For Northwest College women’s basketball team, the last two games were an emotional roller coaster — in so many ways. 

The Trappers began the week with a 72-68 loss to Casper College, the nation’s No. 4 team. Two days later, NWC played its last Saturday home game of the season, earning a 59-47 win over Central Wyoming on sophomore day. 

Northwest played arguably its worst quarter of the season to start the two-game set, scoring just four points in the first 10 minutes against the Thunderbirds. A 16.7% team field-goal percentage put the Trappers in an early 18-4 hole after the period. 

But after the slow first 10 minutes in Thursday’s contest, the Trappers woke up. Outscoring Casper 21-18 in the second quarter, NWC went to the locker room trailing by just 11: The game was in reach. 

“We regrouped and I told them they had nothing to lose,” coach Camden Levett said. “Go out there and play hard. The closer the game got, we were more confident.”

NWC continued its fight in the second half, steadily closing the gap. With five minutes remaining, the Trappers took a 59-57 lead, their first of the game. 

That lead, however, quickly evaporated. The Thunderbirds pushed ahead 64-63 and would never surrender that lead, escaping Cabre Gym with a 72-68 victory. 

Ultimately, poor free-throw shooting and turnovers proved costly for NWC. The Trappers shot 3-of-16 from the line (18.8%), while committing 19 turnovers to Casper’s 12. 

Free throws have been an area of inconsistency throughout the season and will continue to be a focus for Levett as his student-athletes prepare for their last four games of the year. 

“We’ve been working on it, and we have to stick to it,” Levett said. “We gotta have consequences for missed free throws, and we have to see progress there.”

Though falling just short against Casper was heartbreaking for the team, the Trappers saw several stellar individual performances. Most notably, sophomore Kierra Cutright notched 16 points off the bench, tying for the team-high. She also added five rebounds.

“I think just knowing that they’re No. 4 made us want to push a little harder,” Cutright said. “I need to drive more, so when I started driving, I got a lot of momentum.”

Samiyah Worrell also scored 16 points, while Raquel Turner and Sydney Prather added 12 and 10, respectively. Riley Aiono was the leader on the glass with 12 boards. 

Northwest honored its eight-person sophomore class before the Trappers’ Saturday tilt with CWC, Region IX North’s last-place team. The Trappers began their sophomore day game on a drought, leading the Rustlers by just four at halftime.

“It was typical for a sophomore night,” Levett said. “We were all a little emotional, so we didn’t have our best start, but we regrouped and responded well.”

Dominance on the boards and quality production from NWC’s bench players allowed the Trappers to continually build on their lead, eventually pulling away with a 59-47 win. 

Cutright once again led NWC in scoring, posting 10 points. As the sophomore’s production continues to increase, she will see an increased workload, according to Levett.

“She had a great week for us,” Levett said of Cutright. “She came on a little later than we expected, but it’s good that she’s playing her best basketball right now. She’s been more aggressive and crashing the boards harder.”

Now 3-3 in league play, the Trappers sit fourth out of six in Region IX North with four regular-season games remaining. Next, they play road contests against Laramie County and Western Wyoming on Wednesday and Friday. 

Hoping to rise in the division standings, Levett likes where his team is at as it approaches the end of the season.

“We’re hungry,” Levett said. “We want to continue playing at a high level and put all the pieces together.”

Casper 72, Northwest 68

Points — Samiyah Worrell 16, Kierra Cutright 16, Raquel Turner 12, Sydney Prather 10, Riley Aiono 6, Adela Smutna 5, Shelby Tarter 2, Tatiana Coleman 1;

Rebounds — Aiono 12, Prather 8, Turner 5, Cutright 5, Worrell 3, Coleman 3, Smutna 2, Cutright 2, Hidaya Thornton 1;

Assists — Worrell 5

Northwest 59, Central Wyoming 47

Points — Cutright 10, Prather 9, Thornton 9, Turner 7, Tarter 5, Celina Tress 5, Coleman 5, Worrell 4;

Rebounds — Prather 8, Coleman 8, Cutright 7, Tress 5, Tarter 4, Turner 2, Worrell 2, Smutna 1