Your future, our focus
When the other team is stuck on two points for most of a quarter you know your team is doing things right.
Five double-figure scorers sparked the Northwest College women’s basketball team to a solid 76-63 victory over North Platte Community College last weekend.
But the first quarter defined the contest. After 10 minutes it was 22-7 Lady Trappers, but it took a last-minute flurry for North Platte to even get that close.
“We jumped out to a pretty good lead,” Northwest coach Janis Beal said.
Northwest captured its first game in the Eastern Wyoming College Tournament in Torrington, but then fell to the host school 83-80 in overtime.
Northwest’s record is 3-5 and the Trappers next play Nov. 29 versus the Rocky Mountain College junior varsity in Powell.
Beal went small with the starting lineup against North Platte, bringing post players Julynne Silva (10 points, 9 rebounds) and Dallas Petties (7 points) off the bench.
Lauren Hinckley topped the Lady Trappers with 17 points, hitting five out of six 3-point tries. Mattie Creager, in her first start, and Dani McManamen each added 13 points. Guard Domenica Gomes contributed 11 points.
Beal has been mixing and matching starting lineups depending on the strengths of foes.
“We have so many players who can play,” she said. “We went small.”
Beal was still looking for more out of her players, saying they sloughed off a bit in the second half.
“We didn’t play a full 40 minutes,” she said.
The Eastern Wyoming game was a rematch of a 72-61 loss in Powell on Nov. 12. In this scrappy game the Trapper bigs were influential. Silva scored 19 points on nine-for-11 shooting and Petties fired in 16 points. McManamen added 12.
“They’re a very good team,” Beal said of Eastern.
Northwest led 14-13 after one quarter, trailed 30-28 at the half, but had things tied 66-66 after regulation.
The Trappers were burned by Lady Lancer guard Anna Perez Gomez, who scored 27 points.
“All of her points were off the drive,” said Beal, including being awarded 14 free-throw attempts.
In retaliation, Silva was able to set up in the low post for close-in shots.
“They don’t have the height to defend her,” Beal said.
The Trappers came up just one 3-pointer shy.
(Lew Freedman can be reached at lew@codyenterprise.com.)