WNCC, NJC basketball teams tangle Tuesday night at Cougar Palace

Western Nebraska Community College’s Lesley Olson will probably be a little teary-eyed after tonight’s home contest against Northeastern Junior College.

Olson, who has played on the Cougar Palace floor since her freshman year at Gering High School, will be playing her last competitive game on Ron Brillhart court. The Cougar women, ranked No. 9 in the nation with a 22-1 record, will be playing their final home game tonight at 5:30 p.m. with the men’s contest to follow against the No. 4-ranked NJC men.

“It is going to be emotional. I have played on this court all through high school and it has been special playing here,” Olson said. “I am just in shock that this is our last home game this season. It has gone by so fast. After this game we go to La Junta, Colo., and we have a week to get ready for regionals. We will have to practice hard in the next two weeks. We need to take it one game at a time.”

Tonight’s contest against the Plainswomen will not be easy. NJC is 22-5 on the season and have won nine straight games since their last defeat, a 77-63 setback to WNCC in January.

The Plainswomen’s closest game in the past night games as a 75-72 win over Otero Junior College. Other then that, NJC has been winning by or near double-digits, including a 76-62 win over Otero last weekend.

During that streak, the Plainswomen defeated Casper College 60-51, Sheridan College 95-71 and Northwest Wyoming 55-44.

NJC is paced by two players in the top 20 in Region IX scoring. Sophomore Daria Basova leads Region IX with an 18.8 scoring average and a 10.7 rebounding average. Freshman Sarah Conner, a Guernsey-Sunrise graduate, is averaging 11.2 points a game. Conner is also pulling down 6.7 rebounds, while getting 3.75 assists and 2.23 steals a game. She is also knocking home 34 percent of her 3-point shots.

While the Plainswomen are playing well, the Cougar women have struggled lately out of the block. Still, they have just one defeat on the season – a 58-53 setback to Casper. Saturday night the Cougars needed a 28-foot 3-pointer by Kiki Taylor to force overtime against Western Wyoming Community College before winning 79-74.

WNCC played the second half Saturday without starting guard Alison Chaney because of a foot injury. Her status for tonight’s contest is questionable.

The Cougar women, though, have won five straight games. But Olson said they will need to be on the top of their game against a talented NJC crew.

“We have to come out with enthusiasm and play like we know we can,” she said. “We haven’t been starting games very well so we just need to pick it up and get into the game.”

While the Cougar women will be playing their last home game, the Cougar men will still have home games left after their 65-57 win Saturday night over North Platte Community College that gave WNCC the right to host next month’s regional tournament.

And, for the Cougar men, they have been on a roll winning their last three contests over Casper College, Eastern Wyoming and North Platte. WNCC enters tonight’s game with a 11-15 mark (or 17-9 if one doesn’t count the forfeits earlier in the season).

WNCC will need to play well to topple Northeastern Junior College, the No. 4 team in the nation. The Plainsmen enter with a 25-1 record and winners of their last 18 games. NJC’s only setback came to Dodge City Community College 67-57 back in November. Since that loss, the majority of the Plainsmen’s wins have been by double-digits. NJC is averaging 89.3 points a game while giving up 66.2 points.

WNCC is not far behind the Plainsmen, averaging 81.6 points and giving up 77 points a game.

NJC has four players in the top 30 in scoring in Region IX. Shane Edwards leads the way at 13.5 points a game followed by Omar Leary at 13.4 points, Rashad Austin at 13 points and La Travis Turner at 11.5 points.

The Cougars are led by Ricardo De Bem’s 17.7 points a game followed by CJ Hampton at 13 points and Erik Smith at 12.4 points. All three of the Cougars are also in the top 30 in scoring.

After tonight’s contests, both the Cougar men and women will travel to La Junta, Colo., Friday to face Otero Junior College in the last regular season contest. The Cougar women will then compete in the Region IX tournament in Casper, Wyo., the first weekend of March. The WNCC women’s first-round opponent at regionals will be McCook.

The Cougar men be at home for the regional tournament starting March 3. WNCC’s first game at regionals will be Saturday, March 3 against the fourth seed from the south sub-region, either Otero Junior College.