TRAPPER WOMEN SPLIT ROAD TRIP

The Northwest College women's basketball team was able to salvage a weekend split in southeastern Wyoming, defeating Laramie County Community College 68-56 on Friday before losing to Eastern Wyoming College 79-67 on Saturday.    

NORTHWEST 68, LCCC 56
Hoping to carry their momentum after a pair of home wins, the Trappers (14-11 overall, 3-5 Region IX North) went to Cheyenne on Friday  trying to earn a season split against the Golden Eagles (11-13 overall, 4-4 Region IX North).

LCCC had defeated Northwest in Powell 69-54 after a second half rally from the Trappers came up short on Jan. 27.

Early on Northwest was down 8-7 midway through the first, but battled to an even scoreline with the score knotted at 14 apiece after the first.

"The game started slow but the girls stuck to the game plan and it was really beneficial for us," coach Lauren Davis said.

Throughout the second quarter the two teams continued to battle for the lead, with Northwest holding a slight edge up 24-21 midway through the second.

The Golden Eagles took advantage over the final five minutes, and reclaimed the lead to head into the locker room up 33-30 at halftime.

Northwest came out on a 13-3 scoring run to start the second half, building a 43-36 advantage over the first four minutes.

That lead continued to hold over the next several minutes, as Northwest flustered the hosts and held them scoreless for nearly the remainder of the third quarter.

That eight minute scoreless stretch was broken by a buzzer-beater layup by the Golden Eagles, but Northwest had built a double-digit advantage after three quarters up 51-38 going into the fourth.

The lead continued to swell in the fourth quarter, as a Kamalani Anitielu 3-pointer and Bianca Silva layup helped Northwest build a 58-40 lead.

Northwest continued to hold off any challenges from the host, finishing the contest with a 68-56 win.

"It definitely was the goal to split with LCCC with the way our region is — anyone can beat anyone," Davis said.

Anitielu led with 15 pounds, just ahead of Tayva Phillips who had 14, four assists and three steals. Roxanne Rogers had 10 points as the final Trapper in double figures, while Kelsi Nicholson led with seven rebounds.

After the two leading Golden Eagles scorers combined for 39 points and 28 rebounds last month the Trappers were able to key in and limit one of their leaders this time around.

The pair still combined for 29 points, but Northwest limited Lylah Spring to five points as Blanche Toualeu had 24.

"I think with teams like that with a couple of dominant players you have to pick your poison," Davis said. "I don't think there would have been a way to limit both. Obviously that's the goal but at the end of the day you pick one or the other."   

EASTERN WYOMING 79, NORTHWEST 67
Hoping to salvage another season split on the road against one of the top teams in the Region IX standings, the Trappers were hoping to defeat the Lancers (12-13 overall, 6-2 Region IX North) after losing 81-70 in January.

Both teams came out firing early, as Northwest trailed 14-12 midway through the first quarter.

Eastern created a little bit of separation between the teams the rest of the first, and took a 24-16 lead into the second quarter.

The lead reached double-digits less than three minutes into the second quarter, with the hosts attempting to break away from the Trappers.

Northwest only got as close as five before the midway point of the quarter, with the Lancers  leading up 41-31 at the half.

Unable to chip away at the lead, the hosts' advantage grew to as many as 16 early in the quarter, as Northwest was unable to find consistent scoring offensively.

"It wasn't even our offense that killed us," Davis said. "We gave up way too many second chance points."

The lead hit as many as 20 in the third quarter, as Northwest went into the fourth quarter down 62-42.

The advantage reached 24 before Northwest made a run late over the final four minutes to cut the final scoreline down to 79-67.

Rogers led with 30 points, Anitielu had 15 points while Phillips had 10 points and three steals.

Silva had six assists.   

LIGHTER SCHEDULE
The remainder of the season the Trappers will have rest in between each of their games, with no more back-to-back contests on the schedule.

Northwest will head to Riverton at 2 p.m. on Saturday to take on Central Wyoming College (9-17 overall, 2-6 Region IX North).

The Trappers defeated the Rustlers 83-50 in Powell on Jan. 30.

"They have a lot of good shooters," Davis said. "Here we did a good job against them and were shooting really well. Playing at Central is a lot different than playing here."

The Trappers will then return home for a game Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. to take on Region IX leaders, No. 22-ranked Casper College (20-5 overall, 6-1 Region IX North).    

NORTHWEST 68, LCCC 56
Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()
Points — Kamalani Anitielu 15, Tayva Phillips 14, Roxanne Rogers 10, Bianca Silva 8, Kelsi Nicholson 7, Isabella Gurie 6, Anna Knight 5, Jai'La Porter 3
Rebounds — Kelsi Nicholson 7 (3), Bianca Silva 6, Roxanne Rogers 4 (2), Tayva Phillips 3, Isabella Gurie 3, Kamalani Anitielu 2, Tyne Killip 1 (1), Anna Knight 1 (1)
Assists — Tayva Phillips 4, Bianca Silva 4, Roxanne Rogers 3, Kamalani Anitielu 1, Kelsi Nicholson 1, Anna Knight 1
Steals — Tayva Phillips 3, Bianca Silva 2, Roxanne Rogers 1, Kamalani Anitielu 1, Isabella Gurie 1   

EASTERN WYOMING 79, NORTHWEST 67
Points — Roxanne Rogers 30, Kamalani Anitielu 15, Tayva Phillips 10, Bianca Silva 7, Jai'La Porter 2, Isabella Gurie 2
Rebounds — Isabella Gurie 6 (5), Roxanne Rogers 5 (1), Kamalani Anitielu 5 (1), Bianca Silva 5 (2), Kelsi Nicholson 4 (2), Selen Ucak 2, Tayva Phillips 1
Assists — Bianca Silva 6, Tayva Phillips 2, Kelsi Nicholson 2, Kamalani Anitielu 1
Steals — Tayva Phillips 3, Jai'La Porter 3, Kelsi Nicholson 2, Bianca Silva 2, Kamalani Anitielu 1, Selen Ucak 1, Isabella Gurie 1
Blocks — Kelsi Nicholson 1