WNCC Cougar Athletics

Big second half lifts WNCC women over EWC

2012-01-25T09:38:00.000-07:00

The Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team will soon be known as the cardiac kids if they keep playing games the way they have the past three weeks.

Tuesday night, the Cougar women trailed 36-22 at halftime and then came out in the second half shooting 50 percent and outscored Eastern Wyoming College 54-28 to escape with a south sub-region 76-62 win.

"We just came out ready to play in the second half," Samantha Sanders, who ignited for 24 points, said. " I don't know why we can't come out in the first half and do that, but the second half our defense was more focused, we were knocking down shots, and that was the difference."

Sanders is still wondering why this team likes to make games interesting.

"I don't know if it is the lack of bodies, but I honestly just don't know what why we do it," she said. "But, as long as we are coming out with a win and keep doing the things to get better, that is all we can. Winning is the key and working on getting better, so when we play those bigger and better teams, we are not coming out so soft and tired."

Tuesday's sub-region game looked as if Eastern Wyoming College was going to pull the upset as they played like champions in the first half, going on a 10-0 run that was highlighted by 3-pointers by Brianna Pittman and Brittani Colberg for a 24-10 lead.

The Cougars cut the lead to 24-17 only to watch the Lancers mount a 6-0 run that included a ig 3-pointer by Colberg that helped the Lancers to a 36-22 halftime lead.

EWC coach Tom Andersen said his team played well in the second half as they shot 41 percent from the field and connected on five 3-pointers.

"We played well the first half and in the second half we made some bad turnovers that led directly to baskets and we fouled them too much," he said. "It has been this way all season. We have been inconsistent. We play good at times and then not at times. Our kids gave a great effort and Scottsbluff did a good job coming back and turning up the pressure in the second half. They made the plays when they had to. They took the lead but we came back and got it back, but then we had bad mistakes at the wrong time."

The second half was a different story all together for both squads. WNCC, who shot just 21 percent in the first half, shot 50 percent in the second 20 minutes including knocking down four 3-pointers, three of which came from the hands of Sanders.

WNCC, however, didn't grab the lead until midway through the half. The Lancers led 44-38 with about 14 minutes to play. That was when the tide turned as WNCC went on a 12-0 run that included a big 3-pointer by Idil Ozbayrak. WNCC led 50-44 with 10 minutes to play.

The Lancers came back with a 9-0 run that saw Colberg, who finished with 11 points and three treys, nail a 3-pointer for a 53-44 lead. The Cougars defense picked up once again, as they held the Lancers scoreless for the next four minutes while they went on a 14-0 run and a 64-53 lead. The big plays during that run was four points from Jessica Aratani and five points from Sanders, including a 3-pointer and a bucket off a steal.

Sanders said that when her team needs to play like the second half for a complete game.

"When we are focused and want to play defense, we are good," she said. "But we need to come out the first half and play strong all game long instead of waiting until we are down 14 points to do it. The second half we were just knocking down shots."

WNCC had three players finish with double figures. Sanders led all scorers with 24 points, while Kelsey Doddridge chipped in 17 points and Aratani had 13 points. ChaCha Ofoegbu finished with 10 rebounds while Aratani pulled down eight.

The Lancers also had three with double digits. Aylssa Deal led the way with 19 points and three 3-pointers, while Colberg had 11 points and Portia McCray had 13.

The Lancers will next be in action Thursday when they travel to Central Wyoming. WNCC will be back in action Friday when they host Casper College in what is billed as "White Out" night, where fans are asked to wear white.

EWC (3-15) 34 28 -- 62

WNCC (17-4) 22 54 -- 76

EASTERN WYOMING

Alyssa Deal 19, Brittani Colberg 11, Lacey Houston 2, Jeileen Mas 6, Jubilee Sutherland 4, Shauri Lyon 4, Portia McCray 13, Brianna Pittman 3.

WESTERN NEBRASKA

Samantha Sanders 24, Leona Garrett 5, Lisa Durden 4, ChaCha Ofoegbu 5, Idil Ozbayrak 8, Kelsey Doddridge 17, Jessica Aratani 13.

19th-ranked WNCC knock off EWC

2012-01-25T09:31:00.000-07:00

The Western Nebraska Community College men's basketball team didn't want cracking the NJCAA top 20 for the first time since 2005 be a one-week affair as they took on Highway 26 rivals Eastern Wyoming College Tuesday night.

WNCC moved into the national rankings at No. 19 this week and they showed just how potent of an offensive defensive team they can be early on in the contest. The Cougars quickly took control of the sub-region contest, rolling to a 26-7 lead and then held on to drop the Lancers 85-71.

The contest, however, was not one-sided by any means. The Lancers sliced the once-comfortable Cougar lead down to seven points in the second half, 53-46, before the Cougars pushed the lead to the 14-point win.

"You have to give it to EWC, they played really hard. But we made some shots tonight when we needed to make shots to keep that cushion and I am just glad to come out with a win," WNCC coach Russ Beck said.

EWC coach Casey Jones said that the game could have had a different outcome if they wouldn't have spotted the Cougars that 19-point lead. He was proud of the way they played after that 26-7 lead. EWC actually outscored WNCC 64-59 the rest of the contest.

"I could not be more pleased with the last 30 minutes," Jones said. "We were down 26-7 and then we won the rest of the game. I really enjoyed how we competed; we just weren't ready for the start and the emotion of the game that is a rivalry and against a team that is playing well. There are not many teams that we are playing now that are on a roll like they are. Once we took that initial hit, we got it back to a game at halftime and made a run again, getting it into single digits and controlled the second half. It took a lot of energy."

WNCC was just sizzling early on as Du'Vaughn Maxwell and Raul Delgado were playing lights out. Delgado ahd thee 3-pointers during that early run and Maxwell was a force inside. Beck said that Maxwell had one of his best games, finishing with a game-high 29 points and 12 rebounds.

"Maxwell and Marko were really active inside and it is probably Du'Vaughn's high on the year of 29 points and 12 boards," he said. "He gave us a good game. Sebastian also had a good game and Mike Peltz had a great game with seven assists and zero turnovers. Mike does a great job, he runs our team."

After WNCC got up 26-7, the Lancers made a run cutting the deficit to 12 points, 31-19, on a Matt Rosenbaum bucket. WNCC came back on a bucket by Allen Beck and then a trey by Sebastian Suarez to go up 38-26 at halftime.

The second half saw WNCC hold a 53-40 lead until the Lancers sliced the lead to seven points at 53-46 on a Jarett Upchurch bucket. WNCC came back as Beck and Maxwell each hit buckets and then they pushed the lead back to double digits on Delgado's fourth trey of the game at 62-50 and the Cougars held a double digit lead the rest of the way.

Maxwell led all scorers with 29 points. Delgado also chipped in 23 points, including four 3-pointers, while Suarez had 12 points and three 3-pointers.

The Lancers was led by Upchurch with 20 points followed by Rosenbaum with 15 and Ryan Wilson with 13.

The Lancers will be back in action Thursday when they travel to Central Wyoming for a contest, while the No. 19 Cougars will host Casper College on Friday at 7:30 p.m. That contest will be "White Out" night as fans are asked to wear white to the game for Cougar spirit.

EWC (7-11) 26 45 -- 71

WNCC (17-3) 38 47 -- 85

EASTERN WYOMING

Jordan Dick 9, Prescott Williams 2, Jarett Upchurch 20, Ryan Wilson 13, Chad Cottam 9, Slade Spoonhunter 3, Matt Rosenbaum 15.

WESTERN NEBRASKA
Tahir Little 2, Mike Peltz 2, Allen Beck 4, Du'Vaughn Maxwell 29, Mason Smith 4, Raul Delgado 23, Sebastian Suarez 12, Marko Kovacevic 9.

WNCC men, women host Eastern Wyoming College Tuesday night

2012-01-23T14:18:00.000-07:00

Records will mean very little when the Western Nebraska Community College and Eastern Wyoming College basketball teams face each other Tuesday night at Cougar Palace.

Tuesday’s encounter will have even special meaning over past years as both WNCC and EWC are in the same sub-region, which makes the men’s and women’s contest of vital importance come regional tournament time. Tip-off of the women’s contest is slated for 5:30 p.m. followed by the men’s contest. The contests will on DoubleQ Country, 105.9, as well as video streamed live at www.ihigh.com/wncc.

The Cougar men, who captured their 16^th win of the season after dropping McCook and Northeast Nebraska over the weekend, are on a quest to capture the South sub-region title and host the Region IX tournament in March.

WNCC coach Russ Beck said records mean very little when the two Highway 26 schools meet up. WNCC enters with a 16-3 record (4-0 in sub-region play) while EWC is 7-10 overall (2-2 in sub-region play).

