WNCC women top McCook for 23rd victory

                McCook -- The Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team started quick in rolling past McCook Community College 61-42 in picking up their 23rd victory of the season Friday evening in McCook.

                The Cougars were led by Ashley Stevens and Lili Havili on the inside as the two combined for 34 points, each scoring 17 points. No other Cougar finished in double figure.

                A big key for the Cougars was their defense, where they held McCook to just 22 first half points and then 20 second half points. WNCC also limited big scoring runs while themselves getting big runs to open up the game early.

                WNCC started the game with great defensive intensity and an offense that was clicking. The Cougars scored the first eight points of the game after back-to-back buckets by Shalisa Moffit. McCook finally stopped it's scoreless streak, popping in a bucket with 15 minutes to go. It would be another six minutes before McCook would score again. In the meantime, the Cougars went on a 11-0 run to lead 11-2 behind two buckets from Ashley Stevens and Lile Havili each and a 3-pointer by Abi Lujan.

                The Cougars led 27-11 before McCook made a late run, outscoring WNCC 11-5 to finish the first half. WNCC led at intermission 32-22.

                The second half belonged totally to WNCC, playing a strong defensive game and executing the offense well, gaining many easy inside buckets. WNCC led 41-26 and then opened up the offense even more, going on an 11-0 run behind two buckets each from Stevens and Havili for a 55-30 lead.

                Friday's win keeps the Cougars in the number one spot in the south sub-region with a 7-2 mark with Lamar and Eastern Wyoming College right behind at 7-3.

                WNCC (23-4) will next be in action next week with three games. The Cougars will host Eastern Wyoming on Tuesday before hosting Lamar Community College on Friday. WNCC will then have their last regular season on Saturday when they travel to Northeastern Junior College.

WNCC (23-4)                      32 29 -- 61

McCook (6-21)                  22 20 -- 42

WNCC

Ally Vasquez 3, Laurin Rivera 6, Shalisa Moffit 6, Lyndie Puckett 2, Abi Lujan 7, Angela Vigil 2, Ashley Stevens 17, Lile Havili 17, Kaylee Biddell 1.