TRAPPER WOMEN FINISH SECOND IN REGION IX

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

Competing at the Region IX Tournament in Rock Springs the Northwest College women's basketball team found its groove again but came up short in the championship game, as the Trappers defeated Eastern Wyoming College 67-61 in the quarterfinals, Lamar Community College 69-52 in the semifinals before falling to Gillette College in the championship game 80-72.        

NORTHWEST 67, EASTERN WYOMING 61
In the quarterfinals the Trappers (23-11) took on the Lancers (15-16) for a third time this season.
Northwest got off to a blistering start, leading 8-0 within the first two minutes and forcing an early Lancer timeout.
The Trappers pushed that lead out to double-figures before the midway point of the quarter 13-3, before the Lancers made a late push, but the Trappers held a 20-11 lead after the first quarter after a late McKinlee Covolo layup.
Northwest held the lead between 8-10 through the midway point of the second quarter, before Eastern chipped the lead down to five at 27-22 five minutes in.
The Lancers got the lead down to a single possession, but the Trappers held off the charge and led 36-30 at the break.
Eastern continued to charge but the Trappers held off their runs and led 39-34 midway through the third quarter.
Northwest started finding some breathing room late in the third, extending the lead to 53-44 heading into the fourth quarter.
Each time the Trappers tried to pull away the Lancers had an answer, as Northwest led 58-52 with 5:10 left in the game.
Northwest got the lead back to 10 at 62-52, before a 6-0 Lancers run over the next two minutes made it a 62-58 contest.
The Trappers finished with enough free throws down the stretch for the 67-61 win.
"It was a super physical game, which led to low shooting percentages by both teams," coach Cody Helenbolt said. "We just had to battle in that one. I was proud of them sticking with it … That pretty much just came down to guts at the end and who wanted it more. Definitely fortunate to get through that one shooting as poorly as we did."
Covolo led with 22 points, Madison Kaufman added 12 and Emma Pique had 10.
Isabella Williams and Jaila Childress led with eight rebounds each.
Addison Hickey and Williams each had two assists to lead while Hickey and Covolo led with two steals each.       

NORTHWEST 69, LAMAR CC 52
The win Thursday meant the Trappers took on the top seed from the Region IX South in the Runnin' Lopes (21-7) in the semifinals on Friday.
Lamar started by holding the Trappers scoreless early before building a double-digit lead 12-2 midway through the first quarter.
The Runnin' Lopes maintained their double-digit lead for much of the first before a late Childress layup made it a 21-13 game heading into the second quarter.
Northwest started to find its scoring, but continued to trail 30-21 midway through the second.
Needing a spark the Trappers got an unexpected boost with 2:40 left in the half trailing 32-22, when the Lamar coach was assessed two technical fouls, giving the Trappers four free throws and the ball.
The Trappers ended the half on a 9-1 stretch and found themselves only down 33-31 at the break.
"Once we got momentum, the crowd got into it, we had a lot of fans there," Helenbolt said. "There was no turning back once we got that momentum going right before halftime, we just kept it rolling in the second half."
Northwest finally got its first lead of the game on a Covolo free throw with 8:32 remaining in the third, extending the lead to nine quickly before Lamar cut it back down to 46-43 midway through the third.
The Trappers held their lead at 50-45 heading into the fourth quarter.
Northwest got it to double-digits on a Covolo and-one with 6:35 remaining at 55-45.
The lead swelled to 16 before the Trappers finished late with a 69-52 win.
"We just kept adding to our lead … Our kids did a good job of just maintaining the lead and being in control and taking care of the basketball, getting good shots when we were up," Helenbolt said.
Covolo led with 16 points just ahead of Pique with 15 and Williams chipped in 10.
Hickey led with five rebounds while Kaufman had two steals to lead Northwest.      

