NWC WOMEN SEE HIGHS AND LOWS

The Northwest College women's basketball team finished on opposite ends of the scoreboard over two home games last weekend. The highs and lows came via an 87-49 victory over Dawson Community College on Friday before an 87-53 defeat against Salt Lake Community College on Saturday.    

NORTHWEST 87, DAWSON CC 49
Looking to get back on track Friday the Trappers (9-6) tried to finish a season sweep of the Buccaneers (4-10), having already defeated Dawson 74-57 in November.

Dawson came out strong, building a 7-1 lead over the first three minutes.

Unfortunately for the visitors, those were the only points they would score in the first quarter.

Three minutes later Northwest claimed the lead on a Carolina Ruiz jumper to go up 8-7.

From that point forward in the first quarter the Trappers were flying high, extending the run up to 24 and ending the first quarter with a 25-7 lead.

"I think pressure has got to be what we apply early, and continue to do for four quarters to be successful," coach Lauren Davis said.

Entering into the second quarter the Trappers extended the lead out to 34-7 before the Buccaneers scored their first basket in 10 minutes to make it 34-9.

The lead grew to as many as 37 in the first half, with Northwest taking advantage of making 16-19 free throws en route to a 56-19 lead.

Early in the second half, a Tayva Phillips 3-pointer gave Northwest a 40 point advantage, with Northwest pulling away up 64-24.

The Trappers were able to rotate players in over the third and fourth quarters, finishing with an 87-49 victory.

"I think we had some impactful minutes from the bench and I'm glad that they came in and made a difference for us," Davis said.

Kamalani Anitielu led with 21 points and eight rebounds.

Ruiz had 18, Phillips had 16 and Roxanne Rogers had 13 points and seven assists for the Trappers. Bianca Silva led with four steals.     

SLCC 87, NORTHWEST 53
Ending the two game losing skid, the Trappers attempted to keep things going Saturday against the Bruins (11-4) whose only losses have come to ranked opponents this season.

The visitors came out with an early 9-2 lead after the first two minutes and sent the Trappers searching for answers early.

Northwest responded and tightened the contest down to one possession, with the Trappers trailing 13-10.

Salt Lake responded and established a double digit lead before the end of the quarter with a 26-14 advantage.

An 11-0 run started the second for the Bruins, building a 37-14 lead over the first 3:30 minutes.

Heading into the half Salt Lake led 49-21 after outscoring Northwest 23-7 in the quarter and holding the Trappers to 3-12 shooting.

Despite coming out with stronger shooting in the second half the Trappers were unable to get closer against the visitors, who continued to answer each Northwest attempt to chip away at the lead.

Northwest cut it down to as little as 21, but was unable to get closer as the Bruins took a 67-39 lead into the final quarter.

A stronger second half was not enough for the Trappers, who fell to Salt Lake by a score of 87-53.

Phillips led with 15 points for Northwest. Anitielu had nine points along with five steals.

Northwest was dominated on the boards by the Bruins, only grabbing 15 as a team compared to 33 for the visitors.

"We just need to be prepared for opponents who are bigger than us, and execute the game plan defensively," Davis said. "They killed us on the boards which is something we'd really like to improve on."    

WINTER BREAK
Northwest will now head off for winter break, with the Trappers not returning to the court for a contest until January.

The Trappers have experienced many highs and lows early on in the season, including two separate winning streaks that have accounted for eight of the wins to this point.

"We just have to continue to work on what we want to be great at, and keep trying to fine tune the little things," Davis said.

Northwest will play against Miles Community College at home on Tuesday, Jan. 9, as one of the final two non-conference games before Region IX action starts in the middle of January.      

NORTHWEST 87, DAWSON CC 49
Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()
Points — Kamalani Anitielu 21, Carolina Ruiz 18, Tayva Phillips 16, Roxanne Rogers 13, Bianca Silva 7, Anna Knight 2, Tyne Killip 2, Ana Vakanjac 2, Jai'La Porter 2, Kelsi Nicholson 2, Selen Ucak 2
Rebounds — Kamalani Anitielu 8 (1), Tayva Phillips 4 (1), Tyne Killip 4, Anna Knight 2 (1), Roxanne Rogers 2, Carolina Ruiz 2, Jai'La Porter 2, Selen Ucak 2, Ana Vakanjac 1 (1), Kelsi Nicholson 1, Isabella Gurie 1, Bianca Silva 1
Assists — Roxanne Rogers 7, Tyne Killip 4, Selen Ucak 4, Kamalani Anitielu 2, Kelsi Nicholson 2, Bianca Silva 2, Carolina Ruiz 1, Jai'La Porter 1
Steals — Bianca Silva 4, Tayva Phillips 2, Anna Knight 2, Kamalani Anitielu 1, Kelsi Nicholson 1, Selen Ucak 1
Blocks — Kamalani Anitielu 2, Anna Knight 1, Ana Vakanjac 1   

SLCC 87, NORTHWEST 53
Points — Tayva Phillips 15, Roxanne Rogers 9, Kamalani Anitielu 9, Bianca Silva 8, Selen Ucak 5, Kelsi Nicholson 4, Jai'La Porter 2, Tyne Killip 1
Rebounds — Kelsi Nicholson 4 (1), Tyne Killip 2, Tayva Phillips 2, Kamalani Anitielu 2 (1), Jai'La Porter 2, Roxanne Rogers 1, Carolina Ruiz 1 (1), Bianca Silva 1
Assists — Bianca Silva 3, Tayva Phillips 2, Kamalani Anitielu 2, Tyne Killip 1, Roxanne Rogers 1, Kelsi Nicholson 1
Steals — Kamalani Anitielu 5, Carolina Ruiz 2, Bianca Silva 2, Tayva Phillips 1, Roxanne Rogers 1, Kelsi Nicholson 1, Selen Ucak 1
Blocks — Kamalani Anitielu 1, Kelsi Nicholson 1, Bianca Silva 1