Lady Trappers stun Sheridan

Posted 2/26/09

Ryan paces NWC with 23 points

An inspired Northwest College Lady Trapper basketball team defied history and registered a thrilling, 72-67 upset over Sheridan College Tuesday night at Hank Cabre Gymnasium in Powell.

Recent outcomes in the …

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Lady Trappers stun Sheridan

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Ryan paces NWC with 23 pointsAn inspired Northwest College Lady Trapper basketball team defied history and registered a thrilling, 72-67 upset over Sheridan College Tuesday night at Hank Cabre Gymnasium in Powell. Recent outcomes in the series between the two rivals pointed to a probable victory by the Lady Generals. However, NWC had other plans and registered its first decision over Sheridan since the 2004-05 season. Sheridan entered the contest with a 20-8 overall mark and a 7-0 record in North Sub-Region competition, which had already earned the Lady Generals a No. 1 seed in the upcoming Region IX Tournament in Scottsbluff, Neb. NWC (10-18 overall, 4-4 North Sub-Region) raced to a 31-22 halftime advantage but lost the lead during the second half, thanks to a late surge by the Lady Generals. But unlike what has been the case in many of the Lady Trappers' games this season, head coach Chad Oletzke's team overcame their opponent's second-half run with a series of timely baskets and defensive stops. “I'm just so proud of the girls,” Oletzke said. “They deserve all the credit for this one, and I'm happy they were able to get a win, especially considering the way they played. One of the things we've talked about is staying focused for 40 minutes. That means not letting a team get us all out of whack when they make a run at us when we've got a lead.“We had a good lead at the half, and Sheridan came back and went ahead. But instead of the girls letting it get to them, they did what they had to do to get the win. They didn't do anything spectacular. They just went out and did what they are supposed to do — nothing more and nothing less. They stayed within themselves, and did a great job. It was a big win for us.”After being in control for the majority of the contest, the Lady Trappers fell behind 55-54 at the 8:35 mark in the second half. That deficit quickly moved to three points with 8:06 remaining, but the Lady Trappers continued to keep Sheridan from pulling away. Trailing 61-60 with just less than five minutes to play, Trapper sophomore Sheena Ryan hit a 2-point shot to put NWC back in the lead. Shortly after, Kati Oliverson connected on a 2-pointer from near the top of the key to extend the advantage to three points. Sheridan answered and tied the game with a 3-pointer with 3:30 left in the game, but the deadlock was short lived as NWC's Larissa Crump hit a pair of free throws about 15 seconds later.Not to be outdone, Sheridan's Tahnee Robinson, the nation's leading scorer, drilled a 3-pointer to help push the Lady Generals back in front, 67-66. That would be the final basket for Sheridan, however, as NWC closed the game with a 6-0 run. Erin Cooke scored the first of those six points with 1:48 on the clock. With just more than a minute remaining, Ryan hit a key 2-point basket to put NWC ahead by three points. Sheridan failed to keep pace and squandered its ensuing possession and NWC regained control of the ball. That forced the Lady Generals to opt for a quick foul to stop the clock, and resulted in Lady Trapper Gita Grava getting a trip to the free-throw line. Grava hit both foul shots with 13.3 seconds remaining and put NWC ahead by five points at 72-67. Her free throws proved to be the final points of the game. “We got great leadership tonight from our sophomores,” Oletzke said. “I thought Erin (Cooke) played very well. We also got solid efforts from Sheena (Ryan), Gita (Grava) and Lacey (Gilmer). As leaders for us, they did exactly what they needed to do.”Ryan, who plays point guard for the Lady Trappers, was the game's leading scorer with 23 points. She also handed out four assists. Grava added 16 points, eight rebounds and two steals. Others scoring for NWC were Cooke (9 points), Oliverson (9), Crump (6), Gilmer (4), Chanda Hallows (3) and Rachel Tilley (2). Cooke also grabbed seven rebounds and helped the Lady Trappers edge Sheridan 26-19 in that department. As a team, NWC hit 28 of 51 shots (55 percent) from the field and posted an eight-of-11 mark from the free-throw line.Sheridan's offense was paced by Kori Bingham's 20-point effort. Robinson, a former Lander High School standout, finished with 19 points, and Kendahl Avery tallied 12 points. The remainder of Sheridan's scoring output was handled by Pavlina Chudarkova, SirShawna Dowdy (5) and Mandy Mullock (2). Mullock also led her team with seven rebounds, and Robinson finished with a squad-leading five assists. • Up next: The Lady Trappers have two more games remaining this week, and both will be played in Powell. On Friday at 5:30 p.m., NWC will host Eastern Wyoming College. On Saturday, Casper College will be in town for a 3 p.m. matchup with the Lady Trappers. “This was a big win, and now we'll see how we use it,” Oletzke said. “We've got to play Friday and Saturday, so that will be a challenge. Hopefully, we can put together two games like the one we had tonight. If we can do that, we could really get some momentum in our favor heading into the region tournament.”

