Northwest loses to CSI, all-star team at weekend tournamentThe Northwest College Trappers came out on the short side of two tournament games over the weekend at the College of Southern Idaho. The Trappers dropped a 104-95 decision to the Southern Idaho All-Stars on Friday before falling 87-58 at the hands of the tournament hosts on Saturday. The defeats leave Northwest College with a 4-5 overall record this season.“We just didn't play with a sense of urgency on defense,” Trapper head coach Janis Beal said of Friday's clash with the All-Stars. “We played like we felt we could out-score them, and instead we were the ones that got out-scored.”Five of the seven players who took the floor for the Southern Idaho All-Stars had NCAA Division I experience and it showed. The team knocked down nearly 70 percent of its shots in the first half and drew a commanding 43-30 advantage in rebounding. The Trappers attempted to counter with a balanced scoring line. Five Northwest College players finished the night in double figures, led by 23 points and five steals from Laura Purina. Megan Smith added 19 points. Katie Olierson had 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Megan Goodman had 13 points and four assists and Alicia Valentine dropped in 12 points. “It's fun to see that kind of balance in the scoring,” said Beal. “The problem wasn't with our offense in this game. We shot well, had good spacing and moved the ball well. We just didn't get it done defensively.”The Trappers could have used some of that offense on Saturday. Just 24 hours after connecting on better than 47 percent of its shots from the floor, Beal's team labored against the College of Southern Idaho. “There are nights where you can't hit shots, and this was definitely one of those nights,” said Beal. “We were getting open looks, but nothing really seemed to drop for us.”The Trappers fell behind 51-26 at intermission and were never able to mount a rally in the second half. For the night, NWC connected on just 21 of 73 field goal attempts.Despite the struggles from the floor, Beal was able to find bright spots. “We out-rebounded them 50-45, which is a really big deal,” said Beal. “CSI is a tall, athletic team. On Friday night, they out-rebounded their opponent by close to 40 boards, so for us to finish the game with an advantage there is a good effort.”The Trappers also saw a bright spot in the play of freshman Valerie Lesu. Lesu, who spent much of the early season splitting time with the Trappers' volleyball program, finished with eight points, five steals and four assists in the game. Both the steal and assist totals were team highs in the game. “Val does a great job of getting tips and plays hard,” said Beal. “It's good to have her out there.”Purina finished with 13 points to lead the Trappers in the contest. Smith added 12 points. Southern Idaho was led by 19 points from Maddy Plunkett. Daidra Brown added a triple-double for CSI, finishing with 15 points, 10 assists and 10 steals in the contest. The Trappers are back at home this weekend for the Trapper Tournament. Northwest plays Snow College on Friday and Salt Lake City Community College on Saturday. “The team is pretty excited,” said Beal, a former assistant for Snow College. “We have a lot of Utah players on the roster, so a lot of them have former teammates and friends on either the Snow or Salt Lake rosters. They're really looking forward to the games.”

Northwest loses to CSI, all-star team at weekend tournament

The Northwest College Trappers came out on the short side of two tournament games over the weekend at the College of Southern Idaho. The Trappers dropped a 104-95 decision to the Southern Idaho All-Stars on Friday before falling 87-58 at the hands of the tournament hosts on Saturday.

The defeats leave Northwest College with a 4-5 overall record this season.

“We just didn't play with a sense of urgency on defense,” Trapper head coach Janis Beal said of Friday's clash with the All-Stars.

“We played like we felt we could out-score them, and instead we were the ones that got out-scored.”

Five of the seven players who took the floor for the Southern Idaho All-Stars had NCAA Division I experience and it showed. The team knocked down nearly 70 percent of its shots in the first half and drew a commanding 43-30 advantage in rebounding.

The Trappers attempted to counter with a balanced scoring line. Five Northwest College players finished the night in double figures, led by 23 points and five steals from Laura Purina. Megan Smith added 19 points. Katie Olierson had 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Megan Goodman had 13 points and four assists and Alicia Valentine dropped in 12 points.

“It's fun to see that kind of balance in the scoring,” said Beal. “The problem wasn't with our offense in this game. We shot well, had good spacing and moved the ball well. We just didn't get it done defensively.”

The Trappers could have used some of that offense on Saturday. Just 24 hours after connecting on better than 47 percent of its shots from the floor, Beal's team labored against the College of Southern Idaho.

“There are nights where you can't hit shots, and this was definitely one of those nights,” said Beal. “We were getting open looks, but nothing really seemed to drop for us.”

The Trappers fell behind 51-26 at intermission and were never able to mount a rally in the second half. For the night, NWC connected on just 21 of 73 field goal attempts.

Despite the struggles from the floor, Beal was able to find bright spots.

“We out-rebounded them 50-45, which is a really big deal,” said Beal. “CSI is a tall, athletic team. On Friday night, they out-rebounded their opponent by close to 40 boards, so for us to finish the game with an advantage there is a good effort.”

The Trappers also saw a bright spot in the play of freshman Valerie Lesu. Lesu, who spent much of the early season splitting time with the Trappers' volleyball program, finished with eight points, five steals and four assists in the game. Both the steal and assist totals were team highs in the game.

“Val does a great job of getting tips and plays hard,” said Beal. “It's good to have her out there.”

Purina finished with 13 points to lead the Trappers in the contest. Smith added 12 points.

Southern Idaho was led by 19 points from Maddy Plunkett. Daidra Brown added a triple-double for CSI, finishing with 15 points, 10 assists and 10 steals in the contest.

The Trappers are back at home this weekend for the Trapper Tournament. Northwest plays Snow College on Friday and Salt Lake City Community College on Saturday.

“The team is pretty excited,” said Beal, a former assistant for Snow College. “We have a lot of Utah players on the roster, so a lot of them have former teammates and friends on either the Snow or Salt Lake rosters. They're really looking forward to the games.”