GILLETTE COLLEGE 80, NORTHWEST 73
Heading into the championship game the Trappers took on Pronghorns (24-10), a team they split the regular season series with. 
Despite playing in a double overtime win the night prior the Pronghorns started quickly, not allowing the Trappers to score and holding a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
"They came out on fire, got us in a big hole," Helenbolt said.
Northwest found scoring late but still trailed 22-8 after the first frame.
The Trappers continued to trail 30-15 before a 7-0 outburst in a minute got the Trappers down to single digits just past the midway point.
Northwest finished the half with a 15-7 edge, and only trailed 37-32 going into the locker room.
The Trappers' comeback continued, as a strong start to the third quickly had the lead down to a single possession. Northwest took the lead on Pique free throws with 6:20 remaining at 43-42.
The Trappers quickly grew that lead to 50-42 midway through the third quarter, but the Pronghorns fought back.
A 17-6 Pronghorns' stretch ended the third quarter, and Gillette led 59-56 heading into the final frame.
"I thought we had weathered Gillette's run at that point, but as soon as we got that lead they hit threes on back-to-back possessions," Helenbolt said.
Neither team separated themselves early in the fourth, as the Pronghorns led 67-66 midway through the final quarter.
Shooting from 3-point range plagued the Trappers throughout the game, as the Pronghorns shot 15-31 (48.4%) from deep and pulled away late for the 80-73 win to end the season for the Trappers.
"Just felt bad for the kids because we out-rebounded them. We had less turnovers. It literally just came down to making shots," Helenbolt said. "We just didn't put the basketball in the hoop as efficiently as they did. It's gonna be really tough to beat somebody when they shoot almost 30 threes and they make 15 of them."
Williams led with 17 points, Hickey had 16, Pique and Covolo had 12 each and Childress added 11.
Childress led with eight rebounds and six steals while Kaufman led with five assists.
"It's a positive for us getting that experience of playing in a championship. Having to bounce back from a rough start," Helenbolt said. "A lot of positive momentum I think for our group coming out of this weekend."        

LOOKING FORWARD
The Trappers will say goodbye to several contributors from this year's team, but will bring back a majority of a team that recorded 23 wins and tied for the regular season Region IX North title.
"It was honestly one of the toughest seasons I've ever coached, just because I don't think there was ever a stretch of eight games in a row that we had the same starting lineup and same group," Helenbolt said. "I think our team will look a little bit different next year. I also think that if we can stay healthy and everything goes according to plan, I think that the depth of the team next year is going to be a lot better … It's always hard to know how exactly it's going to fit together, but I think that we have a good group of returning players mixed with the recruits that we've already signed, I think we're going to be really competitive from top to bottom and in the league race."     

NORTHWEST 67, EASTERN WYOMING 61
Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()
Points — McKinlee Covolo 22, Madison Kaufman 12, Emma Pique 10, Jaila Childress 7, Addison Hickey 6, Isabella Williams 4, Itziar Pozas 4, Taylee Carlson 2
Rebounds — Isabella Williams 8 (4), Jaila Childress 8 (1), McKinlee Covolo 7 (6), Emma Pique 4 (1), Addison Hickey 4, Madison Kaufman 3 (2), Itziar Pozas 2 (1), Taylee Carlson 1
Assists — Addison Hickey 2, Isabella Williams 2, Emma Pique 1, Jaila Childress 1, McKinlee Covolo 1, Madison Kaufman 1
Steals — Addison Hickey 2, McKinlee Covolo 2, Emma Pique 1, Isabella Williams 1, Madison Kaufman 1      

NORTHWEST 69, LAMAR CC 52
Points — McKinlee Covolo 16, Emma Pique 15, Isabella Williams 10, Itziar Pozas 8, Madison Kaufman 7, Taylee Carlson 7, Addison Hickey 2, Jaila Childress 2, Canyon Britt 2
Rebounds — Addison Hickey 5 (2), Isabella Williams 4 (3), McKinlee Covolo 3 (2), Emma Pique 2 (1), Madison Kaufman 2, Jaila Childress 1 (1), Canyon Britt 1
Steals — Madison Kaufman 2, Emma Pique 1, Isabella Williams 1      

GILLETTE COLLEGE 80, NORTHWEST 73
Points — Isabella Williams 17, Addison Hickey 16, Emma Pique 12, McKinlee Covolo 12, Jaila Childress 11, Madison Kaufman 3, Itziar Pozas 2
Rebounds — Jaila Childress 8 (2), Addison Hickey 5 (4), Madison Kaufman 5 (2), Emma Pique 4 (4), Isabella Wiliams 2 (1), McKinlee Covolo 2
Assists — Madison Kaufman 5, Emma Pique 3, Isabella Williams 1, Jaila Childress 1, McKinlee Covolo 1
Steals — Jaila Childress 6, Addison Hickey 3, McKinlee Covolo 2, Isabella Williams 1, Itziar Pozas 1