Ryan paces NWC with 23 points

An inspired Northwest College Lady Trapper basketball team defied history and registered a thrilling, 72-67 upset over Sheridan College Tuesday night at Hank Cabre Gymnasium in Powell.

Recent outcomes in the series between the two rivals pointed to a probable victory by the Lady Generals. However, NWC had other plans and registered its first decision over Sheridan since the 2004-05 season. Sheridan entered the contest with a 20-8 overall mark and a 7-0 record in North Sub-Region competition, which had already earned the Lady Generals a No. 1 seed in the upcoming Region IX Tournament in Scottsbluff, Neb.

NWC (10-18 overall, 4-4 North Sub-Region) raced to a 31-22 halftime advantage but lost the lead during the second half, thanks to a late surge by the Lady Generals. But unlike what has been the case in many of the Lady Trappers' games this season, head coach Chad Oletzke's team overcame their opponent's second-half run with a series of timely baskets and defensive stops.

“I'm just so proud of the girls,” Oletzke said. “They deserve all the credit for this one, and I'm happy they were able to get a win, especially considering the way they played. One of the things we've talked about is staying focused for 40 minutes. That means not letting a team get us all out of whack when they make a run at us when we've got a lead.

“We had a good lead at the half, and Sheridan came back and went ahead. But instead of the girls letting it get to them, they did what they had to do to get the win. They didn't do anything spectacular. They just went out and did what they are supposed to do — nothing more and nothing less. They stayed within themselves, and did a great job. It was a big win for us.”

After being in control for the majority of the contest, the Lady Trappers fell behind 55-54 at the 8:35 mark in the second half. That deficit quickly moved to three points with 8:06 remaining, but the Lady Trappers continued to keep Sheridan from pulling away.

Trailing 61-60 with just less than five minutes to play, Trapper sophomore Sheena Ryan hit a 2-point shot to put NWC back in the lead. Shortly after, Kati Oliverson connected on a 2-pointer from near the top of the key to extend the advantage to three points.

Sheridan answered and tied the game with a 3-pointer with 3:30 left in the game, but the deadlock was short lived as NWC's Larissa Crump hit a pair of free throws about 15 seconds later.

Not to be outdone, Sheridan's Tahnee Robinson, the nation's leading scorer, drilled a 3-pointer to help push the Lady Generals back in front, 67-66. That would be the final basket for Sheridan, however, as NWC closed the game with a 6-0 run. Erin Cooke scored the first of those six points with 1:48 on the clock. With just more than a minute remaining, Ryan hit a key 2-point basket to put NWC ahead by three points. Sheridan failed to keep pace and squandered its ensuing possession and NWC regained control of the ball. That forced the Lady Generals to opt for a quick foul to stop the clock, and resulted in Lady Trapper Gita Grava getting a trip to the free-throw line. Grava hit both foul shots with 13.3 seconds remaining and put NWC ahead by five points at 72-67. Her free throws proved to be the final points of the game.

“We got great leadership tonight from our sophomores,” Oletzke said. “I thought Erin (Cooke) played very well. We also got solid efforts from Sheena (Ryan), Gita (Grava) and Lacey (Gilmer). As leaders for us, they did exactly what they needed to do.”

Ryan, who plays point guard for the Lady Trappers, was the game's leading scorer with 23 points. She also handed out four assists. Grava added 16 points, eight rebounds and two steals. Others scoring for NWC were Cooke (9 points), Oliverson (9), Crump (6), Gilmer (4), Chanda Hallows (3) and Rachel Tilley (2). Cooke also grabbed seven rebounds and helped the Lady Trappers edge Sheridan 26-19 in that department.

As a team, NWC hit 28 of 51 shots (55 percent) from the field and posted an eight-of-11 mark from the free-throw line.

Sheridan's offense was paced by Kori Bingham's 20-point effort. Robinson, a former Lander High School standout, finished with 19 points, and Kendahl Avery tallied 12 points. The remainder of Sheridan's scoring output was handled by Pavlina Chudarkova, SirShawna Dowdy (5) and Mandy Mullock (2). Mullock also led her team with seven rebounds, and Robinson finished with a squad-leading five assists.

• Up next: The Lady Trappers have two more games remaining this week, and both will be played in Powell. On Friday at 5:30 p.m., NWC will host Eastern Wyoming College. On Saturday, Casper College will be in town for a 3 p.m. matchup with the Lady Trappers.

“This was a big win, and now we'll see how we use it,” Oletzke said. “We've got to play Friday and Saturday, so that will be a challenge. Hopefully, we can put together two games like the one we had tonight. If we can do that, we could really get some momentum in our favor heading into the region tournament.”

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