TALE OF TWO CONTESTS

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

A strong fourth quarter helped the Northwest College women's basketball team pull away for a statement win at home against Western Wyoming Community College 80-62 last Wednesday before falling in a difficult road opener on Saturday 78-73 to Gillette.      

NORTHWEST 80, WESTERN WYOMING 62
The Trappers (15-7 overall, 3-1 Region IX North) concluded their three game homestand against the Mustangs (14-7 overall, 1-2 Region IX North).
In what proved to be a close contest throughout the evening the Trappers held a slight advantage midway through the first quarter up 9-8 after a pair of Addison Hickey free throws.
The two teams continued to exchange the lead back and forth before a 5-0 Madison Kaufman run finished the first quarter with Northwest on top 20-16.
Early in the second quarter Northwest tried pulling away, building an eight point lead up 29-21 before Western stormed back and tightened the contest at 31-29 midway through.
Northwest again tried to pull away but couldn't quite push the lead to double digits, settling for a 42-36 lead at the break.
That lead remained midway through the third quarter, as Northwest held off any early challenges from the visitors up 51-45.
Western continued to keep things close, using a late basket to cut into the Trapper lead at 57-53 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Mustangs found themselves within a possession at 59-56 with just over eight minutes remaining, before the Trappers pulled away for good.
Addison Hickey started a 19-0 run over the next 5:30 minutes  with free throws, capped off with an Isabella Williams free throw, allowing Northwest to pull away for good for an 80-62 win.
"They're a really good team. That's probably our biggest win since I've got here in two years," coach Cody Helenbolt said. "It was a very close game throughout until the very end. It was fun for us to play well in the fourth quarter and pull away. They're a good team, pretty much like everybody in Region IX this year."
McKinlee Covolo led with 26 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double.
Williams had 15 points, Hickey added 14 and Kaufman had 12 as the final Trapper in double figures.
"We did a good job of looking inside, feeding McKinlee and then hitting threes when they doubled down on her," Helenbolt said. "Overall, I'm just really happy with everybody. It's fun to have a game where so many people play well."
Emma Pique and Itziar Pozas led with six assists each, Jaila Childress led with four steals while Covolo and Pozas each recorded a block.      

GILLETTE 78, NORTHWEST 73
Heading to Gillette on Saturday the Trappers took on the Pronghorns (9-10 overall, 2-2 Region IX North).
The Trappers fell behind early, trailing 8-4 midway through the first quarter.
Northwest cut the lead back down to 10-8, before the Pronghorns finished the first quarter with an 8-0 run and led 18-8 heading into the second.
"We missed probably six layups in the first quarter, and right at the beginning of the game we could have had a nice lead," Helenbolt said.
The lead hit as many as 15 with the Pronghorns up 25-10, before Northwest responded with a 9-0 run to cut the lead down to six.
Northwest had the lead down to four, but a late turnover and layup made it a 31-25 halftime scoreline for the hosts.
Gillette came out of the locker room firing, going on an 11-1 run to make it a 42-26 scoreline inside the first two minutes.
Northwest responded with a 13-0 run, cutting the lead down to a single possession at 42-39 with four minutes left in the third quarter.
Both teams responded with corresponding runs, as Northwest trailed 50-46 heading into the fourth quarter.
Both teams started a fast fourth quarter, as the Trappers claimed the lead 59-58 with seven minutes left on a Childress jumper and forced a Gillette timeout. 
The lead flip-flopped back and forth over the next four minutes, as Gillette held a slim 68-67 lead with three minutes left.
Northwest reclaimed the lead and led 71-70 with a minute left, but a big 3-pointer gave the hosts a 73-71 lead.
"Sometimes you make your own luck, and I didn't feel like we did a good job of making our own luck in that game by just doing the little things correctly," Helenbolt said.
After a 2-2 trip at the line for Gillette made it 75-71, Northwest cut it to 75-73 on a Williams jumper.
Northwest had its opportunities, but was unable to find a way back into the lead in a 78-73 loss.
"I was proud of the fact that we were able to battle back and we actually had a chance to win the game," Helenbolt said. "I told the girls 'hey good job battling. Learn from it and understand that, especially when you go on the road in Region IX, it is going to be a tall task to get a win and you have to value that a little bit more than we did.' So it was disappointing that we had that golden opportunity in front of us and couldn't quite finish it, but it's a learning process. We are the youngest team in the league, and I'd be lying if I said that I didn't expect this once in a while, some of those things happen as kids get used to playing in the region."
Covolo led with 23, Williams had 15 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double as Pique added 13 as the other Trapper in double figures.
Hickey added 10 rebounds to be in double figures, Pique had eight assists, four Trappers recorded two steals while Covolo led with two blocks.   

IMPORTANT WEEK
The Trapper women have another important week on their plate, as they had two more important games on their schedule in the race for the top spot in the Region IX North.
That started Wednesday night, when Northwest took on Casper College (18-3 overall, 2-1 Region IX North) at home — that result was determined after the press deadline.
Northwest then heads on the road to Riverton, taking on another one loss team in Central Wyoming (10-10 overall, 3-1 Region IX North) at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
"It would be huge for us to finish off the first half 5-1," Helenbolt said. "We're gonna have to battle because both of them are definitely games that could go either way."     

NORTHWEST 80, WESTERN WYOMING 62
Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()
Points — McKinlee Covolo 26, Isabella Williams 15, Addison Hickey 14, Madison Kaufman 12, Emma Pique 7, Jaila Childress 4, Itziar Pozas 2
Rebounds — McKinlee Covolo 11 (4), Addison Hickey 9 (5), Isabella Williams 7, Emma Pique 2 (1), Itziar Pozas 2, Jaila Childress 1, Madison Kaufman 1, Saige Kidd 1, Taylee Carlson 1
Assists — Emma Pique 6, Itziar Pozas 6, Jaila Childress 3, Isabella Williams 2, Madison Kaufman 2
Steals — Jaila Childress 4, Madison Kaufman 3, Itziar Pozas 2, McKinlee Covolo 1, Isabella Williams 1
Blocks — McKinlee Covolo 1, Itziar Pozas 1    

GILLETTE 78, NORTHWEST 73
Points — McKinlee Covolo 23, Isabella Williams 15, Emma Pique 13, Jaila Childress 8, Addison Hickey 7, Itziar Pozas 7
Rebounds — Isabella Williams 11 (3), Addison Hickey 10 (2), McKinlee Covolo 8 (5), Emma Pique 3 (2), Taylee Carlson 3, Itziar Pozas 2 (2), Jaila Childress 1
Assists — Emma Pique 8, Jaila Childress 3, Isabella Williams 3, Itziar Pozas 2, Addison Hickey 1, Taylee Carlson 1
Steals — Jaila Childress 2, Emma Pique 2, Addison Hickey 2, Itziar Pozas 2, Isabella Williams 1
Blocks — McKinlee Covolo 2, Isabella Williams 1