LA
JUNTA, Colo. --- The Western Nebraska Community College men's and women's
basketball teams picked up important South Sub-Region wins on Friday over Otero
Junior College.
The
No. 23 WNCC women received a double-double from Gritt Ryder with 21 points and
11 rebounds in posting the 58-47 win.
The
men received a double-double from Quante Cooley of 12 points and 12 rebounds in
giving the Rattlers their first sub-region loss, 78-69.
WNCC
coach Russ Beck said his team played with lots of composure in the contest to
get the important win that moves them to 4-8 in conference play.
"Our
defense was really good and we got stops when we need to," he said.
"They have not lost at home in the sub-region and they were 9-1 at home
coming in. We are starting to play our best ball right now."
The
key for the Cougars was that they jumped out to a 20-5 lead and led 44-34 at
halftime after Tahir Little hit a near half court shot at the buzzer. In the
second half, the Rattlers sliced the lead to one point with about 10 minutes to
play, but this time the Cougars held their composure and fought to the end to
get the win.
WNCC
shot the ball really well, hitting on 48 percent from the field compared to 34
percent for the Rattlers. WNCC also sizzled from the 3-point area, connecting
on 43 percent while Otero was 23 percent. The Cougars also hit their free
throws, going 14 of 18 from the line for 82 percent.
WNCC
had four players finish in double figures. Cooley had a double-double of 12
points and 12 rebounds, but the team was led by Cody Johnson, who poured in 23
points and pulled down seven rebounds. Johnson had 19 points at halftime.
Also
hitting double digits were Charles Ward with 20 points and seven rebounds,
while Little had 12 points.
For
the ladies, the win pushed the team to within one win of winning the South
Sub-Region and hosting the regional tournament that begins March 3.
Assistant
coach Ipek Turkyilmaz said they only shot 28 percent in the first half but
heated up both offensively and defensively in the second half, shooting 39 percent.
They also connected on five 3-pointers on the night. Ryder was 3 of 6 from
beyond the arc, while Brower was 1 of 3. Brower leads the nation in 3-point
shooting at 54.2 percent.
Brower
and Stevens joined Ryder in double digits with 11 points each. Aratani pitched
in eight points and seven rebounds.
Both
WNCC teams will be back in action today when they travel to Trinidad State
Junior College.
Men's Game
WNCC 44
34 -- 78
Otero 34
35 -- 69
WNCC
Tahir Little 12, Quante Cooley 12, Charles Ward 20,
Sebastian Suarez 8, Cody Johnson 23, Chad Calcaterra 3.
Women's Game
WNCC 28
30 -- 58
Otero 24
23 -- 47
WNCC
Mikaya Brower 11, Gritt Ryder 21, Ashley Stevens 11,
Jessica Aratani 8, Kelsey Doddridge 2, Laurin Rivera 3, Katie Kerkhoff 2.
No comments:
Post a Comment