Photo: Northwestern guard Tierra Trotter takes on a Pearl River defender in Monday’s upset against the top-seeded Lady Wildcats. Trotter posted a career-high 29 points to help Lady Rangers advance to the MACCC semi-finals. (Photo credit: Brian Lentz/NWCCRangers.com)
It took extra time, but that extra effort made Monday’s historic victory even more special.
In a rowdy atmosphere, the Northwest Lady Rangers rose to the occasion, upsetting the 22nd and first seed Pearl River with a 70-68 overtime victory in the first round of the MACCC tournament at Marvin R. White Coliseum.
For the Third Year Head Coach Troy HowellMonday’s victory marked its first victory against a nationally ranked program and the first ranked win for the Lady Rangers since Nov. 18, 2010, when Northwest defeated then No. 4 Copiah-Lincoln 68-66 in overtime.
With the win, Northwest improved to 15-9 overall as Pearl River fell to 19-5 on the season.
Northwest led 12-4 midway through the opening period, only for the Lady Wildcats to finish the quarter on a 6-0 push to close the gap to just two points early in the second quarter. Pearl River kept their hands warm early in the period, using two baskets from Keshunti Nichols and a three-pointer from Tristen Washington to take a five-point lead, 17-12.
Pearl River led 21-16 midway through the quarter, only for Northwest to tie the game at 22-22 on a three-pointer from Maura Nunley at the end of the first half. The Lady Wildcats once again extended their lead to five points, but Lady Rangers reduced the score to two at half-time, 27-25.
Pearl River twice led by seven points early in the second half, but Northwest never backed down against the top seed in a hostile environment, a theme that will also continue through the end of regulation. With 3:47 to go in the third quarter, a three-pointer from Tierra Walker gave Lady Rangers their first lead of the second half, 38-37.
From there, Northwest spent the rest of the quarter widening the gap to 11 points with less than a minute to go. The double-digit lead would be the only one of the game for either team, as Pearl River finished the quarter on a three-point shot from Otashae Burrage, falling back in under eight.
Northwest held on to the lead until midway through the fourth quarter, when another Washington three-pointer tied the game at 51-51 with 4:42 left in regulation. Minutes later, Halle Traylor would give the Lady Wildcats a three-point lead, 59-56, with 1:30 to go.
However, foul trouble would soon catch up with both teams down the stretch. For Pearl River, it resulted in a foul from Washington’s leading scorer, while Northwest saw Sha’Kirria Everett fault and Kolten Blakeney missing part of the quarter with four fouls.
A pair of free throws made by Trotter helped put Lady Rangers within one with 39 seconds left, but the biggest break for Northwest came with four seconds remaining in regulation as Ty’Mesha Reed missed one of his two free throw attempts. This gave Lady Rangers a chance to use their final timeout to drive the ball down.
With three seconds left on the clock, I’Yana Ragin sent the ball to Trotter, who dribbled just past the free-throw line for the tying jumper, forcing overtime in front of a stunned home crowd.
Reed’s two quick field goals helped Pearl River take a two-point advantage in the first minute of overtime, only for Blakeney’s layup to tie the score and Trotter’s free throws to give the Lady Rangers a 10-minute lead. 66-64 with 2:59 left in overtime.
A Marcavia Shavers layup again tied the game for Pearl River with 2:09 to go, but that would be the last time the Lady Wildcats would lead or tie. After Trotter responded with a jumper on the other end of the floor, a missed Lady Wildcats three-pointer helped Northwest go ahead by four on Ragin’s layup at the 48-second mark.
Jaliscia Florence cut the deficit to two with 40 seconds left and after Lady Rangers missed a three-pointer with 10 seconds left, Pearl River had a chance to equalize or win the game. Neither would happen though, as the Lady Wildcats missed a three-point attempt with six seconds left, allowing Northwest to fight the rebound and hold on for the upset.
One of the main factors in the victory was the performance of Trotter, who reached a new career high of 29 points. The second-year guard was limited to seven points in the first half, but the score exploded to 18 in the second half and seven total rebounds.
Behind Trotter’s effort, three more Lady Rangers finished in double digits, including Blakeney’s double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds. Nunley added 13 points and Ragin missed a double-double, earning 10 points and eight boards.
Washington led Pearl River with 16 points, followed by 11 points from Reed and 10 points from Nichols, along with a team-high 13 rebounds. Shavers also added a near-double-double off the bench, scoring nine points and 10 rebounds.
Northwest shot 30 percent from the floor and three-pointers, while finishing 76 percent from the free throw line. Pearl River shot 35% for the night but struggled from the three-point field and the charity strip, finishing the night at 18% and 43%, respectively.
With the win, Northwest advances to Wednesday’s semifinal against Jones College. As the No. 4 seed in the tournament, the Lady Bobcats knocked out Copiah-Lincoln earlier in the day on Monday.
The announcement of the Lady Rangers’ battle against Jones is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in Poplarville. Cover will be provided on prccmedia.com.
Press release