The
Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team is definitely motivated
entering the second semester after finishing off 2013 with an embarrassing loss
to Trinidad State Junior College.
The loss,
in fact, could prove to be a positive as the players and coaches realize what
it will take to win in Region IX.
“We
are all pretty mad about that loss,” freshman Allyson Vasquez said. “We
do want to come back out with a big bang and start the second semester off
right and see what we can do.”
The
Cougar women, who sport a 12-3 record, will return to action Friday when they
host Northwest Kansas Technical College at 5:30 p.m. followed by a 2 p.m. tilt
with McCook Community College on Saturday.
The Cougar
men will also be in action both days at Cougar Palace, taking on No. 5 North
Platte Community College on Friday and then McCook on Saturday at 4 p.m. Friday’s
contests are also free to the public.
Vasquez
said the women’s team is ready for the second semester.
“We
just need to come out and play every team like we normally would,” she said. “We
can’t take any team lightly. We just have to play our hardest.”
The
Cougars enter the new year on the heels of a Trinidad State loss on Dec. 14,
80-69, that definitely left a sting in the team’s Holiday spirits. And that
sting is still there.
“The
loss definitely has really motivated us,” Vasquez said. “It has motived the
players and the coaches.”
Since
the Cougar women got back last Saturday, they have been working hard to
finetune their game. The one area that Vasquez said the team has really sharpened
is their defense.
“We
are anxious to get going,” Vasquez said. “We have been having long practices working
mainly on defense. Coach has said we have become a lot stronger on defense. With
defense comes offense so when you play defense right, your offense should fall
into place.”
WNCC
is still one of the top defensive teams in the region, giving up 56.2 points a
game while scoring at a clip of 77.3 points. The Cougars offensive has been sizzling
as of late, minus the loss to Trinidad, where they are 7-0 when they scored 75
points or more.
A
big share of the Cougars offense comes from four players averaging nine or
points a game. Ashley Stevens leads the way at 15.1 points followed by Laurin
Rivera at 11.5, Lile Havili at 10.5, and Shalisa Moffit at 8.5.
A big percentage of the Cougars
offense has come from beyond the arc, where they have already connected on 71
3-pointers (35.9 percent). Moffit has connected on 21 treys, followed by Lyndie
Puckett with 15, and Vazques with 13.
WNCC
will have three games in five days, two of which are sub-region contests.
Friday’s opponent, Northwest Kansas, comes in with a 2-17 record, including
dropping its last four games where they allowed an average of 84.25 points.
McCook
enters with a 2-14 record. The Indians picked up their second win on Tuesday
when they smoked the Nebraska All-stars 74-13. The Indians will play Eastern
Wyoming College on Friday before facing WNCC on Saturday afternoon.
The
Cougars will also host Northeastern Junior College on Tuesday in what has
become a south sub-region rivalry game. The Plainswomen are 7-7 this year while
the Plainsmen come in with a 13-2 mark.
Unlike
the Cougar women, the men will have two sub-region games with both contests
huge in sub-region standings. North Platte enters with a 12-0 overall mark and
tops in the sub-region at 4-0. McCook is right behind at 11-4 overall and 3-1
in the sub-region.
The
Cougars, who have won five straight and five of their last six games, are
sitting third in the region and two wins this weekend will move the team in the
driver’s seat to win the sub-region and host the regional tournament in March.
No comments:
Post a Comment