Northwest College

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NWC women end regular season with win

Trappers Travel To Nebraska For Region IX Tourney

At this point in the season, it doesn’t matter how you get it done so long as you win. 

The Northwest College women’s basketball team put that theory into motion Saturday with a come-from-behind 69-56 victory at Region IX North rival Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs. 

“Western Wyoming is a tough place to play,” NWC head coach Janis Beal said. “So it’s always nice to go there and get a win.” 

Getting a win at home against Western was also tough, as the Trappers had to rally in the second half to secure a victory on Feb. 12 in Powell. 

The teams went blow for blow in their first meeting until NWC reeled off a huge run to seal the game. Beal said Saturday’s showdown was practically a carbon copy of game one. 

“It was pretty similar to the first time we played them, where it was close until we made a late run in the second half,” she said. 

NWC was forced to rally from a close 35-32 deficit, and did so in a big way with a 37-21 second-half showing. 

The Trapper effort was paced by sophomore Caitlin Clancy’s game-high 19 points and five steals, and sophomore Dana Bjorhus added 16 points. Freshman Kealani Sagapolu drained 10 points and fell just shy of a double-double with eight rebounds. 

NWC has had an up-and-down season at the free throw line, but the Trappers did their best to make the most of their opportunities against the Mustangs. They made 27 of 39 free throws (69 percent), helping to offset a dismal shooting performance (18 of 65 for 27.7 percent). 

“Free throws,” Beal stated as a matter-of-fact key to victory. “First half we only went to the line about 12 times. In the second half we were just more aggressive in attacking the basket and it helped.” 

Clancy converted 10 of her 12 attempts from the charity stripe. 

“There have been multiple games where Caitlin has done that for us,” Beal said of Clancy’s free-throw shooting. “She’s definitely a kid we want at the line.” 

NWC also limited itself to nine turnovers. 

The Trappers (16-13, 8-6 Region IX) will resume play with postseason action on Wednesday. With the No. 5 seed in the Region IX Tournament, NWC will battle Eastern Wyoming in the first round of the Region IX Tournament at 1 p.m. at Western Nebraska Community College in Scottsbluff, Neb. 

With three wins in four games, Beal is hopeful positive momentum can drive the Trappers forward. 

“I’m excited about that,” Beal said. “We’re still continuing to get healthy, and I definitely think this can give us some momentum heading into the tournament next week.”