NWC women fall in final regular-season tests

Host play-in game Friday

Posted 4/1/21

With Northwest College and Western Wyoming tied for fourth in Region IX North (3-7), it came down to a tiebreaker to decide which team would host the region tournament play-in game. But that …

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NWC women fall in final regular-season tests

Host play-in game Friday

Posted

With Northwest College and Western Wyoming tied for fourth in Region IX North (3-7), it came down to a tiebreaker to decide which team would host the region tournament play-in game. But that tiebreaker wasn’t basketball related. 

NWC coach Camden Levett and WWCC coach Mike Swenson hopped on a Zoom call Sunday with Mary Young, Region IX’s director. Young wrote down the schools’ names on pieces of paper, crumbled them up and placed them in a hat. She reached in, randomly selected a sheet and opened it up. 

The paper said Northwest College. Levett smirked as Swenson subtly shook his head.

“The basketball gods were on our side there,” Levett said, as it means Friday’s game will be held at Cabre Gym.

A couple days prior, the Trappers wrapped up the 2021 regular season. They dropped back-to-back contests, falling 68-58 to Eastern Wyoming Wednesday before losing 100-51 to Casper on Saturday.

For all 40 minutes, NWC competed in the loss to Eastern Wyoming. The scoring effort was well spread, with seven Trappers scoring at least five points. Defensively, NWC forced tough shots, resulting in a 35.6% shooting clip from the field for EWC. 

Eastern Wyoming outscored NWC in three of the four quarters, never surrendering its lead. While the Trappers stayed within striking distance, clutch shots in the fourth allowed the Lancers to escape Cabre Gym with the win. 

“I thought we played them tough,” Levett said. “They got to the paint and used the backboard like they should. They just made a couple more plays. I liked how we played; it could’ve gone either way.”

Raquel Turner was the only Trapper in double figures, scoring 13 points, while Shelby Tarter and Sydney Prather each added eight.

Three days after the competitive loss to Eastern Wyoming, the Trappers played one of their worst games of the season. They gave up 30 points in the first quarter, putting them in a hole early on. Casper only built on its advantage as the game progressed, eventually winning by 49 — NWC’s largest margin of defeat this year.

The result was far different from NWC’s four-point loss to the Thunderbirds earlier in the month, and Levett cited a poor approach as a factor in this meeting. 

“I did a bad job of getting the team ready,” Levett said. “I regret it, I told them that, and we’re just diving into postseason play now.”

That loss to Casper — and all of NWC’s other games this year — are now meaningless. The Trappers’ only focus now is beating Western Wyoming Friday. 

In two meetings against the Mustangs this year, NWC is 1-1, winning by 13 at home and losing by four on the road. Levett described the loss as one of NWC’s most stagnant performances of 2021, which fires his team up to get another chance at them after a dismal performance. 

But more than getting revenge on the Mustangs, they’re just amped to get the postseason underway. 

“It didn’t matter who we played, we’re just ready,” Levett said. “We’re pumped to have another home game.”

Friday’s action begins at 6 p.m. in Cabre Gym, with 500 spectators permitted to attend. In this win-or-go-home contest, NWC hopes to see every seat filled.

“I want them here to support our basketball team,” Levett said. “We’re going to play as hard as we can for them.”

      

Eastern Wyoming 68, Northwest 58

Points — Raquel Turner 13, Shelby Tarter 8, Sydney Prather 8, Samiyah Worrell 7, Celina Tress 6, Adela Smutna 5, Kierra Cutright 5, Tatiana Coleman 4, Riley Aiono 2;

Rebounds — Worrell 9, Turner 6, Prather 6, Cutright 4, Tarter 3, Hannah Harris 2, Coleman 2

       

Casper 100, Northwest 51

Points — Worrell 19, Cutright 12, Aiono 6, Tress 5, Turner 4, Tarter 2, Coleman 2, Prather 1;

Rebounds — Aiono 5, Worrell 4, Turner 3, Tress 3, Cutright 3, Coleman 3, Tarter 2, Prather 1

Northwest College, Trapper Basketball

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