NWC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL MAKES REGIONALS
BY LEO WOLFSON ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the CodyEnterprise
The Northwest College women's basketball team will advance to the Region IX playoff quarterfinals after taking out Western Wyoming 82-78 in an overtime thriller at Cabre Gym on Friday night.
Samiyah Worrell led the Trappers with 28 points, six assists and five rebounds, hitting clutch free throws in the game's final seconds as well as going 5-of-10 from 3-point range.
After Northwest (11-11) took a two-point lead in the final minute of OT, Sydney Parther forced a steal on the next Mustangs possession and Worrell hit four straight free throws from the line over the last 29 seconds of play to ice the game.
Raquel Turner chipped in 13 points, five rebounds and three steals.
Northwest got off to a hot start, taking an 18-6 lead off a Turner three-pointer.
Even though the Trappers held a 12-point lead through the end of the first quarter, the Mustangs climbed back within one after going on a 14-2 run to finish the half.
The Trappers extended their lead again early in the third, taking a 53-43 lead on a Worrell trey.
But the Mustangs (4-16) cut the Northwest lead to only six entering the final frame and took just their second lead of the game at 8:32 in the fourth on an Abbie Jennings jumper to make it 60-59.
The Mustangs pushed their lead to as much as six, but the Trappers clawed back within 68-66 on a Worrell layup with 3:55 remaining.
Western went up 71-66 on a layup at 1:37, but Prather, who finished with 13 points, hit a three, and then Kierra Cutright banked a layup off the backboard at 1:03 to make it 71-71.
The Trappers forced a shot clock violation on the Mustangs next possession and then Worrell nailed a three with 4.3 seconds left to put the Trappers back in the driver's seat with a 74-71 lead.
Tori Ross then hit a deep three for Western with one second remaining to send the game to OT.
The game was still tied at 76-76 with 1:20 left in OT after both teams missed multiple free throw opportunities.
Cutright then hit a short jumper with 51 seconds left and a Trapper full-court press allowed Prather to poke the ball away and return the ball to Northwest.
Worrell then clinched the win from the free throw line.
Northwest men's basketball
On Thursday the Trappers will play at Otero Junior College (15-3) in La Junta, Colo., at 5:30 p.m.
The Trapper men were eliminated from the playoffs after losing to Western Wyoming 69-67 in a play-in game on the road Friday.
Gabriel Gutierrez led Northwest (7-14) with 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting while Jaren Fritz chipped in 11 points and three rebounds.
The Trappers only trailed by one at halftime and then took a four point lead with 17:13 left in the game. But it was here Western went on a 15-3 run to take back the lead that it never gave up for the remainder.
Hayden Peterson did steal a Mustangs (14-6) inbounds pass and scored a layup with 6.2 seconds left to pull Northwest within 68-65, but Dayne Prim hit a free throw on the next possession to seal the win for Western.
Northwest volleyball
Northwest College volleyball also finished their season last week, losing to Otero 3-1 (25-23, 15-25, 25-23, 25-17) in the Region IX play-in game on March 31.
The Trappers (13-12) made a comeback in the second set but couldn't fight off the Lady Rattlers (13-14) in the third. After a slow start in the fourth set, Northwest did pull within 11-10. But from there Otero closed the door, outscoring Northwest 14-7 for the remainder to win the set and match.
Baylee Peterson led Northwest with 12 kills and eight digs while Shante Falslev chipped in 10 kills and 26 total assists.