Coming out of the winter break the Northwest College women’s team had an opportunity to finish non-conference play on a high note, but came up short on a long road trip to Montana and North Dakota — losing to Dawson Community College 74-48, defeating United Tribes Technical College 67-53 and losing to Bismarck State College 79-66.

DAWSON 74, NORTHWEST 48

Starting out the road trip in Glendive, Montana, the Trappers (13-7) found themselves matching up with a familiar opponent in the Buccaneers (8-8) who Northwest defeated at home 90-65 on Dec. 15.

Northwest started out fast, holding a 6-3 lead before an 8-0 run gave Dawson the lead and control of the contest — a lead the Buccaneers would not relinquish.

“I think Dawson played really well,” coach Lauren Davis said. “Dawson played how I expected them to play the first time against us. We definitely did not play the way we know how. The two-week break for us was killer.”

Despite shooting woes in the first quarter and trailing 24-15, the shooting problems only got worse — shooting a combined 6-of-26 over the next two quarters and continuing to trail 59-32.

Dawson kept control the rest of the contest, ending the Trappers’ three-game winning streak.

Overall, Northwest shot 29% from the field, 11% from the 3-point line and only hauled in 20 rebounds.

Roxanne Rogers led the Trappers with 17 points in the game.

NORTHWEST 67, UNITED TRIBES 53

Coming off a disappointing start to the 2023 calendar year, Northwest hopped over the border to Bismarck, North Dakota, to take on the Thunderbirds (3-9) who beat the Trappers 74-71 on Nov. 25.

“I told the girls before the Tribes game, ‘It will tell me a lot more about you as a team, as a person based on your work ethic, your mental toughness to come back. We lost yesterday and let’s see what we can do coming off a loss,’” Davis said.

Northwest trailed early 6-2, before a 13-2 run seemingly gave the Trappers a strong grip on the contest after dealing with early pressure from United Tribes.

The Thunderbirds fired back, going on their own 12-2 run and taking the lead back 20-17 in the first quarter.

Northwest was unable to regain the lead in the quarter and trailed 23-20 heading into the second.

Neither team carried that offensive momentum early in the second quarter, with Northwest scoring its first three points of the quarter 3:30 into the period.

Northwest tied the game at 26, and a layup by Anna Knight regained the Trapper advantage with 4:04 left in the half.

The second quarter was capped off with a strong run late, as Northwest outscored United Tribes 22-7 in the frame to take a 42-30 lead into the locker room.

Northwest maintained its lead throughout the quarter through strong rebounding — a category the Trappers dominated, out-rebounding the Thunderbirds 66-36 in the game.

United Tribes started the fourth quarter fast, closing the gap to four points in the first minute, and coming within one possession midway through the period.

A strong response defensively by Northwest held the Thunderbirds scoreless over the final 4:53 and allowed the Trappers to pull away for the 67-53 victory.

“We knew the scout, we knew the two girls we needed to stop and I think they did a great job of executing,” Davis said.

Rogers again led the Trappers in scoring with 19, while Darla Hernandez finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

BISMARCK STATE 79, NORTHWEST 66

Northwest played one last non-conference game for the season in Bismarck, matching up against the Mystics (7-6) on Sunday.

Both teams battled back and forth in the first period, with the Mystics holding the slight advantage 15-12.

Northwest started the second quarter strong, taking an 18-15 lead in the first minute before Bismarck responded with a run of its own to take a 21-20 lead.

The score remained close until a 14-0 run by the Mystics blew the game open, and gave Bismarck State a 45-29 lead at the break.

The Trappers battled in the third, gaining ground late in the quarter and cutting it to a two-possession game going into the fourth quarter.

A Jimena Montoro-Cabezas 3-pointer to start the final frame made it a 58-55 game, but the Trappers were unable to tie or take the lead in the contest.

“We were down 16 at one point, cut it to three and really needed to get to the line,” Davis said. 

A strong finish by the hosts allowed the Mystics to pull away from the Trappers for a 79-66 victory.

The contest was dead even in nearly every category except for free throws, where Northwest was 8-of-9 from the line while Bismarck was 19-of-29.

“It’s always hard to get those calls away, but we need to do a better job of creating contact and not shying away from it,” Davis said.

Nayeli Acosta led Northwest with 16 points while Montoro-Cabezas and Anna Knight were the other two double-digit scorers with 14 each.

TWO WEEK BREAK

Northwest will now take two weeks to recover, as the Trappers have injuries to two rotational players in Natalyah Nead and Kamber Good Luck.

“Natalyah has been practicing with us non-contact and starts contact this week,” Davis said.

Good Luck rolled her ankle, and Davis is hopeful she will also return before the Region IX opener.

That rest comes at an opportune time for Northwest, which will have two weeks to rest and prepare for its Region IX opener at home at 2 p.m. Jan. 21 against No. 23-ranked Casper College.

DAWSON 74, NORTHWEST 48

Offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Roxanne Rogers 17, Darla Hernandez 8, Yaiza Vacas-Lopez 8, Nayeli Acosta 4, Batoul Khaleefah 4, Anna Knight 3, Jimena Montoro-Cabezas 2, Kamber Good Luck 2

Rebounds — Darla Hernandez 5 (2), Roxanne Rogers 4 (2), Nayeli Acosta 4 (1), Jimena Montoro-Cabezas 3, Batoul Khaleefah 2 (1), Anna Knight 1, Kamber Good Luck 1 (1)

Assists — Jimena Montoro-Cabezas 2, Roxanne Rogers 1, Nayeli Acosta 1, Yaiza Vacas-Lopez 1

Steals — Yaiza Vacas-Lopez 5, Jimena Montoro-Cabezas 3, Tyne Killip 2, Batoul Khaleefah 2, Nayeli Acosta 1, Kamber Good Luck 1

Blocks — Kamber Good Luck 1

NORTHWEST 67, UNITED TRIBES 53

Points — Roxanne Rogers 19, Darla Hernandez 16, Nayeli Acosta 11, Anna Knight 9, Jimena Montoro-Cabezas 7, Yaiza Vacas-Lopez 5

Rebounds — Jimena Montoro-Cabezas 12 (3), Darla Hernandez 12 (1), Roxanne Rogers 8 (3), Nayeli Acosta 6, Anna Knight 5 (2), Yaiza Vacas-Lopez 5 (4), Batoul Khaleefah 5 (1)

Assists — Jimena Montoro-Cabezas 4, Nayeli Acosta 4, Roxanne Rogers 3, Darla Hernandez 2, Batoul Khaleefah 2, Anna Knight 1, Yaiza Vacas-Lopez 1

Steals — Roxanne Rogers 1, Nayeli Acosta 1

Blocks — Jimena Montoro-Cabezas 1

BISMARCK STATE 79, NORTHWEST 66

Points — Nayeli Acosta 16, Jimena Montoro-Cabezas 14, Anna Knight 14, Roxanne Rogers 9, Darla Hernandez 8, Yaiza Vacas-Lopez 5

Rebounds — Darla Hernandez 11 (3), Nayeli Acosta 6, Anna Knight 5 (4), Batoul Khaleefah 3, Roxanne Rogers 2, Yaiza Vacas-Lopez 2 (1), Jimena Montoro-Cabezas 2, Tyne Killip 1

Assists — Nayeli Acosta 3, Batoul Khaleefah 2, Anna Knight 1

Steals — Jimena Montoro-Cabezas 2, Anna Knight 2, Roxanne Rogers 1, Yaiza Vacas-Lopez 1, Darla Hernandez 1