The
Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team has definitely
picked it up another notch since suffering a 65-63 loss to Eastern Wyoming
College on Jan. 24.
Since
that loss, the Cougars have reeled off seven straight wins, including a dominating
performance Tuesday night against Eastern Wyoming in which they led from start
to finish in claiming the 30-point win, 76-46.
The
Cougar women remain on top of the South Sub-region standings at 8-2 with just
two contests to go this weekend. Friday’s home contest against Lamar Community
College and then Saturday’s away game with Northeastern Junior College will go
a long ways in the team’s moral heading into next month’s regional tournament.
Friday’s
men’s and women’s doubleheader with Lamar begins at 5:30 with the women’s game.
The night will also be the last home game for six sophomores, three each on the
men’s and women’s team. Playing their last games in Cougar Palace for the women
will be Laurin Rivera, Shalisa Moffit, and Ashley Stevens, while DouDou Gueye,
Youssoupha Kane, and Joel Einfeldt will be on Cougar Palace for the last time
for the men.
What
makes Friday’s contest more intriguing on the women’s side is that Lamar
actually beat WNCC earlier in the season 76-69, and WNCC even at halftime
37-30. But, it was ruled later that Lamar had to forfeit both wins against WNCC
and EWC. The two losses shuffled the regional standings putting WNCC on top.
The
Lamar women are a dangerous team, however. The Runnin’ Lopes are averaging 89.8
points a game and have scored over 100 points in eight of their games,
including the last two when they beat Trinidad State 103-82 and then Colorado
Christian junior varsity 104-76.
Lamar
also brings a team that not only 16-11 on the season, but they feature an offense
that substitutes five players at a time every two minutes or more. The Runnin’
Lopes are led by sophomore Ellie Stevens, who is averaging 14.3 points a game,
followed by Ariel Rosa at 9.8 points. The Lopes are also averaging 12
3-pointers a game.
WNCC
has turned its season around during the last month. The Cougars are averaging
76 points a game while giving up a Region IX low 55 points a game. The Cougars
offense consists of an inside-outside game that is led by Ashley Stevens, who
is averaging 14.4 points a game and Lile Havili at 11.1 points. The two post
players are also averaging six rebounds a game.
The
Cougar women are also getting plenty of outside support with Laurin Rivera and
Shalisa Moffit averaging 10 and nine points a game. The Cougars have also been
bolstered by strong outside shooting by Angela Vigil and Lyndie Puckett. Moffit
leads the team with 32 made treys followed by Puckett with 29. Puckett is
connecting on 48.3 percent of her shots.
After
this weekend’s contests, the Cougar women will compete in the Region IX
tournament, but the site is yet to be determined as the host will come from the
north subregion. Right now Western Wyoming Community College is in position to
host with an 11-3 mark, but Casper and Dawson are tied for second with four
losses. Western Wyoming visits Dawson for a key subregion game Thursday night.
The
men’s games this weekend are also down to the wire. The Cougars snapped a
3-game losing skid on Tuesday with a 101-90 win over Eastern Wyoming College,
but the Cougar men’s final two games won’t be easy against two teams that are
talented.
Friday’s
opponent, Lamar, comes in with an 11-17 record but they have won eight of their
last 10 games since they defeated WNCC on Jan. 18, 61-55.
The
Cougar men will finish off the regular season Saturday at Northeastern Junior
College. NJC is in the driver’s seat to host the regional tournament with an
11-3 subregion record with North Platte closely behind at 11-4. The Plainsmen,
who are 24-3 on the season and ranked xx in the nation, have an away game at
Eastern Wyoming on Thursday and then a contest against WNCC on Saturday.
No comments:
Post a Comment