“Anytime WNCC and EWC play each other, both teams will play extremely hard because they both want to win,” he said. “It is a nice rivalry because of the proximity of the schools and the history. We need to play good solid defense and be unselfish on offense and make the extra pass. We have to rebound the ball and be disruptive and play hard and together.”

Beck said the games between the two squads are always tight. Last year, WNCC won both non-sub-region meetings 74-62 and then earned a squeaker 78-76 at Torrington. Two years ago, the teams split with WNCC winning the first encounter 89-72 before EWC won handedly 66-46.

“The one thing you can expect from them is they will give everything they have,” Beck said. “They will leave nothing in the tank and no lead will be safe. We will have to gut it and claw it out and hopefully come out with a victory.”

The Cougars, who received votes in last week’s NJCAA national poll, have won seven of their last eight contests, including four straight. WNCC dropped Northeast Nebraska 91-55 on Friday before getting by McCook 93-78 on Saturday.

The Lancers split a pair of contests this past weekend, falling to McCook 72-65 before defeating Northeast Nebraska 91-88. The Lancers have some quality wins this season, however, dropping Northeastern Colorado twice 67-57 and 81-70, and Gillette College 84-74. Gillette College is in a four-way tie for first place in the north sub-region, while Northeastern Colorado is a half-game behind WNCC.

WNCC and Northeastern Colorado are the only teams with unbeaten record in sub-region play. NJC is 3-0.

“We are in control of our own destiny,” he said. “We don’t need anybody else to win or lose in order for us to keep us in a position to host the regional tournament. We just have to keep taking care of our own business, which is nice.”

The Cougars are leading Region in scoring, averaging a sizzling 95.3 points a game. Gillette College is next in line, averaging 91.4 points a game. WNCC also ranks third nationally in scoring behind Temple College (106 per game) and Cochise College (97.55 per game).

The women’s contest will also be important for the regional tournament seeding. The Cougar women are 3-1 in conference play and 16-4 overall, while the Lancers are just 3-14 on the season and 0-4 in conference play. EWC needs a win to climb out of the last place in the sub-region.

Both teams had different outcomes this past weekend. WNCC won two heart-pounding road games, getting by Northeast Nebraska 49-48 before dropping McCook in overtime 63-59. The Lancer women have lost nine straight including falling to McCook on Friday 65-39 and then Northeast Nebraska on Saturday 78-46. EWC’s last win was a 66=63 win over the Nebraska All-stars in the WNCC Thanksgiving Classic.

WNCC men defeat McCook to go to 4-0 in sub-region

2012-01-23T11:36:00.001-07:00

MCCOOK – The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team went to 4-0 in the sub-region as they withstood a 20-minute fire alarm delay in rolling past McCook Community College 93-78 Saturday night at McCook.

It was the Cougars 16 win of the season and fourth straight. The Cougars have won seven of their last eight contests.

Saturday’s contest started out tight as both teams were battling tooth and nail until midway through the first half the fire alarms went off and the gym had to be evacuated. WNCC coach Russ Beck said his team went to the bus and it was like having two halftimes.

“The game was very, very choppy with the many calls, the fire alarm, and the physical play,” Beck said. “But I think we responded and we kept playing. We came out on top because we were less emotional.”

After the unexpected delay, the cougars opened up the contest by leading 46-34 at halftime and then went up by 20 points, 66-44, on a Du’Vaughn Maxwell bucket. McCook sliced the lead late to 12 points, but never got any closer.

Beck said it was a physical contest. There were a combined 61 fouls called. WNCC also shot 67 percent from the field.

“We played good enough to win and there are still a lot of things we can work on like focusing at the end of the game,” he said. “This is a big sub-region win and it keeps us in control of our destiny. But we are focused on our next game against EWC and we want to get better as a team.”

Four Cougars finished in double figures, led by Raul Delgado’s 22 points. Marko Kovacevic also had a nice game, finishing with 20 points and seven rebounds. Sebastian Suarez also pitched in 19 points, will Maxwell ended up with 10 points.

WNCC, 16-3, will be back in action Tuesday when they host Eastern Wyoming College in a key sub-region contest beginning at 7:30 p.m. The Lancers picked up their second sub-region win Saturday night by defeating Northeast Community College 91-88 after leading 37-29 at halftime.

WNCC 46 47 – 93

McCook 34 44 – 78

WNCC

Marko Kovacevic 20, Raul Delgado 22, Sebastian Suarez 19, Mike Peltz 4, Du-Vaughn Maxwell 10, Mason Smith 6, Terrance Motley 4, Tahir Little 1.

WNCC women take down McCook on overtime

2012-01-23T11:35:00.002-07:00

MCCOOK – The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team won a hard-fought overtime victory over McCook Community College Saturday evening 63-59.
The Cougars, who were on the brink of defeat, got a fade-away jumper with two seconds to play to force overtime and then hit clutch free throws in the extra period to capture their third sub-region win of the season.

WNCC battled from behind for much of the contest, trailing the Indians by eight points in the first half and by as many as six points with a minute to play in the second quarter. Each time, though, the Cougars found a way to come back.

Jessica Aratani nailed two free throws at the end of the first half to give the Cougars a 30-29 lead at halftime. The second half was a barnburner as McCook held a 53-47 lead with under three minutes to play. The Cougars battled back as Idil Ozbayrak nailed a 3-pointer and then she hit 2 of 4 four free throws to cut the lead to 53-52 before ChaCha Ofoegbu tied the contest with a free throw.

McCook came back with a bucket to go up 55-53 with 16 seconds to play. WNCC had a chance to tie the contest but two missed free throws were off. McCook, however, turned the ball over and Doddridge hit the tying shot.

In the extra period, McCook drew first blood with a 3-pointer. Ozbayrak and Samantha Sanders answered right back with back-to-back 3-pointers for a 61-58 lead. WNCC went up 63-61 after Sanders hit two free throws. McCook had chances, but a turnover and a missed shot gave WNCC the victory.

WNCC had four players in double figures. Doddridge led the way with 19 points followed by Ozbayrak with 13 points. Ofoegbu and Sanders each collected 10 points each.

WNCC moved to 16-4 on the season but more importantly went to 3-1 in the sub-region while McCook fell to 12-6 and 1-2 in the sub-region.

The Cougars will next be in action Tuesday when they host Eastern Wyoming College in a sub-region contest starting at 5:30 p.m.

WNCC (16-4) 30 25 8 – 63
McCook (12-6) 29 26 4 – 59
WNCC
Idil Ozbayrak 13, Kelsey Doddridge 19, ChaCha Ofoegbu 10, Samantha Sanders 10, Lisa Durden 2, Jessica Aratani 4, Leona Garrett 5.

WNCC men, women take down Northeast Nebraska

2012-01-23T11:33:00.000-07:00

        The Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s basketball teams picked up wins over Northeast Community College in different fashions.

       The Cougar women received two late free throws from Jessica Aratani in registering a 49-48 win. The men, on the other hand, rolled to a 52-3 halftime lead and coasted to the 91-55 sub-region win.
       The Cougar womam held a 23-17 halftime lead and were up by six points late in the contest before Northeast took a 48-47 lead with 1:33 to play.
       WNCC’s defense stayed strong in shutting down the Hawks in getting the win.
Aratani had a big night, finishing with 15 points and eight rebounds, while ChaCha Ofoegbu had 10 points and nine rebounds.
       Kelsey Doddridge also finished with 11 points, while Idil Ozbayrak had 12 rebounds.
       The men’s contest was all WNCC as the Cougars went to 3-0 in the sub-region with the lopsided win.
       The Cougars shot 47 percent from the field and were 52 percent from the 3-point area in posting their 15^th win of the season.
       “I liked our defensive effort and we made the extra pass tonight,” WNCC coach Russ Beck said. “We now need a good game tomorrow [Saturday] at McCook.”
       The Cougars placed four players in double figures, led by Sebastian Suarez with 24 points, including four 3-pointers and eight rebounds.
      Also hitting for double figures was Raul Delgado with 15 points, Marko Kovecevic with 12 points and nine rebounds, and Mason Smith with 10 points.
     Mike Peltz finished the game with just five ponts, but had four assists and four steals. Du’Vaughn Maxwell also pulled down 10 rebounds to go with his five points.
     Both WNCC teams will be in action Saturday night when they travel to McCook for sub-region tilts before returning home for a sub-region, Highway 26 encounter with Eastern Wyoming College on Tuesday.

Women’s Game

WNCC 23 26 – 49
NE Nebraska 17 31 – 48

WNCC

Kelsey Doddridge 11, ChaCha Ofoegbu 10, Jessica Aratani 15, Lisa Durden 5, Leona Garrett 2, Jasmine Shaffer 2, Samantha Sanders 4.

