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Pair Of Region Routs Highlight Home Wins
Apparently, the Northwest College women’s basketball team remembered what worked in the second half of its game against Miles Community College on Jan. 17.
On Saturday, the Lady Trappers put that strategy to use for a full 40 minutes.
Behind a game-opening 9-0 run, NWC put its previous defeat at the hands of the Pioneers in the past with a Region IX blowout victory at Cabre Gym in Powell. The Trappers’ win came three days after thumping region foe Little Big Horn College, also at Cabre Gym. NWC is now 13-11 overall and 5-3 in the Region IX North with three straight wins in the region.
“I’m really happy with the girls for making up some ground in our region and not folding after a slow start,” NWC head coach Janis Beal said. “We’ve made some nice adjustments over these past few games and things are starting to move in the direction we want.”
NWC 80, MILES COMMUNITY COLLEGE 45
On Jan. 17, the Lady Trappers suffered a 76-71 loss at Miles City (Mont.), but managed to stay competitive with a 47-39 showing in the second half. On Saturday, NWC came out firing, eliminating any need for a second-half resurgence.
Freshman Kealani Sagapolu took over early for the Trappers, scoring the game’s first five points on a free throw, a layup and two more free shots before sophomores Dana Bjorhus and Caitlin Clancy sank back-to-back baskets for the early nine point edge.
An MCC layup brought the Pioneers within 15-7 minutes later, but that was as close as they would get for the game.
NWC led 44-25 at the half, paced by 18 points from Clancy, and 11 from sophomore Mandee Christensen.
The Pioneers shot just 21 percent from the floor in the first half (8 of 37), and just 22 percent for the game (14 of 63). NWC’s perimeter defense was also at its best, limiting the visitors to just one made 3-pointer in 21 attempts (9 percent).
“Tonight, [Northwest] came out to play and we didn’t — we didn’t come out ready to play tonight,” MCC head coach Liz Lewis said. “The thing is, we didn’t play any defense tonight ... we didn’t play a lick of defense tonight ... we went away from everything we’ve worked on and tried to do our own thing, and we just didn’t play well as a team tonight.”
The Trappers continued the offensive onslaught in the second half, inflating their lead to 67-37 on a Christensen trey at the 8:34 mark.
NWC fired 45 percent from the floor (28 of 62), and had another good day at the charity stripe, knocking down 21 of 24 free shots.
Clancy finished with 22 points while Christensen followed with 16. Sagapolu finished with nine points, and took a page out of NWC men’s player Chris Boucher’s book with five blocks.
NWC 77, LITTLE BIG HORN 49
For a large chunk of the first half of Wednesday’s Region IX North game at Cabre Gym, the Trapper offense suffered through a stagnant offensive effort.
Luckily for NWC, nothing lasts forever.
After surviving an eight-minute offensive funk, the Trappers found their stride in a 77-49 thrashing of visiting Little Big Horn College.
NWC went ahead 11-4 in the game’s first four minutes, but managed just one basket over the next eight as undermanned Little Big Horn pulled within 13- 12. But Clancy scored a layup at the 7:46 mark that ignited a 23-8 run that ended the first half, and NWC’s woes were over.
The Rams were playing with just seven players due to numerous issues that have plagued the team recently, and coach Beal recognized the difficulty behind playing a team with those circumstances.
“These games are kind of tough ... it’s a game we expected to win,” Beal said. “But you’ve got to come and play every game, no matter what.
“We had moments that were good, we made some runs, had a big lead at one point ... and the girls did some good things by forcing 31 turnovers.”
NWC led 36-20 at the half, and layups from Bjorhus and Sagapolu gave the Trappers their first 20-point lead at 40- 20 with 19:00 left to play.
Bjorhus shot a stellar 13-of- 23 from the floor (57 percent) for 27 points. Clancy finished with 13 and freshman Aubree Porter drained 10. Although she only scored three points, Christensen found other ways to contribute, finding her teammates early and often for 11 assists.
Autumn Charges Strong led Little Big Horn with 23 points, and Aaliyah Cunningham chipped in 11 for the Ram