In a week where the Northwest College women’s basketball team needed two wins to lock up a first round bye, the Trappers responded — catching  fire from the field and defeating Central Wyoming 85-73 on Friday in Riverton, before beating Western Wyoming 84-62 at home on sophomore night.

NORTHWEST 85, CENTRAL WYOMING 73

Kicking off the end of the season swing on the road, the Trappers (20-9 overall, 7-2 Region IX North) looked to finish the regular season sweep of the Rustlers (3-23 overall, 1-9 Region IX North) in Riverton.

Both teams started out hot from the field, tied at 14 midway through the first quarter.

A quick 8-0 run by Roxanne Rogers and capped off by Kamber Good Luck helped Northwest push the lead out to 22-14.

The Trappers were able to maintain that lead and took a 26-18 lead into the second quarter.

Northwest pushed the lead out to 11 immediately in the second on a Rogers 3-pointer, seemingly in control of the contest.

A Rustler 9-0 run over the next two minutes cut the lead down to two, but a Nayeli Acosta jumper put a stop to the run to help Northwest maintain the lead.

“Central came out and shot it well, they haven’t shot it that well percentage wise all year so it was really an offensive game,” coach Lauren Davis said. “I was proud of our girls; they were hitting them.”

Central took the lead on a pair of free throws with just over four minutes remaining, taking a 32-31 lead.

Both teams exchanged small runs and the game was tied before a Darla Hernandez jumper gave Northwest the lead under a minute left and the Trappers took a 42-40 lead at the half.

A 9-0 run out of the break capped off by Natalyah Nead helped Northwest restore the double digit lead — forcing a timeout from the Rustlers.

Central responded, cutting the lead back down to two over the next four minutes to 54-52.

Northwest stopped the run dead in its tracks, finishing the quarter on a 10-0 run to make it 64-52 heading into the fourth.

In the final quarter Northwest pushed the lead out to as many as 18, finishing with an 85-73 victory.

Northwest finished the game strong from the field shooting 31-61 (50.8%), 11-21 (52.4%) from 3-point range and a perfect 12-12 from the free throw line.

The Trappers also assisted 27 of the 31 field goals in the game.

Acosta finished with 22 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in the game. Acosta was joined in double figure scoring by Hernandez with 17, Rogers with 14, Jimena Montoro-Cabezas with 14 and Nead with 11.

“That’s what I have been waiting for from Nayeli,” Davis said. “I have always known that it is in her but I have been waiting for her to have the confidence to take over a game. She always makes an impact but to make an impact that huge on the stat sheet is something I have been waiting for from her.”

NORTHWEST 84, WESTERN WYOMING 62

Returning home for sophomore night, the Trappers welcomed in the visiting Mustangs (13-12 overall, 5-5 Region IX North) trying to cap off the season with only one home loss.

Northwest came out on fire hitting four 3-pointers and quickly building a 12-2 lead midway through the first quarter.

Western responded the rest of the first, cutting the lead down to one before the quarter end with Northwest leading 16-15.

Northwest quickly scored eight straight to rebuild its lead in the second quarter.

Both teams battled the rest of the quarter, with Northwest holding a 36-25 lead heading into the break.

The second half did not start out strong for Northwest, after Western started the half on a 12-0 run to take its first lead 37-36.

“We talked about stuff we wanted to adjust at the half and said the first five minutes are the most important,” Davis said. “The first three we definitely did not take pride in that statement, we took a timeout and looked at each other and said that’s not how we want to go out.”

That was the only lead the visitors held, with Northwest answering with a 14-0 run of its own started by Hernandez and capped off by Rogers to make it 50-37.

The Mustangs cut the lead down to eight late in the quarter, but Northwest continued to lead by double digits 57-46 going into the fourth.

In the fourth the lead cut to single digits one more time, before the Trappers completely pulled away and ran away with the 84-62 victory.

Northwest was again strong from the field, shooting 30-60 (50%) and 10-20 (50%) from the field and 3-point line respectively.

Hernandez finished with a strong 22 points and 18 rebounds, followed by Good Luck with 16, Acosta with 14 and Rogers with 13.

“Darla and Nayeli definitely led us to victory in that game. Everybody rallied behind the fact it was sophomore night and our last home game of the year. I think they were all excited to come out and play for each other — it was a big team win,” Davis said.

Northwest had a game scheduled for Tuesday night against Laramie County Community College, but that game was canceled due to bad weather.

BYE WEEK

After the pair of victories the Trappers locked up the No. 2 seed in the Region IX North heading into the postseason, earning a bye this week as a result.

“This team is really building what I have envisioned for Northwest College women’s basketball,” Davis said. “That starts with the culture, the girls love each other and they love this program and I think that shines on the court.”

Northwest finished with a 7-2 record in region play, with its only two losses in region coming from top seed Casper College.

The Trappers will now have over a week to rest and prepare for the Region IX tournament, which will be played in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, at the home of Region IX South winner Western Nebraska.

“We are going to balance it out, give them a little bit of rest and focus on ourselves until we know who we are going to play,” Davis said. 

Northwest will play the winner of Trinidad State (11-16 overall, 5-5 Region IX South) and Lamar (7-20 overall, 0-10 Region IX South) on Thursday.

NORTHWEST 85, CENTRAL WYOMING 73

Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Nayeli Acosta 22, Darla Hernandez 17, Roxanne Rogers 14, Jimena Montoro-Cabezas 14, Natalyah Nead 11, Kamber Good Luck 7

Rebounds — Nayeli Acosta 7 (2), Darla Hernandez 7 (1), Kamber Good Luck 5 (1), Roxanne Rogers 4 (1), Jimena Montoro-Cabezas 4, Natalyah Nead 3 (1), Batoul Khaleefah 1

Assists — Nayeli Acosta 9, Jimena Montoro-Cabezas 6, Roxanne Rogers 4, Darla Hernandez 3, Kamber Good Luck 2, Batoul Khaleefah 2, Natalyah Nead 1

Steals —Jimena Montoro-Cabezas 3, Roxanne Rogers 1, Nayeli Acosta 1, Darla Hernandez 1

Blocks — Darla Hernandez 1, Natalyah Nead 1

NORTHWEST 84, WESTERN WYOMING 62

Points — Darla Hernandez 22, Kamber Good Luck 16, Nayeli Acosta 14, Roxanne Rogers 13, Jimena Montoro-Cabezas 6, Batoul Khaleefah 5, Natalyah Nead 4, Tyne Killip 3, Layla VonBerndt 1

Rebounds — Darla Hernandez 18 (3), Roxanne Rogers 7 (3), Nayeli Acosta 5 (1), Kamber Good Luck 3, Batoul Khaleefah 3, Jimena Montoro-Cabezas 2 (1), Tyne Killip 2, Ashly Botz 1, Natalyah Nead 1

Assists — Kamber Good Luck 5, Nayeli Acosta 4, Jimena Montoro-Cabezas 2, Darla Hernandez 2, Batoul Khaleefah 2, Roxanne Rogers 1, Natalyah Nead 1

Steals — Jimena Montoro-Cabezas 2, Kamber Good Luck 2, Darla Hernandez 2, Natalyah Nead 1

Blocks — Darla Hernandez 1