NWC News Desk

Clancy in the clutch

NWC Sophomore Rescues Lady Trappers In Final Second

Caitlin Clancy wasn’t trying to draw a foul, she was just trying to save her team. 

She did both. 

After causing her Casper College defender to foul on her desperation 3-point attempt, Clancy went to the free-throw line with 0.6 seconds remaining and knocked down all three charity shots to give the Lady Trappers a 69-68 come-from-behind Region IX victory Saturday at Cabre Gym in Powell. 

“I wasn’t really expecting to get a call for the foul, it was just a situation where we have less than a second left to shoot the ball so get it in the air,” the sophomore guard said after leading her team with 21 points. “We weren’t lucky to get the foul call because it was the right call to make [by the officials], and it was definitely a well-earned win.” 

Clancy was 11-of-12 from the line before her last trip, but said she still wasn’t stress-free in the high-tension situation. 

“It was definitely nerve-wracking to shoot the three [free throws],” Clancy added. “I just wanted to get them all ... definitely get them all ... always go for the win.” 

Mandee Christensen drew high praise from NWC head coach Janis Beal after rebounding a Trapper miss in the closing seconds and finding Clancy at the top of the key for the foul-drawing shot. 

“Mandee had a huge rebound there,” Beal said. “Great effort on her part to keep that possession alive and to give us another opportunity.” 

After what became the game-clinching free throws, Casper head coach Dwight Gunnare nearly lost his temper on the sidelines before drawing a technical foul. The Trappers were awarded two free throws, but sophomore Dana Bjorhus failed to push NWC’s lead to three. But following the two misses, the Thunderbirds were unable to develop anything offensively as Kassidy Scott fired a long pass out of bounds. 

NWC (11-11, 3-3 Region IX North) regained possession, and Clancy found Bjorhus under the basket with the inbounds pass as the clocked melted away into the Trappers’ 11th win of the season. 

Bjorhus was particularly pleased to be on the right side of a close game after her team dropped its last two contests by a combined eight points. 

“It feels great,” said Bjorhus, who finished with 19 points. “It definitely feels good to be on the other side of things for once. It feels like we’re finally starting to turn things around the way we want.” 

What ended as a close game was slowly approaching blowout territory in the second half. With just over six minutes to play, Casper (14-6, 6-2) had a nine-point lead thanks to a 12-5 run that transformed their 49- 47 edge into a 61-52 cushion. Gabby Johnson’s jumper ended the move, but preceded the Trappers’ sudden turnaround. 

“We’ve been showing some great intensity in the second half the past couple games, and it was good to see us keep up trend,” Beal said. “And to get over the hump this time, especially when this game could have gone the exact opposite direction, that was huge for our team.” 

A 17-7 run powered NWC to victory, fueled by seven points from Clancy. Clancy’s jumper ignited the burst, and after a free throw from Shanda Post, Hatti Snyder dropped back-to-back layups ahead of Christensen’s free throw to pull the Trappers within 62-59. 

Post’s layup pushed Casper’s lead back top five, but NWC tied things at 64 on a Bjorhus trey and Kealani Sagapolu’s put-back with 2:32 remaining. 

The two teams then exchanged free throws before Scott scored a layup to pull ahead 68-66 with 21 ticks on the clock. 

NWC then called a timeout to draw up a play. 

“That was a tense moment, but I trusted the girls,” Beal said. “We have shooters on this team and I felt confident someone on the floor would get it done.” 

Several Trappers had their hands on the ball before Clancy’s heroics saved the day. 

“That was just huge for us. I’m glad I could come through for my team in that situation,” Clancy added. “Now we’ve got to build off of this and get a few more victories in our region.” 

Notes: The Trappers were scheduled to host Little Big Horn College at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, but LBH was forced to cancel the teams’ first meeting on Jan. 16 due to an insufficient number of eligible Rams players. If NWC is granted the night off, its next game will be Saturday when Miles Community College arrives at Cabre Gym for a 6 p.m. Region IX showdown.

 

Contact

Tim Carpenter
Tim.Carpenter@nwc.edu
Communications/Web & Social Media Specialist
307-754-6009