as they continue conference play.
"You've got to take it one game at a time and just continue to do what we've been doing," Williams said.
The Rangers (12-5, 3-0) will take on the Coahoma Tigers (9-3, 0-2) on the road in Clarksdale at 5:30 p.m. this Thursday, January 22.
- Article credit Mary Grace Black, Northwest Sports Information
