Lady Greyhound Comeback Falls Short at Northwest Mississippi

Down 63-50 with 4:00 left to play, the Lady Greyhounds used a 13-3 run to tie the score at 66-66 but fell victim to free throws in dropping a 68-66 decision to the Northwest Mississippi Community College Lady Rangers Thursday at Howard Coliseum in Senatobia, Mississippi.

ASU Mid-South led 32-24 at the half, but a 19-9 third quarter found them down 43-41 entering the final period. The Lady Rangers then extended their lead to 11 points at 61-50, and then again at 63-52 before the Lady Greyhounds began their comeback with a 14-foot jumper by Quintasia Leatherwood. Then after getting a stop, Aryah Hazley hit a layup and ASU Mid-South got a turnover on the other end. Leatherwood was then fouled and took advantage at the free throw line by hitting both, and after another stop, Hazley knocked down another two to pull within 63-58. The teams traded stops before the Lady Greyhounds got another turnover, and then capitalized as Hazley drew another foul and sank 1-of-2 free throws, and Lakeycia Bables came up with an offensive rebound to give ASU Mid-South another possession which they turned into another bucket as Ashley Hopkins put back an offensive rebound to pull within 63-61.

But Northwest's Claire Leak hit a three-pointer on the ensuing possession to stretch the lead to five points before Hazley hit a shot in the paint to pull within 66-63. The Lady Greyhound defense then got another stop, and Hazley hit a three-pointer from the right wing to tie it at 66-66 with 15.7 seconds left. But Northwest got a foul call and hit 1-of-2 free throws on the next possession, and ASU Mid-South was forced to foul after missing a shot from the baseline, and the Lady Rangers hit another 1-of-2 free throws for the final count.

Northwest (4-4) shot 41.2% from the field and 43.8% from the three-point line while canning 19-of-27 free throws while the Lady Greyhounds shot 37.9% from the field, 27.3% from the arc and an outstanding 13-of-15 (86.7%) from the line. But the Lady Rangers held a 39-35 rebounding edge while ASU Mid-South forced 22 turnovers to give themselves a chance. Aryah Hazley led all scorers with 23 points while Quintasia Leatherwood scored 14 and Ashley Hopkins chipped in 11 to go with a team-high 6 rebounds.

The Lady Greyhounds (6-3) next play Monday at The Dog House as they take on Crowley's Ridge College JV at 5:30pm in the first game of a doubleheader with the men. Two more home games follow Monday's contest when Dyersburg State Community College (TN) visits Saturday, December 10 and Jones College (MS) visiting Tuesday, December 13, before ASU Mid-South plays their final game of 2022 at St. Louis Community College on Saturday, December 17.