WNCC basketball teams host NJC, Denver Broncos cheerleaders Wednesday

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s basketball teams have just two more home games left in their season and Wednesday night will be one of the biggest of the season against Northeastern Junior College.

Wednesday night, though, will be more then just basketball as the several members of the Denver Bronco cheerleaders will perform and sign autographs. Action tips off at 5:30 p.m. with the women’s game followed by the men’s game at 7:30.

“Wednesday night should be a fun evening for the entire family,” athletic director Jennifer Pedersen said. “NJC is bringing a tremendous amount of talent to Cougar Palace and both Cougar teams will have to work hard to secure wins. We are also excited to have the Broncos Cheerleaders with us for the evening. This will help us have a unique half-time entertainment package for all the spectators.”

Pedersen said there is special admission for this game because of the Broncos cheerleaders. Admission will be $5 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens. No passes will be accepted, Pedersen said.

On top of two intense basketball games and the bronco cheerleaders, Pedersen said that the Gering Up third grade boys basketball teams will perform at halftime of the women’s game. Plus Platte Valley Companies will be hosting shooting contests throughout the night during timeouts.

“The cheerleaders will be performing at half-time and talking about the organization as well as their careers,” Pedersen said. “Then, they will be signing autographs after the men's game.”

As for the games themselves, the NJC men enter Wednesday’s contest leading Region IX with a 26-3 record and have won 13 straight games, including a 106-84 win over the Cougars earlier this season. The NJC women are also looking to make a clean sweep over the Cougar women after winning 79-61 last month in Sterling, Colo.

The NJC women enter the contest with a 23-5 record. The Cougar women, however, are playing much better since the last time the two Region IX juggernauts faced off. WNCC is 23-4 on the season and have won six straight contests.

“Both teams are extremely skilled this year,” Pedersen said of the NJC teams. “The women’s team has a number of skilled freshmen and the men’s team is returning from a regional title they won last year on this court.”

Pedersen said it should be a good game this time around, considering both Cougar teams are playing well. Plus, she said, the home crowd should be in their favor.

“Our main strength will be our home court and our home crowd,” she said. “Our kids really feed off of positive energy from the crowd, and I think this is just what we need. Also, both teams are playing well at this point in the year and we need to keep the momentum as we finish off the week.”

After Wednesday’s contest, the Cougar teams will wrap up the home campaign with after games on Saturday. The women will entertain Otero Junior College at 1 p.m. followed by the men taking on Lamar Community College at 3 p.m. Both Cougar teams will conclude the regular season on Feb. 27 when they travel to Eastern Wyoming College.

“As a coaching staff, we never really think past the next game. We really try to keep the kids focused on where we need to be next, not where we want to end up,” Pedersen said. “But, for the women’s game, the players need to bring defensive intensity to the gall game. Our team cannot afford to be stagnate at anytime over the course of 40 minutes. We really must play together and capitalize on the turnovers.”