Your future, our focus
NWC Turns Attention to Region IX West Tourney
By DAVID DICKEY
Powell Tribune Sports Editor
The Northwest College Lady Trappers finished the regular season on a down note last week by dropping a pair of road matches to Laramie County Community College and Eastern Wyoming College.
The pair of losses, which came on the heels of setbacks to Casper College and Central
Wyoming College, send the Lady Trappers into the Region IX West Tournament riding a dubious four-match losing streak. NWC last won on Oct. 10 when it defeated Miles Community College in the last home game of the season for the Lady Trappers.
Against LCCC Friday evening in Cheyenne, the Lady Trappers fell in three games (30-18, 30 26, 30-25). NWC head coach Jesseca Cross said her squad entered the game with confidence, but as the first game played out, Cross said it was apparent the Lady Trappers were too fired up.
"Both teams were really fired up to play," Cross said. "We had so much adrenaline flowing, and it was more than I've seen from the girls in the first game of a match. After a few points, I could tell they weren't sure how to channel that adrenaline. Hopefully they've learned from that experience."
LCCC went on to an easy win in the first game, but the Lady Trappers, behind the strong play of sophomores Charcie Peabody, Breanne Robirds and Whitnie McDonald, kept the final two games close.
"I could tell the girls were disappointed after that one," Cross said. "They wanted it, but they let themselves get too nervous early on, and we never able to establish any kind of flow during the match. Once it was over, you could tell they felt like they let one get away."
On Saturday, the Lady Trappers had a chance to redeem themselves in Torrington against Eastern Wyoming. The Lady Trappers, according to Cross, played better than they did the day before, but NWC still dropped the first game 30-27.
The Lady Trappers, in game two, looked to be in position to claim a win after establishing a 14-6 lead, but EWC stormed back to win the match.
"We were in a good position, but Eastern Wyoming was able to put together a run against us," Cross said. "After the match, I was talking with Whitnie Mc- Donald and she said she could feel the game slipping away when Eastern started its run."
Cross said for the Lady Trappers to enjoy a strong run at the Region IX West Tournament, they'll have to learn how to deliver when teams begin stringing together runs. That, Cross said, means having the confidence and the determination to turn the momentum around before a run gets out of hand.
Though the losses were disappointing for the team, Cross said she still believes NWC is poised to have a strong showing in the Region IX West Tournament, which gets under way Nov. 1. She also said the time between now and the start of the event should give her team a chance to recharge and return to full strength as far as the Lady Trappers' collective health is concerned.
At the start of last week's road trip, Cross said seven of the team's 12 players had some type of illness, including McDonald, one of the squad's key players and leaders on the court.
"We've got to get some people healthy," said Cross, who gave the team a day off from practice Monday. "We'll try to get everybody back to 100 percent, and we'll continue to fine tune some things in practice. I still think we've got a good shot at doing well in the tournament. We just have to believe as a team that we can go and play well."
The bracket for the tournament, which starts Nov. 1, was not available for publication.