Team improves to 9-6 before Florida swing

The Northwest College women’s basketball team enters the Christmas break on a three-game winning streak after defeating Aaniiih Nokoda, 91-38, and the Wyoming/Montana All-Stars, 78-63, over the weekend. The Trappers are 9-6 now overall and 2-1 in Region IX North play.

The team has just over a week to rest before heading to Lake Worth, Fla., for the Palm Beach State College Tournament.

Hometown product Leslie Thronburg had a stellar night in Northwest’s opening game of the Trapper Tournament. Thronburg topped all scorers with 20 points, leading a parade of four scorers in double figures in the contest.

Kennedy Allen added 17 points to Northwest’s total. Andressa Augusto was good for 11 points and a team-best six assists in the game. Megan Lund came off the bench with 10 points in support. Leslie Blackburn barely missed a double-double, finishing her night with eight points and 10 rebounds.

As a team, Northwest finished with a 55-30 advantage on the rebounding glass. The Trappers also were guilty of a season-low seven turnovers in the game, while forcing Aaniiih Nokoda into 26 giveaways, including 13 steals.

Northwest raced to a 52-19 halftime lead in the game before taking its foot off the accelerator slightly in the second half. The Trappers held Aaniiih Nokoda to less than 24 percent shooting in the game.

About the only cause for concern for the Trappers in the contest came from behind the 3-point arc. Northwest connected on just four of the 28 3-point shots the team attempted in the contest. Three of those makes were by Augusto as the rest of Northwest’s lineup went a collective 1-for-22 from long range.

Those distance shooting woes fixed themselves slightly the following night against the Wyoming/Montana All-Stars. Northwest converted nine of 26 from behind the arc and was even more golden from the charity stripe, successfully sinking all but one of its 18 free-throw attempts during the 78-63 victory.

Augusto, four for eight from long range, finished with 18 points for the Trappers to lead all Northwest scorers in the game. Thronburg added 17 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Allen dropped in 12 points. Leanne Winterholler was three for five from 3-point range coming off the Trappers’ bench.

It was a game that looked extremely ragged at times. Both teams shot less than 40 percent from the floor. The All-Stars connected on 37.5 percent of their shots. The Trappers could manage just 35.6 percent.

The two schools also combined for 54 turnovers in the contest.

Still, Northwest was able to construct a 41-31 advantage at the half and extended upon that margin over the final 20 minutes, thanks in no small part to its deadeye accuracy from the free throw line.

Northwest heads to Florida for the Dec. 28-29 Palm Beach State College Tournament riding a three-game winning streak, the first time this season Northwest has pocketed three consecutive wins. The team faces Rhode Island Community College on Friday, Dec. 28. On Saturday, Dec. 29, the Trappers will see action against the tournament host, Palm Beach State College.

The tournament will be played in Lake Worth, Fla.

The Trappers’ next home game will not be until the new year. The team hosts Little Big Horn College on Jan. 5 in a 3 p.m. game.