WNCC women go to 4-0 on season with win over Ft. Carson

               COLBY, Kan. -- Jess Samorodova recorded a double-double and the Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team went to 4-0 with a 75-40 win over Fort Carson Army Base Saturday in the final day of the Ambassador Classic in Colby, Kan.

               Samorodova, the 6-foot-3 post player from Russia, poured in 21 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to finish the Ambassador Classic with a 3-0 mark.

               WNCC coach Dave Harnish said it was a good weekend for his young team.

               "We have a very good weekend and a very good start to the season to go 4-0," Harnish, who is in his 25th year as the head coach at WNCC, said. "We played hard and competed all weekend. We have done everything well this weekend [in all the games] except shoot and we shot better today."

               The Cougars controlled the contest running out to a 38-20 halftime lead and cruised after that. The Cougars shot around 40 percent for the game and connected on just 5 of 6 free throws.

               What impressed Harnish in the win against Ft. Carson was how well his team played defensively along with hitting the boards hard. Samorodova and Bridgeport's Ashley Stevens honkered down on the boards with a combined 18 rebounds.

               The Cougars put down four 3-pointers Saturday against Ft. Carson, which was much better than the one trey they made Friday against Colorado Northwestern. Shalise Moffit and Idil Ozbayrak each connected on two treys each.

               The Cougars finished with three players in double figures. After Samorodova's 21 points, Moffit and Katie Kerkhoff each had 10 points on the day. Ozbayrak and Stevens also poured in eight points each, while Gritt Ryder had six points and six steals.

               The Cougars, 4-0, will be back in action Tuesday when they host Colorado Christian junior varsity at 6 p.m. WNCC will then compete in the Central Wyoming Classic where they will face Central Wyoming College and Miles Community College over the weekend.

WNCC (4-0)         38 37 -- 75

Ft. Carson            20 20 -- 40

WNCC

Michelle Brassard 2, Shalisa Moffit 10, Lauren Rivera 4, Idil Ozbayrak 8, Jess Samorodova 21, Gritt Ryder 6, Mikayla Brower 2, Maurissa Ortega 2, Jenna Lindquist 2, Ashley Stevens 8, Katie Kerkhoff 10.