WNCC women go to 14-0 with win over Trinidad State

                 The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team started slow, but cranked the offense up late in the first half and cruised to an 88-39 win over Trinidad State Junior College in the second day of the Lady Cougar Holiday Classic.

                The win lifted the No. 17 Cougars to 14-0 on the season as they enter the holiday break. The tournament will conclude tomorrow at 1 p.m. as Colby Community College will battle Trinidad State. Colby was a 92-36 winner over Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture.

                WNCC coach Dave Harnish said it is nice to be 14-0 at break.

                “The kids are excited about being 14-0, but I think with this group, you look beyond the record,” he said. “I told them tonight I think they worked hard this semester. They worked hard in the weight room and worked hard in practice. We certainly can do things better, but I think the effort has been there and that is all you can ask. So, it is nice to be 14-0. But, I think it was their effort and dedication  and putting the time in that has got them to where they are at. I hope they remember that next semester.”

                Friday’s game wasn’t close at the start. Harnish said the switch in defense finally got that separation from a hustling Trinidad State squad.

                “We started the game with a man-to-man defense and they hit some threes. We weren’t getting out on people and I thought Trinidad did a good job the first 10 minutes of the game, where we only had a two or four point lead,” he said. “We had to switch to a trapping zone to try to get us going a little bit more defensively. Switching the defenses opened the door, got us some turnovers and got our tempo up. I thought the second half we did a better job in that man-to-man. Defense.”

                Trinidad State held a 6-2 lead n the Cougars on a Ciera Jones bucket. But, the Cougars changed the tide, going on a 10-0 run behind six points by ChaCha Ofoegbu and four points from Carolina Alves for a 12-6 lead.

                Trinidad wouldn’t go away, staying pace with the No. 17 team in the nation. The Trojans sliced the lead to three points, 18-15, on a Kristen DiPaola 3-pointer, and trailed 22-18 with eight minutes left in the opening half.

                That was when the Cougars put the offense and defense into a different gear, outscoring Trinidad 20-4 the final eight minutes. Thais Pinto had eight of those points, while Shelby Campbell and Samantha Sanders each contributed four points for a 42-22 halftime lead.

                WNCC put the game away in the second half, scoring the first 19 points of the half for a 61-22 lead. Trinidad’s first bucket didn’t come until five minutes into the half on a Carolyn Lampkin bucket. WNCC cruised after that to its 14^th win of the season.

                “Switching the defense helped tonight and I also thought we made some shots tonight,” Harnish said. “That was the big difference between last night [Thursday] because we made some outside shots better tonight, whether from the three or just hitting some 15 footers. “

                WNCC shot 63 percent from the field while Trinidad was just 31 percent. The Cougars also out-rebounded the Trojans 47-21. Pinto had six boards to pace the team.

                WNCC had just two players in double figures. Pinto finished with 17 points on 8 of 10 shooting, while Ofoegbu had 11 points. Trinidad State was led by Lambkin with nine points.

                Harnish said he hopes the players come back ready with the same type of work ethic next semester. WNCC resumes action on Jan. 11 as they host Eastern Wyoming College in a men’s and women’s doubleheader. There will also be a softball team all-you-can-eat chili supper that night as well with tickets just $5 and available from any softball player.

                “The break is a little scary. Last year we were 13-2 and I thought we were playing well and we didn’t play well second semester,” he said. “I learned something of what we did last year and hopefully the sophomores understand that and come back better prepared and make a good second semester and make a good run at the regional tournament.”

NCTA                     14 22 – 36

Colby                    56 36 – 92

NCTA

Jenny Archer 6, Abby Sybrandt 2, Maddie Thurston 11, Nichole Hornyak 10, Jordyn Van Ryswyk 7.

COLBY

Elina Gutmane 16, Kelli Crittenden 9, Brooke Bursiek 12, Morgan Rickwartz 14, Hannah Thornton 16, Liga Vente 2, Crystal Kinderknecht 10, Christina Anderson 5, Tayler Puttergill 8.

TRINIDAD STATE

Shelby Louder 1, Tameka Manning 6, Kiley Dixon 2, Ciera Jones 4, Kristen DiPaola 8, Jasmine Michael 7, Sandra Morales 2, Carolyn Lampkin 9.

WNCC

Samantha Sanders 6, Ashley Soucie 4, Shelby Campbell 6, DaNae Quijas 3, Tiffany Moorer 8, Kyra Peterson 6, ChaCha Ofoegbu 11, Jasmine Shaffer 6, Darachia Johnson 6, Leona Garrett 8, Thais Pinto 17, Carolina Alves 4, Shelby Jones 3.