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Semifinal Loss Dashes National Tourney Hopes
After a tough road through the Region IX Tournament, the Northwest College women’s basketball team finally ran out of gas.
Following two strong performances in the first and quarterfinal rounds, the Trappers hit a wall in the form of Northeastern Junior College in a semifinal contest, falling 79-65 to the Plainswomen at Western Nebraska Community College in Scottsbluff, Neb.
“The further you get into the tournament, the better the team gets that you have to play,” NWC head coach Janis Beal said. “There’s only one team that gets to end the season with a win, but I’m very proud of the way the girls came to the tournament ready to play.”
The Trappers opened the tournament with a tight first-round win over Eastern Wyoming College on March 4 before edging Region IX North champion Casper College a day later. Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams in the Region IX were awarded an extra bid for their respective national tournaments this season, meaning the Trapper women only needed to advance to the championship game to extend their season. That proved too much for Beal’s squad, which ended its campaign at 17-15.
NORTHEASTERN 79, NORTHWEST 65
The Trappers battled Northeastern (27-6) in the first half, and trailed just 35-30 at the half on Friday.
Eight straight points to begin the final 20 minutes of play gave NWC 38-35 lead, but mistakes and an inability to execute allowed the Plainswomen to rally and take the lead for good.
Northeastern outscored the Trappers 44-35 in the second half.
“We didn’t do some of the little things we knew would be key for us,” Beal said. “Northeastern is so athletic, you can’t give them extra chances and we did, which hurt us.”
The Plainswomen shot a sizzling 63 percent from the floor in the second half, compared to just 41 percent for NWC, and also out-rebounded the Trappers 44- 30 for the game.
That was a key ... the rebounding factor,” Beal added. “Down five at half, and I felt like we came out really strong in the second half ... but we had a couple of defensive breakdowns, and they hit a couple of threes. They just made more plays than we did.”
Sophomores Dana Bjorhus (15) and Caitlin Clancy (14) paced NWC offensively. Northeastern’s Brooke Blair led all scorers with 19 points.
A silver lining for the Trappers saw Bjorhus and freshman Kealani Sagapolu earn All-Tournament honors, including an additional selection onto the All Region IX North Defensive Team.
“Overall, I’m very proud of the girls. We went to the tournament and competed,” Beal added. “I’m very proud of the way they came together.”
NORTHWEST 74, CASPER 62
The Trappers earned their second upset win over Casper this season, knocking off the North’s No. 1 seed in the quarterfinals on March 5. NWC earned a 69-68 victory over the Thunderbirds at home on Jan. 24, but suffered a 68-55 loss in Casper three weeks later.
NWC took advantage of some cold shooting from Casper in the first half (36 percent from the floor) to build a 42-34 lead, and upped the defensive intensity in the final 20 minutes to limit the Thunderbirds to just 34 percent for the game. The Trappers committed just 14 turnovers while forcing Casper into 24 of its own.
Beal said that having a first-round game was beneficial for her team, and suggested that time off may have actually hindered the Thunderbirds.
“I think [playing Eastern Wyoming College on Wednesday] gave us some momentum, it gave us some confidence,” Beal said. “We got our feet wet and got our legs under us ... I think the first-round bye maybe hurt Casper a little bit.
“They were our No. 1 seed from the North, and from the very get go, we wanted it more than Casper.”
NWC did enough offensively, going 27 of 62 from the floor (44 percent) and converting 17 of its 22 free throws (77 percent).
Sophomore Hatti Snyder led the Trappers with 17 points, Sagapolu added a doubledouble with 15 points and 10 rebounds and Clancy chipped in 10 points. Bjorhus played a key role on defense, collecting five steals to go with her eight points.
NORTHWEST 82, EASTERN WYOMING 79
To even entertain the idea of a national tournament berth, the Trappers were forced to rally from a second-half deficit to win their tournament opener.
After shooting just 29 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes of play, NWC sat in a 45-37 hole as Eastern converted 46 percent of its shots. The Trappers managed to stay close, thanks to a 14-of-16 performance from the free throw line in the first half.
NWC and Eastern switched roles after the break however, as the Trappers found some offensive consistency in the form of 14-of-31 shooting (46 percent) while Eastern stumbled to 35 percent. Still, the two teams battled in what Beal said was an even matchup.
“It was kind of a back-and-forth game,” said Beal. “I thought the girls showed a lot of heart being down at halftime and having to battle back.”
The contest featured 10 lead changes before NWC took the lead for good late in the second. Beal said Bjorhus and Sagapolu played pivotal roles in NWC’s rally from a deficit that at one point reached 13 points.
“Dana (Bjorhus) was huge knocking down some threes at critical times, and I can’t say enough about Kealani (Sagapolu) and her giving our offense second chances with rebounds,” Beal said. “It just showed they weren’t ready to give up yet and end their season.”
Bjorhus finished with a team-high 24 points, while Sagapolu posted a double-double with 17 points and 18 rebounds. Clancy added 12 points. Eastern’s Joanna Perez scored a game-high 33.
With their season over, Beal said the Trappers will now turn their attention to the Trapper men, who will begin their trek toward a national championship Wednesday in Hutchinson, Neb.
“We’re really excited for them,” Beal said. “They’ve done a lot of great things this season and have supported us, and now we’ll be supporting them and watching anxiously.”