Thursday, January 09, 2014

WNCC women, men ready to open second semester this weekend at home



                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.

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