Men’s Game

WNCC 52 39 – 91
NE Nebraska 32 23 – 55

WNCC

Sebastian Suarez 24, Raul Delgado 15, Mason Smith 10, Marko Kovacevic 12, Tahir Little 7, Mike Peltz 5, Du’Vaughn Maxwell 5, Allen Beck 4, Brady Mason 4, Terramce Motley 4, Marcus Johnson 1.

Gering's Smith, Marquez headed to play baseball at WNCC

2012-01-19T21:10:00.000-07:00

Gering's Zach Smith and Nate Marquez didn't have to look far to continue playing in college. The two Bulldog standouts will be playing baseball for Mike Jones at Western Nebraska Community College next season.

Smith, who signed a letter of intent Thursday afternoon, fall, said it is a relief that the decision is not lifted from his shoulders.

"This is a lot of pressure released in going through the recruiting process," Smith said. "I am happy with my choice to be able to play baseball here and play for Coach Jones. Hopefully, I can come in and contribute right away in working hard and getting the time in that I need to do to produce and hopefully get to the next level and step in right away and contribute."

As for Marquez, who committed to play baseball for the Cougars on Thursday, said the biggest reason he elected to stay home was because of Coach Mike Jones, who has coached him in American Legion in the summer.

"I choose WNCC because I thought this was a great way to start my baseball career and I have a good relationship with the coach," Marquez said. "i have been playing for them [Gering coaching staff] and they are good coaches. They know how to push us and make us play. I just want to carry that on to the next level."

Both players are looking to get even better when they enroll at WNCC in the fall. Jones said that Smith is projected to see action at third base and pitcher, while Marquez will see action in the outfield.

"Zach brings a lot of things to our program. You are talking about a guy that is very athletic and can play multiple positions," Jones said. "Getting a guy that can pitch, play the infield, and if we have to we can move him to the outfield and you don't get that every day. He is just very athletic. As a coach, it is great; we have a lot of options. i am curious to see what happens to him in the next two years. Does he become a Division I third baseman or a Division I pitcher. it will be fun working with him.

"As for Nate, he brings two different things. At Gering for the Legion team, he brings the lead-off hitter mentality that can run and is real aggressive on the bases. He tracks down everything in the outfield. There were multiple compliments at the state tournament a year ago about when a ball is hit to centerfield, Nate was going to go and catch it. Now when he goes to the college level it will be different. He will have to grow and add some strength. Defensively he is ready but he has to get better offensively."

Jones said that it is neat that he keeps coaching players that he watched grow up in the valley.

"It is really cool for me now that these guys are graduating high school and coming into my program," he said. "I remember when Nate was just a little guy and he would come to camps in the summer. I have seen him develop all these years. it is nice now to bring in a guy that I have seen grow and step into our program."

Smith, however, had the biggest decision in colleges as he had options playing other sports. He received football interest from Doane and Concordia, but decided that he wanted to play his favorite sport in college -- baseball. Football, he said, was third on his list of favorite sports ranking behind baseball and basketball.

"Baseball just fell in place with my goals to carry on and I could pass up playing for Coach Jones since he has been bugging me for three years know," he said. "Baseball would have to be favorite sport and basketball is a close second. i have been playing baseball for a long time. I just love the game and I love the atmosphere of being on the field and just playing."

Both players have dreams of trying to get to the next level and felt WNCC was a perfect stepping stone.

"My dream is to play Division I baseball and I felt that Coach Jones and the coaching staff can provide that to me of getting to the next level," Smith said. "However, I haven't thought that far ahead."

Marquez, who also plays basketball and soccer at Gering, is happy that he gets to continue playing a sport that he played since T-ball.

"I would say so this was an easy decision for me because of the way I feel about baseball," he said. "I don't feel that same way about any other sport. it was an easy decision for me. i pretty much want to get better so I can go to the next level."
Both players have one more season on the Gering American Legion team and they say the sky is the limit for this year's team.

"Our goal is to win a state championship," Smith said. "We should put in the time and effort. We have the right materials as a team to definitely contend for a state championship."

Gering's Morgan Broussard will play volleyball for WNCC

2012-01-16T14:53:00.001-07:00

It didn’t take Morgan Broussard long to realize how much she was going to miss volleyball after the Gering team was eliminated at the state tournament.

“I wasn’t expecting playing sports in college because I was thinking I needed a break. It is easy to say that when you are so involved but when it is over, it is over. I miss it and I had to keep going,” Broussard said. “It really hit me after we got done playing [at state] and I went with my parents to watch some other games and since I was done and just watching, I was thinking I will never be able to do this again. So, I texted Coach Gi saying I miss it and I want to play. I am ready for the challenge. It will not be easy but that is part of the job.”

Broussard didn’t have to go far to find a school that wanted her talents on the volleyball court as she officially choose Western Nebraska Community College to continue her playing days.

“I knew after my volleyball career was over, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity of playing with such an elite program,” she said. “It should be a great experience. We have the same mentality and that is to win. I am looking forward to extending my volleyball career with the Cougars.”

Broussard is following in the footsteps of her cousin, Sierra Schmidt, who played for the Cougars and won a national championship in 2010. She is hoping to accomplish the same things that Sierra achieved.

“Sierra went thought the program and just seeing [what she did] is just cool that you get a chance to be on a national championship team. It will be a great experience for me,” Broussard said. “Also, just seeing all the pictures on Facebook of them at nationals is something I would love to have that experience and be with all the coaches and girls. It will be a great time.”

WNCC coach Giovana Melo said Broussard will be a setter for the Cougars next season and is excited to get someone of her athletic ability.

“I love the fact she is extremely competitive,” Melo said. “She is very athletic. I told her that it is great when you have an athlete that can play many sports and I am happy that she likes volleyball enough to come play for us. I think she brings a lot. She has a really fun personality and she gets along with the girls. She will fit perfectly in with our program.”

Broussard was a 3-year starter for the Bulldogs in helping them to back-to-back district championships. Broussard was all-conference and honorable mention all-state. Broussard finished her season with 57 aces, 510 set assists, 121 solo blocks, 260 kills, and 348 digs.

Gering coach Craig Schadwinkel said it is a perfect fit for Broussard and WNCC.

“Coach Gi, I wish you the best with one of our Gering products,” Schadwinkel said. “I don’t think you could have found a better person or athlete to join your program. It is exciting that we get to have her around for two more years.”

Broussard said it wasn’t hard to choose volleyball over her other two high school sports of basketball and track and field.

“I like the other sports, but I don’t have the love for basketball and track like I do for volleyball,” she said. “That is what made it easier because I love the game so much. I have been around it all my life. My sister [Dusty] played for Coach Schadwinkel at Lake Minatare when I was 2. I was practically born with a volleyball in my hand.”

The hardest part Broussard will face next year is not playing alongside her friends. But, she is ready to make new friends and start a new chapter in her life.

“Our group of girls has been together for so long,” she said. “I have been around this game my whole life and it will be hard to let it go with this group of girls. But you have to set a new chapter in your story so that is what I am planning on doing.”

Delgado, Suarez combine on 10 3-pointers in win over Trinidad State

2012-01-14T21:59:00.000-07:00

Raul Delgado and Sebastian Suarez combined for 10 3-pointers and 48 points and the Western Nebraska Community College men's basketball team went 2-0 in the South Subregion with an 107-86 win over Trinidad State Junior College Saturday afternoon at Cougar Palace.

Delgado and Suarez each finished with five 3-pointers and the Cougars connected on 67 percent of their shots, including 12 of 19 shooting from beyond the arc. Suarez paced all scorers with 25 points, while Delgado pitched in 23 points.

"We wanted to get both these games at home and now the challenge is for us to go and get two wins on the road," WNCC coach Russ Beck said. "You know, good teams win at home and great teams, championship caliber teams, win on the road. So, we are trying to focus on Northeast Nebraska and McCook next weekend."

Saturday's contest was another performance that the Cougars excelled on both ends of the court. But, itwasn't until the second half that the Cougars started to open up the contest and it didn't take much motivation for WNCC to pick up the intensity.

"The boys had a lot of motivation in the second half," Beck said. "That hard foul on Raul when he hit the floor was the critical junction for us. i walked into the locker room and I said do I need to motivate you or is that motivation enough for you to come out and play hard the second half. We talked about a few adjustments that we wanted to make and we came out and played hard. We really wanted this win."

The Cougars led 51-39 at halftime, but it was the final play of the half that pushed the Cougars intensity to a new level after Delgado was sent to the floor after a hard foul. Delgado managed to get up and sank two free throws, but the play was enough to awaken the Cougars.

