Your future, our focus
Team Begins Play In Miles City
The Northwest College women’s basketball team returns four players with starting experience and features what head coach Janis Beal calls her deepest team in the post to this point in her NWC tenure. Combined, the two traits should give fans of women’s basketball plenty to salivate over this season.
“I’m excited,” Beal said on the eve of the new season. “We’ve got some good sophomores with experience, and then on top of that we have some impact freshmen that will come in and be able to contribute.”
Headlining the returning group is Kennedy Allen, who started all 29 games she appeared in last season, leading the team with a 15.1 points per game scoring average. Allen also hauled down five rebounds per contest.
“Kennedy does a great job of getting in position, and then she finishes well with both hands,” Beal said, describing what enabled Allen to make such an impact during her first season on the floor for the Trappers.
Also back in the paint will be Cowley product Leslie Blackburn, who started two games last season and led the Trappers in shooting percentage. Blackburn knocked down 51.4 percent of her shots from the floor.
“We look for her to do a good job on the boards for us this year,” Beal said of the former Rocky Mountain High School standout, who averaged 3.8 boards per contest in 13 minutes of work a year ago. “She did a great job on that last year and we look for her to continue to do that and grow in that role for us this year. You can also see her confidence growing on the offensive side of things.”
Savannah Minder started just five games for the Trappers last season, but saw significant floor time with nearly 22 minutes per game. Minder was among Northwest’s top free throw shooters last year, knocking them down 71 percent of the time. She also showed a willingness to mix it up for rebounds despite her size, hauling down 2.7 boards per game. Minder averaged 5.4 points per night for NWC.
“The nice thing about Savannah is she can play the point and we can also slide her over to the two,” said Beal. “When she’s at the point, she gives us a scoring threat there. We’ll play her both places, but we’re looking at her primarily as a point right now.”
The Trappers’ final returning sophomore is Powell product Leslie Thronburg, who started one game last season and played 14 minutes per night on average. Thronburg’s motor on the floor is drawing Beal’s praise early in the year.
“She attacks the basket well,” said Beal. “She’s probably the most athletic player on the team in that regard and that’s what we’re asking her to do. We look for her to attack the basket and finish.”
Thronburg averaged slightly more than three points and three rebounds per contest for the Trappers last season.
Mixed in with that, the Trappers will have a variety of new faces and freshmen factoring into the lineup this season. Sierra Williams and Andressa Augusto, or Deca as she’s referred to by teammates, should both find a home working the perimeter for the Trappers.
“Sierra’s role will be to come in and be a good outside shooter,” said Beal. “She plays hard every possession. Deca plays the point and sees the floor extremely well. She also does a great job of pushing the ball up the floor.”
Another player likely to be utilized on the perimeter will be Lovell product Leanne Winterholler.
“Leanne is a local kid and she’s done a great job in our scrimmages,” said Beal. “She has a great outside shot and she also does well on defense creating tips and causing folks to make some tough passes. She’s very active in that regard.”
Down low, the Trappers welcome Estefania Vilela, a 6-2 Brazilian student.
“Tefa is adjusting to the US style of basketball,” said Beal. “She has a great attitude and she’s learning and adapting well. She’s a tall kid, so she alters a lot of shots just by standing there by being 6-2 and throwing her hands up in the air.”
The Trappers also have a swing player in Edgerton freshman Megan Lund.
“Megan is a small-school kid who had to be inside all the time in high school due to her size,” said Beal. “We’re asking her to be more versatile, so we’ll use her as a three, four or five this year depending on the opponent and matchups. She’s a player we think we can utilize to create some mismatches on the floor.”
Another player transitioning from her standard high school role to the college game is Texas freshman Imari Simpson.
“She’s very strong and even though she’s only 5-9, Imari is great on the boards,” said Beal. “She’ll pick up a lot of offensive rebounds and we’ll be looking for her to attack for us.”
The Trappers’ other freshman, Sadie Williams, begins the year injured and will sit at least three weeks due to a knee injury.
“She’s a tough, tough kid who attacks the basket and rebounds well,” said Beal. “We’re eager to get her back on the floor.”
The Trappers open play this weekend in Miles City with games against the Rocky Mountain and Montana Western JV squads.
“These first few games, there isn’t much to use for scouting, so it is all about doing what we do, finding out what we do well and locating the areas where we need to continue to grow and improve,” Beal said. “We don’t really worry about what the other team does. Our focus is on us getting better and finding out who we are as a team.”