NWC News Desk

NWC women lose big, win big at home

Lady Trappers 1-1 In Region IX Play

In the first half of play Saturday, Dana Bjorhus nearly had her front tooth knocked out. 

When she returned to the court for the Northwest College women’s basketball team after halftime, she helped the Lady Trappers deliver a blow Gillette College wouldn’t come back from. 

Bjorhus scored a team-high 17 points, including eight in the second half, and NWC ran away with an 82-62 Region IX victory to salvage the back half of a Friday-Saturday homestand. 

The Trappers (9-9, 1-1) needed a bounce-back performance one day after blowing an 11-point halftime lead to Sheridan which ultimately led to a 68-53 loss. Bjorhus helped send NWC in that direction early with nine points before a freak injury temporarily sidelined her. 

“We came in today knowing we had to play two halves,” Bjorhus said. “We couldn’t let up like we did [Friday]. We just needed to come out and do the little things like free throws and forcing turnovers, because those things really hurt us against Sheridan.” 

NWC converted all six of its free throw attempts in the first half, and finished 18-of-19 at the line (94.7 percent) for the game.

“That was huge for us,” said NWC head coach Janis Beal. “Free throws have been an issue for us in the past, but shooting 94 percent is fantastic, and it really gave us a spark tonight.” 

The Trappers extended their early advantage to 20-14 on a Bjorhus layup, but after the sophomore was fouled hard and smacked her chin and top teeth on the hardwood, her right central incisor was jammed backwards into her mouth. She spent the rest of the first half on the bench before having the tooth pulled back into place by NWC’s athletic trainer. The procedure was successful, and Bjorhus was able to return. 

“It didn’t feel too good,” Bjorhus said of the injury. “But we took care of it and I was able to come back and help my team.” 

She did so immediately, sinking another layup to open the second-half scoring as the Trappers continued a 10-0 run started in the first half that turned their 37-33 lead into a 47- 33 advantage. The Pronghorns cut the lead to seven minutes later, but NWC slowly pulled away, and kept the blowout intact with a quick 8-0 burst that ended with a pair of Bjorhus free throws. 

One day after committing 11 turnovers, Caitlin Clancy recovered with 14 points for the Trappers, including six from the charity stripe in six attempts. Mandee Christensen added 13 points.

SHERIDAN 68, NORTHWEST COLLEGE 53 

NWC lost a big halftime lead and a chance to start its Region IX slate undefeated thanks to a 19-7 Generals run that opened the second half Friday. 

Clancy had helped the Trappers to a 39-28 lead at the break behind 11 points, but poor shooting and ball control hindered NWC over the final 20 minutes. 

“Our intensity, our aggressiveness ... it just disappeared,” Beal said. “And you’re not going to win many games when you make four field goals in a half.” 

Unfortunately for the Trappers, that’s all they could muster, going 4-of-29 from the floor (13.8 percent to finish at 27 percent for the game while also committing 28 turnovers. 

NWC’s downfall began with two free throws from Tiana Hanson that started the second half, and the Generals trailed just 45-41 at the 13:19 mark on Tamara Brine’s steal and layup. Clancy hit a free throw to push the Trapper lead back to six, but Sheridan scored the next 19 points to seize control for good at 60-46. The Trappers finally found the basket again with 4:44 to go on two Chandler Rose free throws, but the damage was already done. 

“The first half and second half, it was like two different teams out there,” Beal added. “We have to do a better job of playing for 40 minutes, and when teams make adjustments, not just shut down. We have to adjust to their adjustments.” 

For the game, Bjorhus paced NWC with 13 points, and Clancy and Rose both finished with 12.

 

Contact

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