Region
IX Champions.
How
sweet those words for the members of the 22-ranked Western Nebraska Community
College women’s basketball team.
The
Cougar women, who captured their 20th win of the season and battled
through adversity all season, battled down to the wire against a good Gillete
College team, in posting a 62-54 win over the No. 25 Pronghorns Thursday night
in the Region IX championship at Cougar Palace.
The
win sends the Cougars to the NJCAA national tournament for the 10th
time in school history March 18-23 in Salina, Kan.
And,
for the players, winning the regional title is gratification and a dream come
true.
“At
the beginning of the year, I didn’t expect this but is so exciting now,”
Mikayla Brower of Torrington, Wyo., said. “This team is awesome and it is so
exciting.”
Gritt
Ryder, who finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds on the night, said all the
hard work the team has gone through from the first week of school in the fall
has paid off.
“This
championship is awesome,” the future Colorado State University basketball
player said. “All the hard work that we have done all season, including the
preseason with running and the morning runs, all comes together now to get this
championship.”
When
that final horn sounded, the entire Cougar team stormed the court. Ryder said
that was when the championship really sunk in.
“It
was like relieve, I guess,” Ryder said. “This whole group has been working all
year and this is unbelievable that it is actually happening now.”
The
Cougars earned an automatic berth into the 24-team tournament. Gillette still
has an opportunity to get to nationals as maybe one of four at-large teams.
This
game was a battle between two champions as neither team wanted to give an inch
in the second half. In fact, the players said this is the type of contest they
needed heading into nationals.
“With
this game, it came down to the end and it showed that we have the toughness to
finish a game,” Brower said. “That is what we need to be able to do at
nationals.”
Ryder
said the showed a lot of heart to pull out this win.
“We
really haven’t that many close games so I think it was important to have a
close game before nationals,” she said. “This game was perfect. It is how a
championship game is supposed to be won. The crowd was amazing and thanks to
all the people that came out.”
This
was a heart-wrenching contest. The first half saw the Cougars go on a 13-0 run
to open up a 13-13 tie to lead 26-23. The run was highlighted by 3-pointers by
Laurin Rivera and Shalisa Moffit and a big steal by Maurissa Ortega. WNCC would
lead 32-23 at the half.
The
second half was a battle. WNCC led the majority of the first 10 minutes by five
points, but Gillette came back to take a 46-44 lead on a bucket by Kiela Garner
with 9:26 to play. WNCC answered on two free throws by Ashley Stevens and then
took a 48-46 lead on a bucket by Brower.
Gillette
tied the contest once again at 48-48, but that is when Ryder heated up from
outside, hitting three straight 3-pointers to put the Cougars up 57-52 with two
minutes to play.
Gillette
sliced the lead to lead to three points, but clutch free throw shooting by
Rivera, Brower and Jessica Aratani sealed the win.
Brower,
who was named to the South All-Region team, said the they needed everyone to
get this win.
“Our
team did a great job and we did what we needed to do in order to pull this one
out,” she said. “I am sure coach will push us hard this week to get us ready
for nationals. He knows what it is like to be there, but none of us have any
experience down there.”
Ryder
said that first half, 13-0 run paid off down the stretch.
“It
was a team effort win and that is what makes this team so important,” she said.
“It is not about one or two people, it is about everyone and that is what we
showed tonight. When we come out with a lot of energy, no one can really stop
us and we did that tonight again.”
The
Cougars had just two players in double digits. Ryder finished with 20 points,
but Ashley Stevens finished with 12 points, eight of which came in the second
half.
WNCC
also connected on seven 3-pointers. Ryder connected on four treys on the night.
Rebounding was also huge for the Cougars as they out-rebounded the Pronghorns
37-34.
Gillette
was led in scoring by Kenosha Wright with 21 points and eight rebounds, while
Christina Davis and Kiela Garner had 10 points each.
Three
WNCC and Gillette players made the all-tournament team. The Cougars earning a
spot include Ryder, Stevens, and Aratani, while Pronghorns making the team
include Kenosha Wright, Kiela Garner, and Christina Davis.
Other
members of the all-tournament team include Cheyanne Balster of Casper, Emily
Smith of Central Wyoming, Akia Davis and Shelby Hemmann of McCook, Ivana Grbic
of Miles, Andressa Augusto and Kennedy Allen of Northwest, Milomilo Nanai of
Sheridan, and Emily Moore of Western Wyoming.
Gillette (28-6) 23 31 – 54
WNCC (20-14) 32
30 – 62
GILLETTE
Christina Davis 10, Kiela Garner 10, Alicia Carline 9,
Kenosha Wright 21, Freye Newton 4.
WNCC
Mikayla Brower 6, Laurin Rivera 7, Kelsey Doddridge 3,
Gritt Ryder 20, Shalisa Moffit 3, Maurissa Ortega 2, Ashley Stevens 13, Jessica
Aratani 7.
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