NWC WOMEN BACK ON TRACK

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

After a small stumble in Gillette the previous weekend, the Northwest College women's basketball team got back on track, defeating Casper College for the first time in nine years 81-62 at home on Wednesday, Jan. 28, before beating Central Wyoming College 73-60 on Saturday.     

NORTHWEST 81, CASPER COLLEGE 62
Getting back home for a quick pit stop, the Trappers (17-7 overall, 5-1 Region IX North) welcomed in the Thunderbirds (19-4 overall, 3-2 Region IX North).
The Trappers started out strong, holding a 16-11 lead midway through the first quarter.
Northwest grew that advantage further to end the first behind 3-pointers by Taylee Carlson and Addison Hickey to make it 30-16 heading into the second.
Casper tried making a run early in the second quarter, but the Trappers maintained their double digit advantage, leading 34-24 midway through.
The Thunderbirds briefly cut the lead down to single digits, but Northwest held a 41-31 advantage at the break.
Early in the third the lead was cut to as little as eight, but Northwest broke the game open and pushed it to 56-39 after a Madison Kaufman 3-pointer with just over five minutes left.
"We were able to turn them over a little bit and get out in transition. That's always kind of a goal. Any time we can do that, it's helpful, it just makes the game a little bit simpler," coach Cody Helenbolt said.
The Trappers continued to stretch their advantage, leading 68-49 after a Carlson 3-pointer late in the frame.
Casper turned up the pressure early in the fourth, cutting the lead down to 70-57 over the first four minutes.
Northwest didn't allow the Thunderbirds any closer and pulled away late for an 81-62 win. It was the first time the Trappers defeated Casper since a Region IX play-in game in March 2017.
"We played really well. Beat a team that's ranked in the country. I don't think that's happened very often, hasn't ever happened for me so far in the two years that I've been here," Helenbolt said. "It was just a lot of hard work. Blood, sweat and tears go into it so it's fun to be able to celebrate that with a good group of kids that worked hard and wanted it."
Isabella Williams led with 21 points, joined by Emma Pique with 16 and Addison Hickey with 15.
Hickey added 10 rebounds to complete a double-double, Pique led with four assists and Williams added eight steals as the Trappers recorded 22 in the contest.
"She's (Williams) a kid when I was recruiting her that she had some games that were like quadruple doubles," Helenbolt said. "It's pretty awesome what she's been able to do moving up from Class C South Dakota to division one junior college and still being able to put up crazy stat lines like that, she's a really good player. I'm lucky to coach her."  

NORTHWEST 73, CENTRAL WYOMING 60
In Riverton on Saturday the Trappers took on the Rustlers (10-11 overall, 3-2 Region IX North).
The Trappers again got off to a strong start, building a 15-6 lead midway through the first after a Jaila Childress jumper.
Northwest's lead hit as many as 15, and the Trappers held that advantage 25-10 heading into the second quarter.
Central started working its way into the game, cutting the lead down to single digits and eventually to a single possession as Northwest led 32-30 with 3:26 left in the half.
Northwest responded with a 5-2 stretch to end the second quarter and led 37-32 at the break.
"They (Central) hit some shots, especially in that second quarter," Helenbolt said.
The Rustlers continued cutting into the lead, getting it down to three before a Pique 3-pointer made it 44-38 with 4:56 left in the third quarter.
Every time the hosts got close the Trappers had an answer, as Northwest pushed the lead out further to 55-48 heading into the fourth quarter.
After Central cut the lead to 60-56 with 7:26 left, the Trappers went on an 8-0 run capped off by a McKinlee Covolo layup to make it 68-56 with 4:36 remaining.
Northwest maintained its lead for the 73-60 win.
"Not perfect by any means, we just played overall solid," Helenbolt said. "We didn't play our best game … As long as we can do that and play average, we're going to be in the game and have a chance. Whenever we play really well, I think we can beat anybody. If we don't play well, we can lose to anybody. So the nice thing is, it's up to us, it's kind of self-determined. We've just got to play well and we'll be fine."
Covolo led with 21 points, Pique had 18 and Williams had 12.
Covolo led with nine rebounds, Pique and Williams had five assists each.
Pique, Williams and Kaufman led with two steals each while Williams had the lone block.

ROAD TRIP
The Trappers now head back out on the road, heading to southeastern Wyoming for a pair of contests as one of the top teams in the Region IX North heading into the second half of the season.
"I like the feeling of showing up and being a team that everybody's gunning for," Helenbolt said. "It is difficult sometimes because people are going to play as good as they can against you, and they're going to game plan you well. But I always enjoy it. To be 5-1, kind of a little disappointed just because we were up by one with 50 seconds left against Gillette. I wish we could have closed that one out. But overall, when you take a step back and look at it, nice to be sitting here in this spot rather than somewhere else."
Northwest takes on Eastern Wyoming College (11-11 overall, 1-4 Region IX North) at 5:30 p.m. today (Thursday). The Trappers defeated the Lancers 88-68 in January.
The Trappers then head to Cheyenne and take on Laramie County Community College (8-13 overall, 0-5 Region IX North) at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The Trappers defeated the Golden Eagles 74-46 in January.
"Road games are super tough in the region. We just have to focus on the task at hand. We'll take it one game at a time and one quarter at a time, really try to grind out a couple of games in a tough environment," Helenbolt said.    

NORTHWEST 81, CASPER COLLEGE 62
Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()
Points — Isabella Williams 21, Emma Pique 16, Addison Hickey 15, Madison Kaufman 8, McKinlee Covolo 7, Itziar Pozas 6, Taylee Carlson 6, Jaila Childress 2
Rebounds — Addison Hickey 10 (6), Isabella Williams 6 (2), Madison Kaufman 5 (1), Jaila Childress 4, Emma Pique 2 (2), Maddie Mills 1, Saige Kidd 1
Assists — Emma Pique 4, Jaila Childress 2, McKinlee Covolo 1, Addison Hickey 1, Isabella Williams 1, Itziar Pozas 1
Steals — Isabella Williams 8, Emma Pique 4, Addison Hickey 4, McKinlee Covolo 2, Jaila Childress 2, Itziar Pozas 2      

NORTHWEST 73, CENTRAL WYOMING 60
Points — McKinlee Covolo 21, Emma Pique 18, Isabella Williams 12, Addison Hickey 9, Madison Kaufman 9, Jaila Childress 2, Fallon Millican 2
Rebounds — McKinlee Covolo 9 (5), Jaila Childress 8, Addison Hickey 7 (3), Isabella Williams 6, Madison Kaufman 2 (1), Fallon Millican 2 (2), Itziar Pozas 1
Assists — Emma Pique 5, Isabella Williams 5, Jaila Childress 4, Addison Hickey 3, Madison Kaufman 2, McKinlee Covolo 1, Itziar Pozas 1
Steals — Emma Pique 2, Isabella Williams 2, Madison Kaufman 2, McKinlee Covolo 1, Jaila Childress 1, Addison Hickey 1, Itziar Pozas 1
Blocks — Isabella Williams 1