Trinidad State scored the first point of the second half on a free throw, but after that, WNCC went on a 10-0 run that was highlighted by six points from Marko Kovacevic and a 3-pointer from Mason Smith for a 61-40 lead. Moments later, Du'Vaughn Maxwell put up another highlight as he made a behind his head pass to Kovacevic. That pass and dunk started another 9-0 run that saw the Cougars go up 73-49.

Trinidad cut the lead to 85-69, but that was when the Cougars went on a 18-4 run that saw Suarez nail three 3-pointers and Maxwell slam home two electrifying dunks for a 103-73 lead.

What pleased Beck the most about the win was the balanced scoring and the way they shared the ball. WNCC finished with 27 assists, led by Mike Peltz with 11.

"It was great to see the confidence that Sebastian Suarez and Raul Delgado are shooting the ball," Beck said. "We also had pretty balanced scoring with 25, 23, 19 and 10 points. The key stat of the night is that we had 27 assists and only 11 turnovrs. We are really being unselfish in finding the open man and shooting when we need to."

Besides the 48 points from Suarez and Delgado, Kovacevic had 19 points and six rebounds, while Terrance Motley finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. Maxwell also finished with nine points, five rebounds and three assists, while Peltz and Tahir Little each had seven points.

WNCC, 14-3, will look to go 4-0 in the subregion with road contests this weekend at Northeast Community College and McCook Community College.

"This is a long road trip and the last two years we have gone to Northeast Nebraska and lost by one point at the buzzer. The first year for me was a tip in after I left our best rebounder at home because he was late to the bus. The second year we had a shot at the buzzer and missed. If we work hard enough we are hoping to get a win. Then McCook is always a tough place to play because it is so closed in. They will play hard and I was impressed with their team when they played against CEU, so we have a tremendous challenge for us to go out and get two wins on the road."

Trinidad (5-10) 39 47 -- 86

WNCC (14-3) 51 56 -- 107

TRINIDAD
Phil Watts 8, J'My Holloway 13, McArthur Gaines 2, Devonte Malcolm 22, Bryant Evans 20, Tyrell Williams 2, Juhreece Thompson 9, Devonte Upson 8, Terrence Smith 6.

WNCC
Tahir Little 7, Mike Peltz 7, Du-Vaughn Maxwell 9, Mason Smith 5, Raul Delgado 23, Sebastian Suarez 25, Marko Kovacevic 19, Terrance Motley 10, Marcus Johnson 2.

WNCC women top Trinidad State behind 15 points from Aratani

2012-01-14T21:50:00.000-07:00

The Western Nebraska Community College's Jessica Aratani finished with 15 points and the Cougar women's basketball team shot 50 percent in the second half to capture its first subregion win of the season with a commanding 70-42 win over Trinidad State Junior College on Saturday afternoon at Cougar Palace.

The Cougars shot just 32 percent from the field in the first half but found its scoring touch in the second half on connecting on 17 of 35 shots in running to the win. Aratani led all scorers with 15 points and seven rebounds, including scoring eight early points in the second half to lead the Cougars.

WNCC coach Dave Harnish said his team played well in the second half.

"We played better second half and had better ball movement as well as ball intensity," Harnish said. "As your intensity goes up so does your scoring and knocking shots down. It is two nights in a row that I thought we played well in the second half. This was a tough turnaround game and I am proud of them to get the win, which we needed desperately."

It did take a little while for the Cougars to get uncorked after playing so hard in a 2-point loss to Otero Junior College on Friday. Trinidad State held an 8-7 lead on a bucket by Destiny Bregman. After that, though, it was all Cougars as WNCC went on a 11-0 run that was highlighted by four points from Leona Garrett for an 18-8 lead.

WNCC doubled up the Trojans at 30-15 as Kelsey Doddridge canned a trey and Aratani converted on four free throws. The Cougars led 30-20 at halftime.

The Cougars' second half was a complete contest as the defense and offense was gelling. Doddridge started the half with a 17-foot bank shot from the corner. After that Aratani took over to put the Cougars up 48-28. Trinidad State had one small 8-0 run to cut the lead to 15, but WNCC quickly rebounded with an 11-0 run of their own, capped by a Lisa Durden 3-pointer, to lead 62-36.

Harnish said this was a good win for his squad as they came back from a bruising contest on Friday to get the win.

"It is always tough coming back after playing a hard-fought game last night to turning around and playing today. It was a matter of just sucking it up and getting after it," he said. "We were a little sore and ChaCha kind of sprained her ankle, but from a positive point, we didn't play a great game, we played well enough to win. We played well in spurts in terms of offensively and defensively. i thought defensively we were strong throughout the game. We had balanced scoring and balanced play and the team playing together was encouraging."

WNCC had three players hit double figures. Besides Aratani's 15 points, Garrett had 12 points and nine rebounds, and Doddridge had 10 points and five rebounds. Idil Ozbayrak finished the contest with just six points, but led the team with eight rebounds. The freshman from Turkey also dished out seven assists and had four steals.

WNCC, 14-4, will next be in action next weekend when they face Northeast (Neb.) Community and McCook Community College on the road in subregion contests.

Trinidad (3-10) 20 22 -- 42

WNCC (14-4) 30 40 -- 70

TRINIDAD

Lindsey Pippin 6, Justine Gallegos 2, Nicole Herrera 2, Stephanie Knowles 4, Jaclyn Becker 4, Destiny Bregman 9, Sandra Morales 1, Haley Sheldon 14.

WNCC
Samantha Sanders 8, Jasmine Shaffer 3, Leona Garrett 12, Lisa Durden 8, ChaCha Ofoegbu 8, Idil Ozbayrak 6, Kelsey Doddridge 10, Jessica Aratani 15.

WNCC men knock Otero in first subregion win

2012-01-14T11:40:00.000-07:00

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team lead start to finish and captured its first subregion win in dropping Otero Junior College 75-65 Friday night at Cougar Palace.

Four Cougars finished in double figures in the contest as WNCC sizzled the nets for 44 percent shooting while holding a dangerous Rattler team to 32 percent shooting, including a 7 of 33 shooting from beyond the arc.

The win was huge in subregion standings as the winner of the South subregion will host the Region IX tournament in March, and with a revamped subregion lineup, this win will go a long ways in helping the Cougars achieve that goal.

The Cougars will have another sub-region contest this afternoon at 3 p.m. when they face Trinidad State Junior College.

WNCC coach Russ Beck said this win puts them in control of their own destiny in achieving that goal of hosting regionals.

“We have to turn our focus to tomorrow’s [Saturday afternoon] game because this game will not mean anything to us if we have a letdown tomorrow,” Beck said. “Right now we are in a position that we control our own destiny. Nobody has to win or lose for us to be in a position to host the tournament. We just want to take it game by game focus. We want this tournament to be here because the fans are so great.”

The Cougars accomplished the win by coming out ready to play. Beck said it is not too often that you see a team lead from start to finish without any lead changes or ties.

“When I look down at the stats and it says zero lead changes, I like that,” he said. “Give credit to our guys, they came out with a good focus. We were really in attack mode early on. There were a couple times in the game we allowed them to claw back, maybe late when we were sitting the ball a little bit too much. But, from start to finish, I am pretty pleased with the game.”

WNCC bolted to a quick 10-0 lead behind six points from Marko Kovacevic. Otero, however, came storming back to slice the lead to two points on two occasions, including 14-12 on a Lathan Lieb bucket. The Cougars then went on an 8-0 run behind a 3-pointer by Raul Delgado. WNCC led 26-14 late in the first half before Otero went on an 8-0 run to trail at halftime 26-22.

The second half was a battle as Otero sliced the lead to two points at 36-34. That was when the Cougars shifted gears and started to put on a dunking exhibition that was started by dunk by Du’Vaughn Maxwell to put WNCC up 45-36.

The highlight real continued as Maxwell and Delgado electrified the crowd. It all started with Maxwell bringing the ball up the court with a behind the back dribble and then as he was driving to the hole, he sent a behind the back pass to Delgado for the bucket and foul. The play sent the crowd and the Cougar bench in a frenzy. WNCC later pushed the lead to 62-47 on back-to-back Sebastian Suarez 3-pointers.

Otero didn’t quit as they cut the lead to 69-63 on a Brandon Harris 3-pointer with 1:15 to play. That was as close as they would get as Mike Peltz hit two free throws with 21.1 seconds left and then Delgado slammed home a dunk late for the 75-65 win.

Beck said that that razzle-dazzle play helped energize a good crowd that was on hand on the night.

“The crowd has gotten better and better and better as the year as got along and we want to tell the crowd thank you and continue to support us,” Beck said. “We feel we have a good bunch that can put on a show at times. As our defense gets better, we will be able to get it out on the fast break offense.”

