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Men’s, Women’s Teams Ousted In First Round
The Region IX men’s and women’s basketball tournaments came to an unceremonious end for the Northwest College Trappers as both teams were defeated in their opening contests. The men fell by a 67-63 count to North Platte. The Trapper women lost 87-45 to Northeastern.
Everything appeared to be going in the Trappers’ favor early in their contest against North Platte. The Knights trailed 16 points late in the first half, but went on a 9-0 run to close out the first half and trailed by just seven at intermission.
That momentum continued in the second half. North Platte connected on 75 percent of its shots from the field, including 6-for-8 from 3-point range as they pulled past the Trappers for a three-point victory.
Chris Hansen had 22 points for Northwest College to lead all scorers in the contest. Junior Coleman added 13 points and Diego Pasos saw his Trapper career come to a close with nine points.
Northwest College held Region IX scoring leader Nick Tomsick to a below-average 13 points, but surrendered 19 points to Ben Wilson.
The Trappers were ultimately done in by an inability to convert free throw opportunities in the contest. Northwest made just seven of its 16 attempts at the charity stripe, including just a 3-for-9 showing in the second half as the game hung in the balance. The Trappers also came out on the short side of a 35-28 rebounding difference in the contest.
Northwest finishes the season with a 22-9 overall record.
Otero and Miles Community College were scheduled to play Monday night in one Region IX tournament semifinal. Casper and men’s tournament host Western Nebraska were slated to meet in the night’s other semifinal game.
ROUGH ONE FOR NWC WOMEN
Unlike a year ago, when Northwest College was able to inject a scare into Northeastern, the Trapper women were never in a position to contend connected on back-to-back 3-point buckets to begin the game and never looked back.
Kennedy Allen scored Northwest’s first bucket at the 17:28 mark, but the Trappers waited for five minutes before converting another shot from the field. By that point, Northeastern’s lead was well into double digits.
“We got down early and I think that started playing on our nerves and we struggled in the shooting department,” said Trapper head coach Janis Beal. “We also turned the ball over 17 times that first half, which led to them having way too many scoring opportunities.”
The Trappers were also never allowed to harbor thoughts of a rally. Northeastern’s tenacious defense held Northwest to single- digit scoring until Allen hit the second of two free throws with 5:29 remaining in the first half. The Trappers trailed 40-16 at intermission.
Northwest fared slightly better in the second half. The Trappers scored the first five points of the second half, but were never able to mount a serious charge at Northeastern. A Northeastern surge six minutes into the second half sent the gap between the two teams to more than 30 points. Northeastern continued to pull away from there.
Allen was the lone bright spot for Northwest College’s offense as she knocked down 16 points, tying her with Northeastern’s Adaugo Osuala for game-high scoring honors. Meagan Butler was the Trappers’ next-highest scorer with six points.
Taylor Ryan, whose availability was questionable in the days leading up to the tournament for Northwest College, played and managed just three points, but did haul down a team-high 11 rebounds for the Trappers.
Many of Northwest’s struggles on the night were evident from a glance at the final stat sheet. The Trappers shot just 21.4 percent from the floor, including an icy 1-for-17 performance behind the arc.
Twenty of Northwest’s 45 points came at the free throw line. Northeastern took 32 more shots than the Trappers in the contest and also held a 52-38 edge on the rebounding glass. Northwest was guilty of 29 turnovers in the contest.
Former Powell High School standout Hannah Pollart knocked down eight points for Northeastern, which finished with five players in double figures for scoring, including an 11-point, 16-rebound night from Alicia Nichols.
Northeastern was scheduled to face Casper in one Region IX semifinal game on Monday. Central Wyoming and Otero were scheduled to meet in the other semifinal game.
Beal noted that she’ll be transitioning into recruiting mode as the Trappers’ coach looks to sign six or seven players to the roster for next year.
“The off-season is always an exciting time for me,” said Beal. “You get to work with the freshmen individually and see improvement in their game and you’re also out recruiting the next group.”
The Trapper women conclude their season with a 14-17 overall record.