WNCC women pick up 30-point win over McCook for 14th win of season

                 The Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team put four players in double figures and the Cougar women earned their 14th win of the season with a 77-47 win over McCook Community College Saturday afternoon at Cougar Palace.

                Ashley Stevens paced the Cougars with 17 points followed by Lile Havili with 14, Shalisa Moffit with 12, and Liz Dogen with 10.

                But, as much as the Cougar inside game was active, it was the defensive side of the ball that sparkled for the Cougars. WNCC held McCook to 30 percent shooting from the field and held the Indians to zero 3-pointers.

                The Cougars held the Indians to just 23 first half points and 24 points in the second half. But, for the most part, the Cougars second-half defense was playing well for the first 15 minutes of the half, allowing the Indians just 10 points.

                "Coach says we are more of a second half team," Havili said. "We just came out hard in that second half."

                A big reason for the 30-point win is the way the entire team played as somehow everyone that played contributed in the sub-region win.

                "I think we played more as a team today then yesterday [Friday]," Havili said. "We really wanted it more today than we did on Friday. We wanted to make up for how we played against Northwest."

                The inside game also played a major factor in the win for the Cougars. The Cougars received 44 points from the four big girls. Havili had a monster game finishing with 14 points and the team leader in rebounds with six.

                And, they needed the strong inside game as the outside shot was not there. WNCC made just 1 of 15 treys on the day. On the flipside, the Cougars shot 42 percent from the field while holding McCook to just 30 percent.

                "This is a really good win for us," Havili said. "We came together great as a team today."

                WNCC really never was in jeopardy of losing the game. Early on, it was close as WNCC held a slim 6-5 lead. After that, WNCC went on a 11-2 run behind seven points from Stevens, including the only 3-pointer of the game for the Cougars.

                WNCC continued playing well, leading 31-23 at intermission.

                The Cougars picked up their play another notch in the second half, grabbing a 50-30 lead on a Steven bucket. The Cougars then doubled the Indians, 66-33, as they went on a 16-3 run behind the inside play of Havili.

                WNCC, 14-3, will next be in action Tuesday when they host Northeastern Junior College in another sub-region contest.

McCook               23 24 -- 47

WNCC                   31 46 -- 77

MCCOOK

Danielle Webster 4, Chanelle Blackshire 1, Janesse Newman 2, Stephanie Hylton 6, Tricia Manning 1, Janecia Jenkins 15, Mary-Ann Frederick 12, Julie Gallegos 6.

WNCC
Allyson Vasquez 2, Laurin Rivera 7, Shalisa Moffit 12, Abi Lujan 4, Angela Vigil 5, Liz Dogan 10, Ashley Stevens 17, Kaylee Biddell 3, Lile Havili 14, Olivia Vogel 3.