WNCC had four players finish in double figures, led by Delgado with 17 points, including going 8 of 11 from the free throw line. Kovacevic finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Suarez ahd 11 points and Mason Smith netting 10 points.

Terrance Motley finished the contest with 10 rebounds and three blocks, while Peltz had seven rebounds and four assists.

Otero (14-1) 22 43 – 65

WNCC (13-3) 26 49 – 75

OTERO JUNIOR COLLEGE

Perryonte Smith 8, Wes McKenzie 16, Lucas Archuleta 3, Brandon Harris 20, Dylan Fritsch 3, Lathan Lieb 2, Adam Link 4, Oscar Garcia 3, Chris Strong 6.

WESTERN NEBRASKA

Tahir Little 2, Mike Peltz 4, Du-Vaughn Maxwell 9, Mason Smith 10, Raul Delgado 17, Sebastian Suarez 11, Marko Kovacevic 14, Terrance Motley 8.

WNCC women fall by two to No. 17 Otero

2012-01-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team fought tooth and nail against the No. 17 Otero Junior College Rattlers, fighting back from 18-point second half deficit to narrowly fall 57-55 in a contest that saw both teams battle strong defensively.

WNCC, which trailed 43-25 at one time in the second half, went on a 17-0 run to close to 43-42. WNCC kept playing strong in the waning moments taking their first lead since midway in the first half at 54-53 on a Samantha Sanders 3-pointer with 1:42 left.

WNCC coach Dave Harnish was proud of the way his team played in the second half as they easily could have gave up trailing by nearly 20 points to the unbeaten Rattlers.

“For one we were depleted and I thought we played well to start the game and then the last six minutes of the first half we had a defensive lapse. The big difference in the game was turnovers, where we turned the ball over 12 times in the first half and only four times the second half,” he said. “I thought we were very good in the half court the second half. We got some rhythm going and we got solid on defense. We came back and had a chance to win the game. It is hard to talk to the girls after the game because we played so hard and got back into it. We are proud of the way they fought back.”

In fact, the Cougar women played tough for the entire game with a depleted bench because of injuries. WNCC held a 12-6 lead early on a Jessica Aratani bucket before the Rattlers went on an 8-0 run to lead 14-12. Otero pushed the lead to 25-14 before taking a 30-19 lead into the locker room.

Otero came out in the second half red hot, starting out with a 13-6 run that saw the No. 17 team in the nation lead 43=25 with 13 minutes left. WNCC, instead of folding, applied the defensive pressure and went on a 17-0 run that spanned nearly six minutes to cut the deficit to one, 43-42. Otero finally stopped the run with a free throw and then pushed the lead to 48-42.

It was short-lived, though, as the Cougars went on a 12-5 run that was spearheaded by nine points from Samantha Sanders. Sanders nailed a 3-pointer with 3:40 to play to knot the score at 51-51. A couple minutes later, the sophomore from Denver drained a trey from the top of the key to give the Cougars the 54-53 lead. Otero’s Aubry Boehme put the Rattlers ahead for good with a bucket with under a minute to play for the win.

Harnish said the second half run they made was because his team switched to a zone defense.

“We went from a man-to-man to zone and they seemed to have problems against the zone and weren’t knocking some shots down,” he said. “I thought we just executed better offensively and took the right shots, drew some fouls and got tougher as the game went along.”

Neither team shot the ball well. WNCC was 36 percent from the field and 25 percent (3 of 12) from the 3-point area. WNCC’s defense also stifled Otero to just 39 percent shooting including a 5 of 25 shooting from beyond the arc. WNCC stayed in the contest from the free throw line where they were 20 of 28, while Otero was 10 of 16.

WNCC was led in scoring by Sanders with 12 points and four assists. Aratani finished with nine points and 10 rebounds, while Lisa Durden had nine points as well.

WNCC will be back in action Saturday afternoon when they host Trinidad State Junior College in another subregion contest. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m.

Otero (16-0) 30 27 – 57

WNCC (13-4) 19 36 – 55

OTERO JUNIOR COLLEGE

Ellie Carter 3, Taylor Rock 11, Iiaisaane Lo’amanu 5, Erin Foster 3, Tonje Milde 8, Fernanda Mensilla 8, Sarah Pigg 7, Aubry Boehme 12.

WESTERN NEBRASKA
Samantha Sanders 12, Leona Garrett 5, Lisa Durden 9, ChaCha Ofoegbu 8, Idil Ozbayrak 4, Kelsey Doddridge 8, Jessica Aratani 9.

WNCC summer volleyball camp dates set

2012-01-11T13:15:00.002-07:00

Western Nebraska Community College volleyball coach Giovana Melo has set the dates for this summer’s volleyball camps.

The camps will kick off July 9-10 with the Little Cougars Camp for fourth through sixth grade students. Individual Skills camps will run July 11-12 for girls in the 7^th and 8^th grades, while the Skills Camp for girls in the 9^th through 12^th grade will be Jul 18-19.

A Setter/Hitter Camp will be held July 16-17 for grades sixth through ninth, while the Setter/Hitter/Libero Camp for girls in the 10^th through 12^th grade will be held Jul 23-24. A team camp will also be held this season on July 27-28.

Melo also announced that the summer volleyball league for high school varsity and junior varsity teams will begin June 19 and run for six weeks on Tuesdays.

Camp flyers and costs will be available starting in February. For more information on the camps, contact assistant volleyball coach Fatima Balza at balzafatima@gmail.com.

WNCC softball team holding chili supper on Jan. 14

2012-01-11T13:13:00.002-07:00

Western Nebraska Community College softball team will hold an all-you-can-eat chili feed during the men’s and women’s basketball games with Trinidad State Junior College this Saturday, Jan. 14.

The chili supper will start at 12:30 p.m. in the Cougar Den. The cost is $5 and includes chili, dessert and a drink. Tickets can be purchased at the door as well as any Cougar softball player. There will be a raffle for different prizes as well. The Cougar women’s basketball game begins at 1 p.m. followed by the men’s game.

The chili supper is a fundraiser for the softball program. The team captured the Region IX tournament last season and made their third trip to the national tournament in four years. This year’s softball season will open up Feb. 17-18 on the road at Midland, Texas, Classic.

The first home softball game is slated for March 7 against North Platte Community College.

For more information on the chili supper, contact WNCC softball coach Maria Winn-Ratliff at 308-635-6189 or at winnm@wncc.edu.

WNCC men set to return to the court Monday against No. 15 Odessa College

2012-01-07T10:43:00.002-07:00

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team returned to the practice floor after a three-week break as they prepare for the stretch run of the season.

The Cougars, who finished the first semester with a sparkling 12-2 record, will kick off the second semester when they face Odessa College on Monday in Odessa, Texas, at 5 p.m. The contest can be seen on the Internet at http://www.ihigh.com/wncc. The contest was added after the Cougars’ contest with Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture scheduled for Jan. 7 was cancelled.

"We went out looking for a good game once Technical Agriculture informed us that five guys were ineligible. I wanted to get us in a big game to open our eyes and wake us up to begin the second semester," he said. "This is what we have been playing for to get into our subregion play. Odessa is talented. They are ranked 15h in the country and coached by Coach Helms, who has over 30 years as a head coach. He has sent nine guys to the NBA. They are one of the winningest JUCOs in the country and they have one of the top scorers in the country in Derrick Barden. They are going to present some challenges, but that is exactly what we wanted.

"We could have just played an all-star game or not played a game at all and just play 29 games in the regular season. But, I wanted to test ourselves. We contacted everybody from Monroe to Salt Lake, Western Wyoming, Gillette, Sheridan, Midland, South Plains. We contacted all these schools and some of them needed games, but they didn't want to play us. We will take that as a compliment, I guess, but I am thankful to Odessa that they allowed us to come down and play them and we hope we play our best."

Odessa enters the contest ranked No. 15 in the country with a 132-1 record. The Wranglers only defeat came to Collin County Community College 75-68 back on Nov. 18. Since then, Odessa has ran off six straight wins, including a 94-86 over Ranger College in the New Mexico Junior College Classic on Friday.

Odessa is led by Derrick Barden, the sixth-leading scorer in the nation at 22.333 points a game. WNCC should be able to match Odessa's fire power offensively and defensively. Raul Delgado comes into the contest has the 10^th leading scorer in the country with an average of 20.929 points a game. Delgado has netted double figure scoring in all 14 games this season. The sophomore is also 18^th in free throw percentage at 89 percent (34 of 38),

WNCC's Du[Vaughn Maxwell, Marko Kovacevic and Mike Peltz are also ranked among the leaders in the nation after the first semester. Peltz, an Alliance graduate, is fourth in the country in assists, averaging 7..08 a game. He has dished out 92 assists in the 13 games he saw action in this season.

