BOONEVILLE, Miss. - JaQuasia Dorrough picked right up where she left off at the end of her freshman campaign at Northeast Mississippi Community College.

Dorrough opened the 2022-23 season with a double-double during the Lady Tigers' 58-49 setback to Wallace State (Ala.) Community College at Hanceville on Tuesday, November 1 inside legendary Bonner Arnold Coliseum. 

The Calhoun City native produced game-highs of 20 points and 12 rebounds. She was 9 of 18 from the floor and made a pair of free tosses in 24 minutes off the bench for Northeast. 

It was the fifth 20-plus point performance of her tenure with the Lady Tigers. It was also the seventh double-double in 17 appearances so far in a black-and-gold uniform for Dorrough. 

"Like I told our girls, I'm going to put them on my back and we're going to go," said Dorrough. "They were probably taller than me, but I got in there and I worked with them. I'm not gonna let anybody outwork me." 

Free throws kept Northeast in the game early. The Lady Tigers were 8 of 12 as a team at the charity stripe during the first quarter to keep within one possession of the Lady Lions at 13-10. 

Jerrilyn Richardson had the first point of the new year for Northeast with a free throw at the 8:49 mark. The Lady Tigers' initial field goal came six minutes later on a Jasmine Malone layup that was assisted by Taitiana Beene. 

Northeast used an 11-0 run in the middle of the second stanza to take the lead. Richardson capped the spurt with a trey off the glass that pushed the Lady Tigers ahead 24-20 with 2:53 to go before the break. 

The Lady Tigers (0-1) eventually settled for a 29-25 advantage at the intermission. Ella Mask drilled her second three-pointer of the quarter while Dorrough added a layup in the closing moments. 

A buzzer beating putback by Dorrough cut Northeast's deficit to one possession at 43-40 at the close of the third. However, Wallace State (1-0) outscored the Lady Tigers 15-9 in the final period to pull away. 

"I'm very appreciative of the fans coming out," Chelsey Rhodes said after her inaugural game as Northeast head coach. "We tried to make sure all the kids got into the stands and thank them for coming. The louder they can be, the more energy it brings to us." 

The Lady Tigers begin a stretch of three straight road contests on Saturday, November 5 by visiting Volunteer State (Tenn.) Community College. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. at the Pickel Field House.