A difficult third quarter proved to be the difference for the Northwest College women’s basketball team on the road, as a spirited fourth quarter comeback fell short and the Trappers fell 72-66 on the road to Gillette College on Saturday.

GILLETTE COLLEGE 72, NORTHWEST 66

Heading over the mountain for the only game of the week the Trappers (14-10 overall, 1-5 Region IX North) matched up with one of the top teams in the region in the Pronghorns (17-6 overall, 4-1 Region IX North).

Northwest came out strong, holding a 13-8 lead over Gillette five minutes in after a Kelsi Nicholson layup.

The Trappers appeared on course to maintain that lead heading into the second quarter but a late layup cut their advantage down to three, leading 18-15.

Gillette came out stronger in the second, taking a 31-28 lead with just over four minutes remaining.

Northwest responded over the next minute, reclaiming the lead on a Bianca Silva layup to make it 32-31.

“She had a great game. I was really proud of her because I thought that she played pretty under control,” coach Cody Helenbolt said. “She had a couple plays in that game that I thought were really high level, that she stopped on, took her time and made the right decision. That’s something we’ve been kind of talking about, so it was awesome to see her have a big game.”

Gillette responded with another push, and led 35-32 at the break.

A strong start by the Pronghorns in the third quarter made it a 10 point advantage, as the hosts led 46-36 midway through.

Northwest struggled to find its scoring touch, and a banked shot at the buzzer grew the Pronghorn lead to 55-39 heading into the final quarter.

“I’ve told the kids we don’t have a big margin for error. So if we cut that run that Gillette made off at six instead of 10, we have a really good chance to win the game,” Helenbolt said. “But once that run they made hits 10, now we’re down by double digits.”

The Trappers started the fourth quarter quickly, going on a 7-0 run capped off by a Silva and-one to force a timeout by Gillette.

Gillette scored, but the Trappers kept pushing and cut the lead down to five as they trailed 57-52 with 6:40 left.

Two big 3-pointers pushed the advantage back to double digits, but the Trappers didn’t let the Pronghorns get away.

Northwest again got it down five after a pair of Silva free throws, but a big 3-pointer by Gillette again stopped the Trappers in their tracks.

The Trappers eventually got within four on a Emma Pique layup, and forced a turnover out of a timeout that led to a Silva jumper to make it a 68-66 contest with 34 seconds left.

Gillette free throws made it a four point game once again, and a blocked Trapper 3-point attempt led to a change of possession. Gillette scored two more free throws after a foul from Northwest to make the final margin 72-66.

“I was very proud of the way they came back and got it back within two,” Helenbolt said. “But, that (third quarter) is where we lost the game, because we don’t have the margin for error to get down by 16 in the third quarter. It was just kind of a killer.”

Silva led with 29 points and six steals, Nicholson added 17 and four steals as the other Trapper in double figures.

Tayva Phillips had four assists.

The Trappers won the turnover battle 30-20, but were outrebounded 49-24, with Helenbolt noting that the rebound disparity wasn’t the true reason the Trappers lost.

“I wouldn’t even say that was the killer in that even though the rebound margin was terrible, we just missed shots,” Helenbolt said. “We were 2-18 from three, and that’s been the other thing is these last few games we’ve played well enough to win. It just comes down to making shots, we haven’t been able to make the other teams have. It’s frustrating, you can’t go 2-18 from three on the road in Region IX against the top team and expect to win.”

HOME WEEKEND

Northwest returns home for the first time since Jan. 18 for a three game homestand to kick off the second half of Region IX action.

That will start with games against the teams from southeast Wyoming, starting with Eastern Wyoming (11-12 overall, 2-4 Region IX North) at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The Lancers defeated the Trappers in Torrington 82-68 on Jan. 25.

Northwest will then take on Laramie County Community College (11-11 overall, 2-4 Region IX North) at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The Trappers defeated the Golden Eagles 55-49 on Jan. 24.

“For having a losing streak I’m not that down on us. Other than shooting wise, I think we’re playing close to our capabilities,” Helenbolt said. “We’d just like to shoot the ball a little better, and for teams to not shoot as well against us.”

GILLETTE COLLEGE 72, NORTHWEST 66

Total rebounds then solo rebounds in ()

Points — Bianca Silva 29, Kelsi Nicholson 17, Emma Pique 6, Tayva Phillips 4, Jai’La Porter 4, Elise Swan 3, Taylee Carlson 2, Selen Ucak 1

Rebounds — Emma Pique 4, Tayva Phillips 4, Bianca Silva 4 (2), Jai’La Porter 3, Kelsi Nicholson 3 (1), Carolina Ruiz 1

Assists — Tayva Phillips 4, Jai’La Porter 2, Kelsi Nicholson 2, Bianca Silva 2, Carolina Ruiz 2

Steals — Bianca SIlva 6, Kelsi Nicholson 4, Tayva Phillips 3, Emma Pique 2, Jai’La Porter 2, Taylee Carlson 2, Carolina Ruiz 2

Blocks — Emma Pique 1