NWC News Desk

Trapper women's basketball falls twice

Winning Streak Ends at Three Games 

The Northwest College women’s basketball team failed to sustain the momentum of its successful homestand, losing both of its games at the Gillette College Tournament on Friday and Saturday in Gillette. 

The Lady Trappers had turned a 1-3 start to their season into a 4-3 record thanks to three straight wins dating back to Nov. 14. But a defense and offense that showed up for those victories appeared to stay in Powell as NWC was defeated on the road once again, 72-64 by Salt Lake Community College, and 62-54 by Snow College. 

Against Salt Lake, NWC (4-5 overall) shot a dismal 41 percent from the floor while burying itself in a 42-24 halftime lead. Meanwhile, Salt Lake fired an efficient 48 percent and forced 18 Trapper turnovers. 

NWC outscored Salt Lake 40- 30 in the second half, but head coach Janis Beal said the first-half deficit was unacceptable. 

“We need to do a better job in the first half of not digging ourselves in a hole,” Beal said. “It’s not easy to climb out of a hole that big.” 

For the game, sophomore Dana Bjorhus led the Trappers with 22 points, while Hatti Snyder scored 14 and Caitlin Clancy added 11. 

A day later, NWC’s first-half woes continued, as Snow College built a 35-20 advantage at the break, and held on to win despite being outscored in the second half. Snow shot just 37 percent from the floor for the game, but Beal said the difference was on defense. 

“Snow College came out aggressively on defense, pressing us and forcing turnovers, and we didn’t match that physicality,” Beal said of her team after it committed 36 turnovers. 

Offensively, NWC went flat, as no players reached double figures in scoring for the first time this season. Sarah Nielsen led the Trappers with nine points off the bench, Mandee Christensen added eight, and Snyder and Chandler Rose each chipped in seven. 

With games Friday (Arizona Western Community College, 5:30 p.m.) and Saturday (Cochise College, 1:30 p.m.), Beal is hoping the Trappers can put their first-half issues to rest and bounce back quickly. 

“Our biggest thing is consistency,” Beal said, “Consistency and getting kids to learn the value of every single possession. They need to understand that the first possession of the game is as important as the last.” any reason why they can’t reach that intensity level.”

 

Contact

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