TRAPPER WOMEN GO 1-2 IN OPENING WEEKEND

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

An opening weekend saw positives and negatives for the Northwest College women's basketball team in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The Trappers dropped contests to a ranked College of Southern Idaho 105-56 and Arizona Western 60-47 before earning a 92-80 victory over North Idaho to salvage an opening weekend win.

Northwest was led by sophomore Roxanne Rogers, who started her season by averaging 24 points per game on 56% from the field and 47% from 3-point range in addition to four rebounds. This led her to be awarded the player of the week for all of Region IX for the opening week.

CSI 105, NORTHWEST 56
A change of schedule had the Trappers (1-2) opening the season against No. 4-ranked College of Southern Idaho (3-0) on the Golden Eagles' home court instead of against Arizona Western.

Northwest came out early and battled against one of the best teams in the country, opening up a 14-7 lead four minutes into the game.

An 11-3 run by the hosts gave the Golden Eagles the lead back with two minutes left in the first quarter, but the teams battled back and forth to the end of the quarter until CSI held a 24-22 lead after the first.

"The biggest positive is that we are capable of playing with a top five team, however we need to be able to maintain and execute," coach Lauren Davis said.

Both teams continued to exchange baskets early in the second, before the Golden Eagles opened up a double-digit lead on a 12-0 run just past the midway point of the quarter.

Northwest attempted to chip away at the lead, but CSI continued to answer and held a 50-37 lead going into the half.

CSI opened the second half on a 12-0 run over the first four minutes, before Isabella Gurie stopped the bleeding with the layup.

The Golden Eagles continued to push out its lead, outscoring the Trappers 30-9 in the quarter and opening up a commanding lead.

Davis was able to experiment with new players in the fourth quarter, with the Trappers going on to lose 105-56.

"CSI has an amazing coach and a ton of talent," Davis said.

Northwest finished with 29 turnovers in the game compared to 14 for CSI.

Rogers led with 19 points, Brayli Reimer led with six rebounds while Carolina Ruiz led with three steals.    

ARIZONA WESTERN 60, NORTHWEST 47
Friday brought another strong opponent for the Trappers, the Lady Matadors of Arizona Western (1-1) who finished with a 21-9 record last season.

Neither team gained a significant advantage in the first quarter, with Kamalani Anitielu's three pointer with 10 seconds left in the quarter helping Northwest be the first to reach double-digits up 11-8 after the first quarter.

In the second quarter both teams scored more effectively, with Northwest building as much as a five point lead, but both teams battled and continued to exchange the lead throughout.

Northwest came out on top up 29-27 heading into the break, thanks to a layup by Anitielu with under a minute remaining.

The late basket did not give Northwest any momentum heading into the second half, as dismal shooting in the third quarter sunk the Trappers.

Northwest maintained its lead after a Rogers basket in the opening minute, but that would be Northwest's only field goal of the quarter.

The Trappers got a free throw each from Tayva Phillips and Anitielu as the only other two points of the quarter, with Arizona Western outscoring Northwest 16-4 in the third.

"They outrebounded and out executed us plain and simple," Davis said. "The same issue we had against CSI — being able to maintain the energy and effort for 40 minutes."

Both teams battled in the fourth quarter, with Northwest cutting the lead down to seven multiple times but not getting any closer as the Lady Matadors finished out a 60-47 victory.

Rogers led with 30 points ahead of Anitielu who had 10 as the duo combined for 40 of the Trappers' 47 in the game.

Reimer led once again with nine rebounds and Anna Knight led with four assists.    

NORTHWEST 92, NORTH IDAHO 80
The final game of the weekend for the Trappers came against North Idaho (0-2) on Saturday looking for their first victory of the season.

In the first quarter, the Cardinals jumped ahead of Northwest, using strong shooting to build a 21-13 lead.

Northwest responded to tie the game at 21 with two minutes left in the quarter before North Idaho ended the tie with a 27-24 lead after the first.

North Idaho continued to hold its lead throughout most of the second quarter.

Northwest finally found itself on top with 39 seconds left in the half, taking a 44-43 lead for the first time since it was 10-9 with 6:06 left in the first quarter.