Maxwell is 49th in scoring (17.923), 24^th in rebouinding at 10 boards a contest, and 36^th in blocks a game (2.00), while Kovacevic is 32^nd in rebounding at 9.27 a game and 20^th in blocks a game with 2.43 a game.

This game, however, will be important as they enter subregion play, which includes home subregion contests against Otero Junior College on Friday and Trinidad State Junior College on Saturday afternoon.

"Friday's game against Otero might be the biggest subregion game of the year in the fact that Otero has shown in the preseason that they are really good. Everybody that has seen them as said they are really talented. They have a core group of sophomore back, similar to us. We only play each other once and if it comes down to a tiebreaker of who may host the regional tournament, this game will be huge. We are hoping that the Odessa game will prepare us mentally and physically to play well next weekend here at home."

Beck said that his team will be ready for the battle against another ranked team. He said his players returned from the holiday break in good shape and are anxious to get the second semester underway.

"Everybody came back in relatively good shape and there has been bright spots," he said. "All the guys are back and we are focused. We want to host the regional tournament and we want to win the region and we want to get to the national tournament. I think those things are within our grasp if we continue to get better. I don't think we have played our best basketball yet, which is encouraging."

WNCC baseball team hold hitting league for boys ages 10-18 beginning Jan. 23

2012-01-04T08:45:00.002-07:00

Western Nebraska Community College baseball coach Mike Jones, his staff and players will be hosting a competitive hitting league for five weeks this January and February at their indoor hitting facility at Comm Shop #6, located just south of East Overland on 2nd Avenue in Scottsbluff.

The league is designed for baseball players, ages 10-18, to work on their skills and have some fun competing against their friends. Teams will be comprised of four players each and will play one game per week for five weeks beginning on Monday, Jan. 23 and running through Feb. 20.

The leagues will be limited to 12 teams or 48 players. if you do not have a team you will be placed on one. The cost per player is $50. Instruction and feedback will be given to help make the players better hitters as well.

For more information or to register for the league you may contract Jones at 308-635-6198 or by email at jonesm@wncc.edu. Registration forms can also be downloaded from the Cougar athletic website at sports.wncc.net.

WNCC men defeat Cape Fear C.C. 78-67

2011-12-09T22:48:00.000-07:00

TWIN FALLS, Idaho – The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team picked up the intensity in the second half in racing past a good Cape Fear Community College 78-67 at the Farmer’s Insurance Challenge in Twin Falls, Idaho.

The win was the Cougar’s 11^th win of the season as four Cougars finished with double figure scoring. Marko Kovacevic, however, finished with a double-double in the contest with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

WNCC coach Russ Beck said this is a good win against a team that went to the national tournament last year and lost to the No. 2 team in the nation this season.

“This is a team that went to the national tournament and they have five or six returners on the team,” he said. “So, this is a pretty good win. They are well coached and they have pretty good players. I am glad that our Cougars got the win.”

Beck said it was the second half that really opened up the contest. WNCC held a slim 38-36 halftime lead and pushed that lead to eight points early on back-to-back 3-pointers by Raul Delgado to start off the half. Cape Fear, who has the third leading scorer in the nation with Emmanuel Andrews, came back to cut the lead to three points at 51-48 before WNCC went on other run.

`“The first half we were a little bit stagnant and we were taking some bad shots even though we held the third leading scorer in the nation to just nine points for the game. We did a good job on zeroing in on him and learned our mistakes from CSI, so we did a better job on their best player,” he said. “in the second half, we came out and ran a little bit of motion and we got a little bit more movement and the shots started to fall.”

Beck said the second half was a matter of runs and his team had just one more run then Cape Fear.

“The game is a game of runs and got a couple runs,” he said. “Fortunately we probably had one more run than they did.”

Raul Delgado paced the team with 22 points, four rebounds, six assists, two blocks and six 3-pointers. Also collecting double-digits was Du’Vaughn Maxwell with 18 points, five rebounds, six assists, and three blocks; Kovacevic with 11 points and five rebounds; and Brady Mason with 10 points, four rebounds, and four assists.

Shooting was a big difference in the contest. WNCC shot 40 percent from the field in the first half and then blitzed the next for 61 percent shooting in the second half. The opposite was true for Cape Fear, who shot 47 percent in the first half and then 41 percent in the second half. The big defensive statistic, however, was the Cougar defense did not allow Cape Fear to make a 3-pointer compared to four in the first half.

WNCC will finish off the CSI Tournament at 3:30 p.m. today when they take on Raleigh Sports Academy. Raleigh lost 105-40 to the College of Southern Idaho in the late game on Friday.

WNCC (11-2) 38 40 – 78

Cape Fear CC 36 31 – 67

CAPE FEAR CC

Emmanuel Andrews 9, Terrance Hampton 6, Faronte Drakeford 17, Tim Wilkes 2, EJ Williams 11, Randell Jones 6, Rakeem Wilson 4, Landon Atterberry 12.

WNCC

Tahir Little 3, Du’Vaughn Maxwell 18, Raul Delgado 22, Marko Kovacevic 11, Terrance Motley 8, Brady Mason 10, Mason Smith 2, Marcus Johnson 4.

WNCC women get 22 from Sanders in 67-52 win over Colby

2011-12-09T22:18:00.000-07:00

The Western Nebraska Community College and Colby Community College women’s basketball teams combined for 41 fouls in a contest that, at times, resembled more of a football game instead of a basketball game.

In the end, the Cougar women fought their way to their 12^th win of the season behind Samantha Sanders’ points to lead WNCC to a 67-52 win in the second day of the Holiday Classic at Cougar Palace. The contest saw seven lead changes, five ties, and 45 free throw attempts.

The earlier came saw Air Force Prep roll over Hastings College junior varsity 71-36 as Erica Norwood finished with 25 points. Norwood has scored 54 points in Prep’s two wins in the Holiday Classic. Air Force Prep and WNCC will tangle Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. in the final game of the Classic. The first contest pits Colby against Hastings College at 1 p.m.

In WNCC’s contest Friday, the Cougars trailed the percentage of the first half as Cougar coach Dave Harnish said his team came out flat. The Cougars also couldn’t get into a groove offensively as Colby led by as much as four, 25-21 with three minutes left in the half before WNCC took a 28-27 lead into halftime.

“We just don’t come out of the gate with a lot of intensity and get after people defensively, and knock shots down and have rhythm offensively,” Harnish said. “We have done that three or four times this year, and it was the same thing tonight. We just don’t come out with any aggressiveness in any game. We have to learn.”

The second half was a totally different story for the Cougars as that intensity that was missing in the first half magically appeared in the second half.

“The second half we come out and have good intensity and get up by 10,” Harnish said. “We do let them back in it when I thought Colby executed really well and knocked some shots down. We just came out and played with more intensity and desire to win the game in the second half.”

The Cougars also found a groove offensively as they opened the half on a 15-4 run that was highlighted by a bit 3-pointer by Idil Ozbayrak for a 43-31 lead. Colby, however, fought back with a 10-0 run of their own that saw the Trojans slice the lead to 43-41 with 11:34 to play. WNCC bounced back with an 11-4 run that saw Jessica Aratani score five points. After that, WNCC kept the lead above six points the rest of the way.

WNCC had just one player in double figures with Sanders scoring 22 points, including going 8 of 11 from the free throw line. Also contributing offensively was Ozbayrak with nine points, seven rebounds and five assists; Kelsey Doddridge with eight points and four rebounds; Leona Garrett with seven points and five rebounds; and Aratani with six points and nine rebounds.

“It is the last game of the year [2011] and we just need to eliminate our mistakes,” Harnish said. “We just need to do a better job tomorrow against a good team.”

First Game

Hastings J.V. 20 16 – 36

Air Force Prep 37 34 – 71

HASTINGS JV

Kenzie Archer 7, Nia-Renee Simms 6, Rachel Walton 6, Hillary Knake 2, Morgan Lorenzen 3, Amanda Downey 4, Sydney Gartner 2, Jaime Blevins 2, Amber Rasmussen 4.

AIR FORCE PREP

Christina Gamble 4, Erica Norwood 25, Alex Guiraud 5, Samantha Fender 10, Saphira Philson 2, Ashley Cunningham 2, Danielle Jackson 2, Taylor Parker 10, Emonna Knox 11.

Second Game

Colby CC 27 25 – 52

WNCC (12-3) 28 39 -- 67

COLBY C.C.

Cheyenne Eisenhour 2, Brooke Bursiek 10, Morgan Rickwartz 3, Kalarina Popovic 7, Emily Torson 2, Shantydra Arnold 11, Liga Vente 6, Marie McAbee 7.

