TRAPPER WOMEN EXTEND WIN STREAK

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

The Northwest College women's basketball team is flying high at the top of the Region IX North after four straight wins, as the Trappers defeated Eastern Wyoming College 83-61 on Thursday and Laramie County Community College 70-61 on Saturday.     

NORTHWEST 83, EASTERN WYOMING 61
Starting the road trip in Torrington the Trappers (19-7 overall, 7-1 Region IX North) took on the Lancers (11-12 overall, 1-5 Region IX North).
The Trappers came out strong, building a double-digit advantage the first five minutes of the game, making it 17-6 after a pair of McKinlee Covolo free throws.
Northwest continued scoring, as the lead continued to swell in the first quarter with the Trappers ahead 27-11 heading into the second.
"I think our kids learned from our Gillette game where we didn't really do a good job of traveling and then being ready to play," coach Cody Helenbolt said. "So we really made an emphasis of 'hey, it's going to be a challenge for us, and we've got to be ready to go from the very beginning of the game.' I thought we did that really well."
Despite a small push from the hosts early the Trappers kept their lead in double figures, up 34-19 midway through the second.
Northwest finally got the lead over 20 late on a 3-pointer by Madison Kaufman, as the Trappers led 43-21 heading into the locker room.
Early in the third the hosts tried to trim away at the lead, but the Trappers continued to find their shots and hold that same advantage 55-33 midway through the third quarter.
A small run by the hosts finally cut the advantage down to 60-44 heading into the fourth quarter.
The lead was cut down to as little as 15, but the Trappers had an answer late in the contest to pull away for the 83-61 victory over the Lancers.
"You don't want to let the home team hang around. They did that when they were up here, they hung around for a lot of the game and then we were able to pull it out at the end," Helenbolt said. "It just eased some of the nerves a little bit to go on a run at the beginning of the game and just kind of have that control throughout."
Covolo led with 21 points and eight rebounds, Jaila Childress had 17 points and led with four steals, and Isabella Williams and Kaufman chipped in 10 each.
Emma Pique led with four assists.     

NORTHWEST 70, LCCC 61
Continuing down to Cheyenne on Saturday the Trappers took on the Golden Eagles (9-14 overall, 1-6 Region IX North).
Northwest again got off to a strong start, leading 8-2 before the Golden Eagles cut the scoreline closer to 10-5 midway through the first quarter.
The two teams went back-and-forth the rest of the first quarter as the Trappers led 14-10 heading into the second.
LCCC cut it down to a single point early in the second, before Northwest responded with a run of its own to push the advantage to 27-20 midway through.
Northwest continued holding off pushes by the Golden Eagles, as the Trappers led 35-31 heading into the locker room.
Early in the second half the Trappers tried to pull away, building the lead to as many as nine but leading 44-37 midway through the third quarter.
Northwest finally got the lead to double-digits, as a fast break layup by Kaufman made it 50-40 with three minutes left in the quarter.
LCCC went on a 5-0 stretch, but Northwest ended the quarter with a 52-45 advantage.
The Trappers started pulling away in the fourth, pushing it back to double digits inside the first three minutes. 
The Golden Eagles never went away, but the Trappers didn't allow them closer than seven as Northwest earned the 70-61 win.
"In a lot of ways, there's a lot that went wrong in that game. But I think again, building from Gillette, it was like, 'OK, we don't have to play a perfect game, but we've got to do enough,'" Helenbolt said. "I thought the kids did a really good job of executing down the stretch … With a lot of things going a little haywire for us, it was really nice to get the win, because at the end of the day, that's what matters."
Pique led with 24 points, five assists and four steals.
"Probably her biggest game of the year for us when we needed her most," Helenbolt said.
Addison Hickey had 11 points and 13 rebounds for a double-double, as Covolo added 10 points.
Four different Trappers recorded a block.    

FINAL HOME GAMES
Northwest returns to Powell for its final home games of the regular season, starting with an important game against Gillette College (17-8 overall, 5-2 Region IX North) at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
"We're the only team that hadn't had a bye yet … Nice to be able to catch our breath a little bit and then be back home for what's gonna be almost two weeks," Helenbolt said. "Gillette is probably the biggest game since I've been here … It's really big, really important. I always think it's a privilege to be able to play games that mean something at the end of the year … So happy to just be in that situation and looking forward to a fun game."
The Pronghorns are the only team to hand the Trappers a conference loss in a 78-73 game in January.
The Trappers then welcome Central Wyoming College (11-12 overall, 4-3 Region IX North) at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Northwest defeated the Rustlers 73-60 in Riverton in January.     

NORTHWEST 83, EASTERN WYOMING 61
Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()
Points — McKinlee Covolo 21, Jaila Childress 17, Isabella Williams 10, Madison Kaufman 10, Emma Pique 7, Addison Hickey 6, Fallon Millican 4, Itziar Pozas 4, Canyon Britt 2, Taylee Carlson 2
Rebounds — McKinlee Covolo 8 (5), Jaila Childress 5 (1), Madison Kaufman 5 (2), Isabella Williams 3 (1), Itziar Pozas 3, Emma Pique 2 (1), Addison Hickey 2, Fallon Millican 2 (1), Maddie Mills 1, Taylee Carlson 1 (1)
Assists — Emma Pique 4, Madison Kaufman 2, Addison Hickey 1, Isabella Williams 1, Jaila Childress 1, Elise Swan 1, Itziar Pozas 1
Steals — Jaila Childress 4, Emma Pique 3, Isabella Williams 3, Addison Hickey 2, McKinlee Covolo 1, Madison Kaufman 1, Itziar Pozas 1     

NORTHWEST 70, LCCC 61
Points — Emma Pique 24, Addison Hickey 11, McKinlee Covolo 10, Jaila Childress 8, Isabella Williams 7, Madison Kaufman 4, Itziar Pozas 4, Taylee Carlson 2
Rebounds — Addison Hickey 13 (4), McKinlee Covolo 6 (3), Isabella Williams 5, Fallon Millican 4 (2), Itziar Pozas 4 (3), Emma Pique 3 (1), Madison Kaufman 3 (2), Jaila Childress 1, Saige Kidd 1, Taylee Carlson 1
Assists — Emma Pique 5, Jaila Childress 3, Itziar Pozas 3, Addison Hickey 2, Isabella Williams 2, Maddie Mills 1
Steals — Emma Pique 4, Addison Hickey 3, Jaila Childress 3, McKinlee Covolo 3, Itziar Pozas 2, Isabella Williams 1, Madison Kaufman 1
Blocks — Emma Pique 1, Addison Hickey 1, McKinlee Covolo 1, Itziar Pozas 1