Box Score Knowing that a win would certainly help their chances in playoff seeding, the Lady Bears closed out the regular season on a very high note, Tuesday, dropping Northwest Mississippi on the road 56-28.
 
"I'm very proud of our group and their focus on the road," Southwest head coach Brent Harris said. "Our defense was excellent and I thought that Nia (Hardison) and Mookie (Lampley) made good decisions inside the zone and we hit several big shots."
 
Lampley and Hardison shined as they combined to score half of the Lady Bears' (16-10, 7-7 MACCC) points with Lampley posting 17 and Hardison 11. They were also two of six different Lady Bears to connect on 3-pointers on the evening.
 
Both teams struggled a bit to get their offenses established early on as the defenses stepped up. The Lady Bears broke the scoreless streak just over 3:00 in to the game on a Savannah Hailey layup. The struggles ensued for both teams as the Lady Bears trailed the Lady Rangers 7-3 for several minutes. In the final :20 of the first quarter, Southwest got makes from Lampley and Lylo Johnson to tie the game at 7 heading into the second quarter.
 
A Michaela Payton free throw started the scoring in the second quarter for the Lady Bears who out-scored the Lady Rangers 15-9 in the period as they began to put distance between themselves and their opponents.
 
They continued that on in the third winning the quarter 15-5. The scoring frenzy in the third was anchored by Hardison who scored the first five points of the quarter for Southwest. The quarter was also highlighted by big 3-pointers from Johnson and Payton.
 
Leading 37-21 entering the fourth, Southwest continued to pour it on as in addition to baskets from Hardison and Lampley, makes by Courtney Bradford, Veronica Williams and Justice Cox helped Southwest pull away before sealing the win.
 
The Lady Bears await the results from play this week to determine time and location of postseason play which will kick off early next week.