NWC WOMEN STUMBLE LATE IN PAIR OF LOSSES
BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune
Two difficult finishes down the stretch sunk the Northwest College women's basketball team on the road in Casper, losing late leads after difficult shooting performances against Air Force Prep 58-57 and Arizona Western 64-53.
AIR FORCE PREP 58, NORTHWEST 57
Kicking off the weekend in Casper the Trappers (4-3) matched up with the Air Force Prep team, starting with a difficult opponent on the road.
Northwest struggled to find its offense over the first five minutes, trailing 8-4 midway through the first quarter.
Air Force expanded its lead over the next two minutes, pushing it to double digits at 16-6.
Northwest closed the gap at times, but trailed 20-13 heading into the second quarter.
In the second quarter the Trappers trimmed the lead down, outscoring Air Force 4-0 over the first five minutes, but neither team found a strong scoring streak as it remained 20-17.
Northwest kept pressing, continuing its run and taking the lead at 21-20 on a Kelsi Nicholson fast break layup.
Air Force responded with a run of its own, reclaiming the lead and pushing it out to five before a late push by the Trappers capped off by an Emma Pique 3-pointer just before the break made it 26-26 at the half.
Both teams started the third quarter scoring stronger, with the two teams knotted at 35 midway through the period.
A late push by the Trappers gave them the lead going into the fourth quarter as Northwest led 45-43.
Northwest dominated the first five minutes of the final frame, building a 55-47 lead midway through.
Over the next three minutes neither team gained a significant advantage, as the Trappers scored their last basket to lead 57-50 on a Pique layup with just over two minutes remaining.
Air Force rallied, cutting the lead down to two with just over 50 seconds remaining.
"It felt a bit panicked," coach Cody Helenbolt said. "I don't know why exactly, we didn't do anything differently from our end. I think it's just the process of understanding, 'hey, we've done this stuff well all game. Let's continue it and not change anything at the end of the game.'"
After a missed jumper by Northwest, Air Force took a timeout with 33 seconds left, drawing up a play to take the lead.
That play led to a 3-pointer in the corner, which gave Air Force the lead with 27 seconds left and forced a Trapper timeout with 21 seconds left.
Northwest searched for a winning shot over the final 21 seconds, but the one shot, a Bianca Silva jumper on the baseline, couldn't find the hoop and the Trappers fell 58-57.
"I'd say the first three minutes and the last five minutes we didn't play that well, and then there were 32 minutes in between that were really good," Helenbolt said. "It's just unfortunate because we had a chance to beat a really good team that beat Casper on their home floor the next day by double digits. So that would have been a big win for us … Just one of those ones that we really let slip away, and I think it's a good learning experience for our team. We're learning kind of a new identity, learning to win games like that."
Silva led the Trappers with 18 points, six assists and five steals while Tayva Phillips led the team with seven rebounds.
Pique added 13 points as the other player in double figures.
ARIZONA WESTERN 64, NORTHWEST 53
The heartbreaking loss on Friday meant that the Trappers were looking for a better start against a difficult team in the Matadors (4-1).
A furious start by Arizona Western built a quick lead over the first three minutes, capped off by a 3-pointer banked in on the wing to make it 15-3.
"Again, the first couple of minutes were not great," Helenbolt said. "Then we really battled for about the same, about 32 [minutes]."
The Trappers started chipping away at the lead, holding the Matadors scoreless over the next three minutes to cut the lead down to a single possession at 15-13.
Arizona Western regained its footing over the next two minutes and pushed the lead back out, making it as many as nine at 22-13.
The Trappers got a pair of free throws, but the score stood at 22-15 heading into the second quarter.
Scoring came slowly in the second quarter, but a 3-pointer by Taylee Carlson cut the lead down to a single possession at 23-21 four minutes in before the Matadores re-established their lead with a 3-pointer of their own.
Northwest continued to pull within a single possession but was unable to take the lead, but eventually tied the contest at 28 with a Selen Ucak 3-pointer with 1:30 remaining in the half.
The Trappers finally took their first lead at 32-30 on a Pique layup with 25 seconds left before a 3-pointer at the buzzer gave the Matadors the lead at the break 33-32.