WNCC

Samantha Sanders 22, Leona Garrett 7, Lisa Durden 6, Kyra Peterson 5, ChaCha Ofoegbu 3, Idil Ozbayrak 9, Kelsey Doddridge 8, Jessica Aratani 6, Ajsa Zdovc 1.

WNCC women put five in double figures to get by Hastings College J.V.

2011-12-08T21:24:00.002-07:00

The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team put five players in double figures and created 19 steals in capturing an 89-42 win over Hastings College junior varsity in the first day of the Lady Cougar Holiday Classic at Cougar Palace Thursday evening.

Idil Ozbayrak paced the team with 14 points, while also recording a team-high seven rebounds and eight assists. Also collecting double digits on the night were Samantha Sanders with 13 points, Lisa Durden with 12, Kyra Peterson with 11 and Leona Garrett with 10.

In the first game of the night, Air Force Prep survived 67-63 in overtime. Action will continue Friday when Air Force Prep takes on Hastings at 5 p.m. followed by WNCC and Colby meeting at 7 p.m. The Classic wraps up Saturday with two games beginning at 1 p.m.

WNCC coach Dave Harnish said his team played hard except for the last three minutes of the first half when they allowed Hastings to outscore the Cougars 12-5.

“I was disappointed in the last five minutes of the first half as we got up by 23 points and then we gave up two or three threes late in the half and kind of let them back in it,” he said. “I was disappointed that we didn’t play for 20 minutes in the first half but we did that in the second half. I thought we played solid defense in the second half and the offense had rhythm. Besides the last part of the first half, I thought we played pretty well.”

Harnish said that what makes this team tick is their defensive intensity and creating steals sets the offense in motion for some fast-break scoring opportunities. WNCC recorded 19 steals on the night and dished out 27 assists.

“We need that [knack to get steals]. We need to create turnovers because we are not real great in the half court,” he said. “We always have to create turnovers but I think the defense has been solid all semester and hopefully it will continue the next two nights.”

WNCC led 42-26 at intermission and kept playing like a fine-oiled machine. The Cougars ran to a 54-29 lead early in the second half and later 58-35. That is when the defense really picked up steam, holding the Broncos scoreless for about four minutes as WNCC went on a 17-0 run.

The run was highlighted by five points from Peterson, who saw her first action in since the Thanksgiving tournament. Ajsa Zdovc also chipped on four points in the run. WNCC finished off the contest with nine straight points, six of which came from Durden.

Harnish said his team will have to come out ready in the final two days to pick up wins against Colby and Prep to finish off the season on an up note.

“We need games like what is coming up. We are shooting the ball a little bit better since we are back home,” he said. “But it will be two tough games back to back playing Colby and Air Force. But, the way we played tonight, I think the team will be ready and good things will happen.”

First Game

Air Force Prep 67, Colby 63 OT

AF Prep 29 29 9 – 67

Colby CC 22 36 5 – 63

AIR FORCE PREP

Christina Gamble 1, Erica Norwood 29, Samantha Fender 16,Saphira Philson 4, Ashley Cunningham 7, Danielle Jackson 8, Taylor Parker 2.

COLBY

Brooke Bursiek 9, Morgan Rickwartz 5, Katarina Popovic 1, Emily Torson 4, Shantydra Arnold 7, Liga Vente 19, Marie McAbee 18.

Second Game

WNCC 89, Hastings 42

Hastings JV 26 16 -- 42

WNCC 43 46 -- 89

HASTINGS JV

Kenzie Archer 13, Erin Vanderpool 3, Rachel Walton 5, Amanda Downey 4, Sydney Gartner 2, Abby Jo Schantz 2, Jaime Blevins 5, Amber Rasmussen 8.

WNCC

Samantha Sanders 13, Leona Garrett 10, Lisa Durden 12, Kyra Peterson 11, ChaCha Ofoegbu 9, Idil Ozbayrak 14, Kelsey Doddridge 6, Jessica Aratani 8, Ajsa Zdovc 6.

WNCC men capture 10th win of the season with 102-27 win over NCTA

2011-12-06T22:29:00.000-07:00

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team started slow against the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture out of Curtis, but once the offense heated up, the Cougars recorded its 10^th win of the season with a 102-27 win over the Aggies Tuesday at The Palace.

Hard to believe, the Cougars trailed the Aggies at one point and freshman Mason Smith said they did start slow, but it didn’t take long for the Cougars high-octane offense to crank up.

“We started kind of slow, playing to the level of the opponent but as the game went along we came together as a team and made each other look better,” freshman Mason Smith, who finished with 16 points, said. “Every game that we play, we try to get better no matter who we play and we try to prepare for the next game. [Tonight] it was just try to get better. We wanted to show the ball [make passes] and play defense. I think we did a good job of that.”

NCTA held a 3-2 lead early as Dusty Metzner buried a 3-pointer. After that, however, the Cougars went on a 19-3 run to take a 28-6 lead on an Allen Beck bucket. Luke Schweitzer stopped the scoring spree momentarily by draining a 3-pointer, but the Cougars finished out the half scoring 20 straight points, including seven straight from Smith for a 48-9 halftime lead.

The second half was all WNCC as they led 72-13 on a Raul Delgado dunk and later led 91-18 on back-to-back buckets by Terrance Motley. NCTA kept fighting hard, however, scoring four straight points and outscoring the Cougars 9-6 late.

The Cougars placed five players in double figures on the night, led by Sebastian Suarez with 20 points on 8 of 14 shooting. Marcus Johnson finished the contest with a double-double, collecting 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Also for the Cougars, Smith finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Delgado had 14 points and Du’Vaughn Maxwell collected 10 points.

WNCC’s height was a factor on the boards as the Cougars out-rebounded the Aggies 53-21. WNCC also force 25 turnovers, including getting 22 steals. Cal McCoy led the team with five steals.

“The guys off the bench came in and played well,” Smith said. “We were able to contribute. Marcus Johnson played well for us and got a lot of rebounds and points.”

The Cougars, however, didn’t play a perfect contest as they committed 16 turnovers. WNCC also shot just 53 percent (9 of 17) from the free throw line, while the Aggies were 75 percent (3 of 4).

WNCC, 10-2, will next hit the road for the College of Southern Idaho tournament this weekend. The Cougars will face Cape Fear Community College on Friday night and then Raleighs Finest Sports Academy on Saturday to round out the first semester.

Smith said they will have to play even better this weekend to finish off the first semester with three straight wins.

“It will take playing tough defense, getting stops, and executing on the offensive end,” he said.

NCTA 9 18 – 27

WNCC 48 54 – 100

NCTA

Luke Schweitzer 5, Waylon Christen 4, Dusty Metzner 3, Jason Trausch 5, Pete Martin 6, William Leapley 4.

WNCC

Tahir Little 5, Allen Beck 6, Cal McCoy 2, Brady Mason 2, Du’Vaughn Maxwell 10, Mason Smith 16, Raul Delgado 14, Sebastian Suarez 20, Marko Kovacevic 6, Terrance Motley 7, Marcus Johnson 14.

WNCC defeats NCTA-Curtis 98-10 for 10th win of the season

2011-12-06T21:58:00.000-07:00

The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team received 18 points from Leona Garrett as the Cougars picked up their 10^th win of the season with a blow out win 98-10 over Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture Tuesday night at Cougar Palace.

The Cougars also set two school records in the one-sided win. WNCC held the Aggies to just two second –half points and they also set the record for allowing the least points in a game.

On a bigger note, however, the Cougars got a big left from freshman Teyshonnia Bealer-West who saw her first action of the year in pulling down a team-high 12 rebounds. Bealer-West has been sidelined with an injury.

Garrett said that everyone played well and it was nice to see Bealer-West get into the game for the first time.

“This is Tey’s first time playing this season and I think she did pretty good,” she said. “She worked really hard. She tried her best to do what she could and she did well.”

Tuesday’s win was little in doubt from the get-go as the Cougars scored the first 12 points of the contest before the Aggies got on the scoreboard on a 3-point bank shot from Abby Sybrandt. After that, the Cougars went on a 30-0 run and led 48-8 at intermission.

The Cougars second half defense was stifling as they scored 44 straight points for a 92-8 lead. At one point it looked as if they might hold the Aggies without a point, but NCTA’s Darae Hasper hit a nice five-footer with 2:12 to play to end the Cougars run.

Garrett said the focus of the game was to get better after suffering two heart-breaking losses last weekend at the Air Force Prep tournament.

“Our focus as a team was to run our offense and practice on our defense a little bit more, Those were mostly what we were planning on trying to work on during this game,” the sophomore from Brawley, Calif., said. “After our tough losses this weekend, we needed to get back into it.

