Three games over a five day span coupled with poor shooting led to a difficult road swing for the Northwest College women’s basketball team. The Trappers defeated Laramie County Community …
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Three games over a five day span coupled with poor shooting led to a difficult road swing for the Northwest College women’s basketball team. The Trappers defeated Laramie County Community College 55-49 on Friday before losing two straight to Eastern Wyoming 82-68 on Saturday and Central Wyoming 76-69 on Tuesday.
NORTHWEST 55, LCCC 49
Kicking off the road swing the Trappers (14-9 overall, 1-4 Region IX North) took on the Golden Eagles (11-8 overall, 2-1 Region IX North).
Scoring was difficult to come by for both teams, as the Golden Eagles led 4-2 midway through the first quarter.
The scoring picked up late in the quarter, as the hosts expanded on their lead and made it a 14-7 scoreline with 2:30 remaining.
LCCC kept its lead heading into the second quarter, with Northwest trailing 17-11 after the first.
Scoring again was hard to come by in the second quarter, as the Golden Eagles maintained their advantage up 21-15 midway through the frame.
Turnovers plagued both teams throughout the half, and Northwest finally made its push late before halftime — briefly knotting the score at 24 each on a Taylee Carlson basket before LCCC scored five straight to make it 29-24 at the break.
LCCC continued to maintain its lead, as it reached as many as nine at 41-32 before Northwest finally made a run late in the third quarter.
Over the final four minutes of the frame the Trappers outscored the Golden Eagles 10-1, including four points by Bianca Silva in the final 10 seconds to tie the contest at 42 heading into the fourth quarter.
Northwest took the lead less than a minute into the fourth quarter on a Kelsi Nicholson basket, and the Trappers carried their momentum from the end of the third.
The Trappers held that lead over the next five minutes until the Golden Eagles briefly reclaimed it up 49-48, the final basket LCCC would score over the final 4:11.
Northwest reclaimed the lead shortly after, but couldn’t extend it for over two minutes until a Jai’La Porter layup.
Tayva Phillips’ layup with 50 seconds left made it a two possession game, and she later added a free throw to seal the win 55-49.
“We need all the Region IX wins we can get,” coach Cody Helenbolt said. “I was proud of the last probably 12 minutes of that one, it’s hard when you don’t play well to get it out of your mind and then turn it on. I was really proud of the fact that we were able to do that.”
Silva led with 14 points and six assists while Nicholson added 10 as the other Trapper in double figures.
Emma Pique led with seven rebounds while Phillips had four steals for Northwest.
EASTERN WYOMING 82, NORTHWEST 68
Heading up the road to Torrington for the second game of the road swing the Trappers took on the Lancers (11-10 overall, 2-2 Region IX North).
Offense came a little bit easier to the Trappers early on Saturday, as they held an 8-4 lead midway through the quarter.
Both teams picked up the scoring over the final five minutes, and the Trappers maintained their lead going into the second quarter up 18-14.
Early in the second quarter the Trappers built their largest lead of the game at 23-14 after a Phillips 3-pointer, forcing an Eastern Wyoming timeout.
The Lancers responded out of the timeout, going on a 10-0 run and claiming the lead at 25-24 with just under five minutes left.
Over those next five minutes both teams exchanged the lead, as neither gained a significant advantage — as Eastern Wyoming led 36-35 heading into the locker room.
The game remained close, as Eastern led by as many as three points, but the Trappers responded and kept it deadlocked at 45 midway through the quarter.
Late in the third quarter the hosts started to pull away, going on a 16-6 scoring stretch and leading 61-51 heading into the final frame.
Northwest cut into the lead early and trailed by five, but Eastern responded and pushed the advantage back out to double digits.
An 18-6 stretch allowed the Lancers to pull away in the fourth quarter, as the Trappers fell 82-68.
“We probably played better in that game,” Helenbolt said. “It really came down to we shot 32% and they shot 56%, 56% from three also. They hadn’t done that all year … There’s stuff we can clean up, but any time a team shoots that well it’s gonna be tough to get a win.”
Phillips, Jai’La Porter and Carolina Ruiz tied for the team lead with 12 points each, Silva added 10 and led the Trappers with seven assists and five rebounds.
CENTRAL WYOMING 76, NORTHWEST 69
Wrapping up the action with their third game in five days on Tuesday night the Trappers took on the Rustlers (6-17 overall, 1-4 Region IX North).
The Trappers trailed 20-14 heading into the second after a poor scoring first quarter.
The lead for Central reached double digits several times throughout the second frame, but the Trappers trailed 39-30 heading into the locker room.
Northwest pulled it within five early in the third quarter before Central pushed it back to double digits, leading by as many as 15.
Ending the quarter the Trappers made a late push, and trailed 58-50 heading into the fourth quarter.
Northwest got back within a single possession early in the fourth quarter after a Porter layup, and within a single point after a pair of Silva free throws to make it 60-59 with six minutes remaining.
The Trappers couldn’t find a way to take the lead, as every shot the Trappers made was matched by the Rustlers as they walked away with a 76-69 victory.
“We only shot 32%, 17% from three, and they shot 46%, so it was honestly a miracle we were in the game,” Helenbolt said.
Stats for the contest were not available as of press time.
GILLETTE GAME
Northwest heads back on the road this weekend, heading to Gillette to take on the Pronghorns (15-6 overall, 2-1 Region IX North) at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
“They’re (Gillette) vying for that top spot, so it’s going to be a big challenge for us,” Helenbolt said.
Northwest returns home next weekend to take on Eastern Wyoming and LCCC on Feb. 7-8.
NORTHWEST 55, LCCC 49
Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()
Points — Bianca Silva 14, Kelsi Nicholson 10, Tayva Phillips 7, Selen Ucak 7, Jai’La Porter 6, Sydnee Harris 5, Emma Pique 2, Taylee Carlson 2, Carolina Ruiz 2
Rebounds — Emma Pique 7 (1), Tayva Phillips 5 (1), Jai’La Porter 5, Bianca Silva 5 (1), Selen Ucak 3 (1), Sydnee Harris 2 (1), Elise Swan 1 (1)
Assists — Bianca Silva 6, Tayva Phillips 2, Sydnee Harris 1, Kelsi Nicholson 1, Selen Ucak 1, Carolina Ruiz 1
Steals — Tayva Phillips 4, Bianca Silva 3, Selen Ucak 2, Emma Pique 1, Jai’La Porter 1, Carolina Ruiz 1
EASTERN WYOMING 82, NORTHWEST 68
Points — Tayva Phillips 12, Jai’La Porter 12, Carolina Ruiz 12, Bianca Silva 10, Kelsi Nicholson 7, Selen Ucak 7, Emma Pique 6, Sydnee Harris 2
Rebounds — Bianca Silva 5 (2), Kelsi Nicholson 5 (2), Emma Pique 3 (1), Jai’La Porter 3 (1), Tayva Phillips 1, Sydnee Harris 1, Carolina Ruiz 1
Assists — Bianca Silva 7, Sydnee Harris 2, Carolina Ruiz 2, Emma Pique 1, Jai’La Porter 1, Kelsi Nicholson 1
Steals — Emma Pique 3, Tayva Phillips 3, Jai’La Porter 3, Bianca Silva 3, Kelsi Nicholson 3, Elise Swan 1, Selen Ucak 1
Blocks — Bianca Silva 2