WNCC basketball teams set for home openers this weekend

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s basketball teams will open their home portion of the season this weekend when both teams will host games Friday and Saturday.

The Cougar men, who opened the season Tuesday with a 118-46 win over Oglala Lakota College on the road, will play Buckley Air Force Base Friday at 7:30 p.m. followed by a 3 p.m. game Saturday against Oglala Lakota.

The Cougar women, who had a scrimmage against Chadron State College on Wednesday, will open the season Friday at 5:30 p.m. against Little Big Horn College. The Cougar women will follow that up with a 1 p.m. contest Saturday against Hastings College junior varsity.

Both teams are excited for the home openers this weekend. The Cougar men are hoping to bring the offensive show they had Tuesday to Cougar Palace.

“The team is really excited to come out and put on a good show for everyone,” sophomore Joe Stock said. “In order for us to win, we need to play our ball, which includes rebounding, pushing in tradition, and hitting on every play.”

In the Cougar men’s season opener on Tuesday, WNCC ran out to a 65-19 halftime lead while making 12 3-pointers, four of which came from Stock’s hot hands. Stock paced the team with 16 points followed by seven other players in double figures, including Hauns Brereton and Preston Eaton with 12 points each, Justin Standley with 13, and Marcello Crivelente, Marko Kovacevic and Aaron Turner with 10 points each.

Stock said what stands out about this team is their unselfish play.

“The team so far has come a long way,” he said. “We are playing more as a team and being unselfish. We have a very promising team. Our team goal is to go to Hutch and win nationals.”

After this weekend’s contests, the Cougar men will be back home on Tuesday when they host Lamar Community College. They will then have a couple more home games -- Nov. 13 against Oglala Lakota and Nov. 16 against Central Wyoming -- before hitting the road for a road tournament in Twin Falls, Idaho, including playing College of Southern Idaho.

While the men’s team has an idea of where they are at, the women will get a good taste of competition this weekend. The Cougar women return just four players back from a year ago and sport a young squad.

Chidiogo Ofoegbu, a freshman from Cerritos, Calif., said this team has the talent to do real well; it is just a matter of executing.

“I think the team is really talented this year and we are starting to get that chemistry,” she said. “As long as we all have the same goal, we’re going to be successful.”

The Cougar women will just see how successful they will be this weekend against Little Big Horn College, who has four players from the Bahamas, and Hastings College junior varsity, who have several area high school athletes on the roster. Area players coming back to the Panhandle for Hastings College include Morrill’s Michelle Jacobsen, Bayard’s Terry Hulinsky, and Kimball’s Kayli Rageth.

The Cougar women, who are ranked 18^th in the NJCAA pre-season polls, return four players from a year ago in Shelby Campbell of Hemingford, Thais Pinto and Carolina Alves of Brazil, and Tiffany Moorer of California.

The women have plenty of freshmen talent to blend in with the four sophomores, including Scottsbuff’s DaNae Quijas. Other newcomers include 5-6 Samantha Sanders of Denver; 5-11 Ashley Soucie of Basalt, Colo.; 5-7 Brittany Macey of Denver; 5-8 Lisa Durden of Inglewood, Calif.; 5-9 Kyra Peterson of Lafayette, Colo.; 5-4 Jasmine Shaffer of Ft. Lupton, Colo.; 5-6 Darachia Johnson of Thibodaux, La.; 5-11 Leona Garrett of Brawley, Calif.; and 5-10 Shelby Jones of Loveland, Colo.

Ofoegbu said the team is anxious to open the season and show everyone the talent on this year’s team.

“Our team is super excited to start the season at home,” she said. “And, for our team to come away with a win, we’re going to have to lay with desire and play smart. As freshman Darachia Johnson says, ‘We in this to win this’.”

After this weekend’s contests, the Cougars will hit the road for tournament games at Colby, Kan., and Air Force Prep. They will then host a Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 26-27.