They performed well as they shot 50 percent from the field while holding NCTA to 12 percent. They also controlled the boards with a 49-23 edge. Bealer-West pulled down 12 followed by Garrett with eight and Jasmine Shaffer with seven.

WNCC also forced 39 turnovers and had 39 steals. Lisa Durden finished with seven steals on the night, while Idil Ozbayrak had seven assists.

The Cougars placed five players in double figures. After Garrett’s 18, Durden finished with 16 points, Ozbayrak had 15, Samantha Sanders had 12 and ChaCha Ofoegbu had 11.

WNCC, 10-3, will be back in action this weekend when they host the Holiday Classic beginning Thursday when they take on Hastings College junior varsity. The Cougars will also meet Colby Community College on Friday before facing Air Force Prep Saturday afternoon.

NCTA 8 2 – 10

WNCC (10-3) 40 48 – 98

NCTA

Abby Sybrandt 3, Maddie Thurston 3, Darae Hasper 2, Chelsea Nealon 2.

WNCC

Samantha Sanders 12, Tehshonnia Bealer-West 6, Jasmine Shaffer 4, Leona Garrett 18, Lisa Durden 16, ChaCha Ofoegbu 11, Idil Ozbayrak 15, Kelsey Doddridge 8, Jessica Aratani 4, Ajsa Zdovc 4.

Araujo, Goncalves named NJCAA, AVCA First Team All-American

2011-12-06T11:39:00.000-07:00

Fernanda Goncalves and Debora Araujo keep piling up the honors.

The two Western Nebraska Community College volleyball standouts have captured two more honors in their sophomore season. Last week, Goncalves and Araujo were selected as NJCAA first-team All-Americans. And earlier this week, they were named as first team American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) first team selections.

The two sophomores capped off their volleyball careers at WNCC with a third-place finish at the national tournament, helping the Cougars to a 41-2 season. Both players also were named to the national tournament all-tournament team in November.

Goncalves, who earned back-to-back NJCAA and AVCA first team all-American honors, said she is honored with the selection.

“Being on the first team all-American for the second year in a row means a lot to me,” she said. “It means that every effort from practice, the games, the tears are all worth it. I am very happy and pleased to be part of the all-American team and I’m just happy for everything that I accomplished here at WNCC.”

Araujo, who was a second team all-American as a freshman, had an outstanding season this year, finishing with more than 1,000 career kills and became only one of 11 players in school history to achieve that goal.

“For me this honor means that I did a good job representing the WNCC volleyball team and it shows that I worked hard all season to be where I am right know,” she said.

Goncalves and Araujo are the only South Region IX players to make the team. Players from the Region IX North earning first team recognition include Makayla Keck and Olivera Medic of Western Wyoming Community College, while the Mustangs’ Arielle Allen is a second team selection. Central Wyoming College’s Leticia Guimaraes is a second team selection.

For the 2011 season, Araujo racked up impressive numbers. She finished with 488 kills, 52 aces, 395 digs and 47 blocks this season. She also was 12^th in the nation in kills per set at 3.78.

Goncalves finished with 1,405 set assists. With her 10.81 average, Goncalves ended the season as the fourth best setter in the nation. She also had 53 blocks, 334 digs and 39 aces. The setter also hit 81 percent from the attacking position.

Because of the success Goncalves and Araujo have had on the court, both players are getting plenty of attention from four-year schools. Goncalves said she has received lots of emails from college coaches and listed 15 schools that have stayed in her mind, including New Mexico State, University of Buffalo, Indiana University, Gonzaga University, Texas-San Antonio, West Virginia, and Florida International.

Araujo named about 20 schools that have piqued her attention. She’s interested in a number of the same schools as Goncalves. She’s also eyeing MeNeese State, Barry University, Nicholes State, Ohio State, South Carolina State, and California State University-Los Angeles to name a few.

The two, who came to WNCC from Brazil, said that their two years at WNCC have been exceptional.

“Here at WNCC I had experiences that will last for the rest of my life,” she said. “I have had the opportunity to learn a new language. We were national champions in my freshman year and I was named the MVP of the tournament. We finished third in the nation my sophomore year and was named MVP and setter of the year at the regional tournament.

“I made a lot of friends and I had the opportunity to work with the best coaches that are responsible for more than half of my success. I had great teachers that had a lot of patience with me. I just have to say thanks for WNCC for everything and it is amazing to be here.”

For Araujo, she said she has come a long way in her two years at WNCC. As a freshman, it was rough for her, but this season things are going well. She credits her teammates, coaches, and the teachers at WNCC in helping her succeed.

“I had a good experience in my two years of volleyball,” she said. “I had the best coaches who were always helping me in anything that I needed help with. Also, I had awesome teammates last year and this year. In the classroom, I gave everything to school and all my teachers helped me a lot. All the people at the college and the dorm parents, who are always helping in everything, will be missed. They are good people and I will miss the family that I made here.”

WNCC men fall to College of Southern Idaho 72-67

2011-12-03T22:48:00.000-07:00

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team’s second half comeback came up short as the Cougars fell 72-67 to the No. 12-ranked and defending national champions the College of Southern Idaho Saturday evening.

WNCC assistant coach Yahosh Bonner said WNCC played with a lot of energy in the second half and this is a game that the Cougars can learn from.

“We played tough and we played hard,” he said. “We always play hard. We gave it all we had. There were a couple of opportunities late that we had and didn’t convert. We just fell short. We had a great effort from our bench and our whole team was into it the whole game. We are happy with the effort that they gave; we just wish we could have came away with the win for our fans. But, I feel we got better tonight.”

Southern Idaho led the entire first half, bolting to a 7-0 lead before WNCC’s Marko Kovacevic put WNCC on the board with 16:43 to play. WNCC continued battling, slicing the lead to 12-10 on a Raul Delgado 4-point play, but CSI pushed the score to seven points on several occasions to take a 33-27 lead at halftime.

WNCC came out a different team in the second half. Bonner said the team came out in the final 20 minutes ready to play and fought to the end.

“We saw some things that were working for us and were trying to focus on those aspects of the game,” he said. “We just came out ready to go in the second half. We were pumped.
CSI held a 42-35 lead after Fabyon Harris nailed a 3-pointer. WNCC came fighting back, going on a 12-3 run as the Cougars tied the contest at 45-45 on a Tahir Little bucket with 13:17 left. Du’Vaughn Maxwell came back a few seconds later and scored to give WNCC their first lead of the contest at 47-45. WNCC built the lead to 51-47 as Maxwell and Delgado each made buckets, but the defending national champs turned up the offense in scoring the next 10 points over a three minute period to take a 57-51 lead.

Bonner said that even though they lost, they can take a lot from this game for the rest of the season.

“CSI is a great program,” he said. “There is a lot of good that we can take from this game. I just hope we take it into our next game and continue to build as a team.”

WNCC had five players finish in double figures, led by Kovacevic with 13 points. The big mad also pulled down 11 rebounds. Also getting double digits scoring was Little and Maxwell with 12 points each, and Delgado and Motley with 11 points each.

Harris led CSI with 21 points, including connecting on six 3-pointers. Luke Cothron finished with a double-double for Southern Idaho with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

The Cougars, 9-2, will return to action Tuesday when they host the Nebraska School of Technical Agriculture-Curtis in a men’s and women’s doubleheader.

First Game

LCCC 25 42 – 67

NW Wyoming 40 48 – 88

LARAMIE COUNTY

Bruo Machado 2, Charles Cooks 22, LaMel Hamberg 13, Philip Freeman 4, Ude Ifeanyichulowu 6, Germain Decoste 8, Kolton Irby 2, Rodrigo Silva 10.

NORTHWEST WYOMING

Ty Ackelson 5, Guilherme Carabagiale 12, Jeffrey Solarin 15, Italo De Oliveira 3, Pietro de Andrade 6, Junior Coleman 10, Konner Frey 5, Chris Hansen 15, Diego Pasos 7, Jonathan Wakelin 2, Hudson Filho 3, Jeremy Beehler 5.

Second Game

Southern Idaho 33 39 – 72

WNCC (9-2) 27 40 – 67

SOUTHERN IDAHO
Pat Swilling 9, Fabyon Harris 21, Kevin Attila 3, Rafiel Gutrie 13, Paul Egwuonwu 6, Luke Cothron 15, Sebastien Michineau 3, Paul Brunch 2.

WNCC

Tahir Little 12, Mike Peltz 2, Brady Mason 2, Du’Vaughn Maxwell 12, Mason Smith 4, Raul Delgado 11, Marko Kovacevic 13, Terrance Motley 11.