Over the first five minutes of the third quarter the two teams exchanged baskets, but Arizona Western held the lead at 38-36 midway through.
Northwest took the lead shortly after on a Jai'La Porter layup to make it 40-38, and extended it further on another Porter jumper in the lane.
The Trappers opened up as much as a six point lead, but the Matadors cut the lead down to 45-43 heading into the fourth quarter.
"One thing that really helped us in that game is we were able to get them in foul trouble," Helenbolt said. "I thought we were a little bit more assertive."
Early in the fourth quarter Northwest held onto its lead, just ahead of Arizona Western at 49-48 with seven minutes remaining,
Northwest's offense stalled, as the Matadors took the lead and pushed it to 54-49 before the Trappers got another basket on a Silva layup with 2:20 remaining.
Free throws and a 3-pointer with 1:30 left made it a 59-51 contest, as another late offensive struggle by the Trappers sent them to a 64-53 loss.
"Their point guard (Dyvine Harris), she's good, and she had to sit so that really helped us," Helenbolt said. "But then she came back in at the end of the game, and she's a very good player, so we struggled with her the whole time she was in there, and I didn't like how we were the last couple minutes of the game. But, it's good that when we're playing these top rated teams we're not backing down, we're not getting destroyed in these games. If you look at the schedule of Arizona Western, Casper played them tough and we played them tough, and then everybody else on their schedule they've blown out by 30-40 (points)."
Porter and Silva led Northwest with 13 points a piece.
Nicholson and Carlson each had five rebounds to lead the team, Ucak led with four assists and Phillips finished with a team high four steals.
HOME WEEKEND
Northwest will be at home this weekend to host the Coach Collins Heart of a Champion Classic on Friday and Saturday, honoring the memory of the late men's basketball coach Jay Collins.
The Trappers will take on Bismarck State College (6-1) at 5:30 p.m. on Friday night in another matchup that Helenbolt expects to be tough for his team.
"They're having a good season. They've got a lot of shooters, they're not afraid to shoot the ball," Helenbolt said. "It's one of those games where we need to make sure we hit our defensive assignments and then the other thing they're really good at is offensive rebounding. So we've got to secure rebounds, finish the possession defensively and then have good pace, attack and do good things offensively."
Northwest will then turn around and take on Dawson Community College (3-4) at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
AIR FORCE PREP 58, NORTHWEST 57
Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()
Points — Bianca Silva 18, Emma Pique 13, Taylee Carlson 8, Jai'La Porter 6, Kelsi Nicholson 6, Tayva Phillips 4, Selen Ucak 2
Rebounds — Tayva Phillips 7 (2), Jai'La Porter 6 (2), Emma Pique 3, Bianca Silva 3 (1), Taylee Carlson 3, Bella Yates 2, Kelsi Nicholson 2 (1), Selen Ucak 2, Sydnee Harris 1 (1), Elise Swan 1
Assists — Bianca Silva 6, Jai'La Porter 2, Kelsi Nicholson 1
Steals — Bianca Silva 5, Tayva Phillips 3, Jai'La Porter 2, Selen Ucak 2, Emma Pique 1, Elise Swan 1
Blocks — Sydnee Harris 1
ARIZONA WESTERN 64, NORTHWEST 53
Points — Jai'La Porter 13, Bianca Silva 13, Selen Ucak 9, Tayva Phillips 8, Emma Pique 4, Taylee Carlson 3, Kelsi Nicholson 2, Sydnee Harris 1
Rebounds — Kelsi Nicholson 5 (2), Taylee Carlson 5 (2), Tayva Phillips 4, Jai'La Porter 4 (1), Emma Pique 3 (1), Sydnee Harris 3 (1), Bianca Silva 3, Elise Swan 1 (1), Selen Ucak 1
Assists — Selen Ucak 4, Bianca Silva 2, Jai'La Porter 1
Steals — Tayva Phillips 4, Bianca Silva 2, Taylee Carlson 2, Emma Pique 1, Jai'La Porter 1, Sydnee Harris 1, Kelsi Nicholson 1, Selen Ucak 1
Blocks — Sydnee Harris 1