The NEMCC Lady Tigers extended their winning streak to three games on Saturday, Nov. 7, rallying in the second half to beat Chattanooga State Community College 56-48 at Bonner Arnold Coliseum in Booneville. Point guard Lauren Norwood scored 22 points, 16 of them after halftime, as Northeast Mississippi Community College improved to 3-1 on the 2026-27 season.
Second-half surge lifts the NEMCC Lady Tigers
Points were hard to come by for both teams through most of the afternoon. According to the college’s game recap, Northeast went roughly eight minutes without a field goal during the second quarter while Chattanooga State built a 20-13 lead on an 8-0 run. The visitors led 27-20 at halftime.
The game turned midway through the third quarter. After both teams went scoreless to open the period, Norwood broke the drought with a layup, then hit a three from the top of the key and finished a three-point play to tie the game at 34-34. Chattanooga State answered to carry a 38-36 lead into the fourth quarter, but Norwood’s mid-range jumper put Northeast back in front, and an and-one by Kazli Timbes pushed the margin to 45-39.
Late layups from Chloe Smith and Kennedi Smith stretched the lead to nine with about three minutes left, and the Lady Tigers closed the game at the free-throw line.
Head coach Brian Middleton pointed to rebounding as the difference. “We picked up our defense in the second half,” Middleton said in the release, adding that his team was outrebounded before the break but won the glass by 19 after halftime.
Key stats vs. Chattanooga State
Lauren Norwood: 22 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals, with 10 points in the third quarter alone
Kazli Timbes: 13 points on 67 percent shooting
Chloe Smith: six points and a team-high 11 rebounds, four of them offensive
Final: NEMCC 56, Chattanooga State 48; Northeast shot 22-of-69 from the field to Chattanooga State’s 16-of-67
“We knew we had to just play together,” Norwood said after the game.
How the season has unfolded
The win caps a strong first week for the Lady Tigers after a season-opening loss. On Oct. 31 in Morristown, Tennessee, Northeast knocked off No. 24 Walters State 73-65, Middleton’s first win over an NJCAA Top 25 opponent and the program’s first ranked win since 2023. Norwood and Ashia Williams each recorded their first career double-doubles in that game.
The Lady Tigers then won their home opener on Monday, Nov. 2, beating Snead State 69-57 behind 17 offensive rebounds, eight of them from Williams, who finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Norwood added 16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and Carly Shells scored 10 off the bench.
What’s next
Northeast goes back on the road Tuesday, Nov. 10, for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff at Arkansas State Mid-South. The NEMCC men’s team, also unbeaten, hosts the Bonner Arnold Classic in Booneville on Nov. 12-13.
Jon R Myers is the executive editor of Alcorn County News and the founder of the Mississippi News Group, which he started in 2013 to cover communities across North Mississippi. He also founded the Mississippi Sports Group in 2006, which grew from a single community publication into a statewide network covering high school and college athletics. He reports on local government, public safety, schools and community life in Corinth and Alcorn County, working from public meetings, agency records and interviews with the people involved. Contact him at editor@alcornnewsms.com with news tips or corrections. For a correction, include the article link and supporting source material.
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