Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball coach Dave Harnish was more then satisfied with how his team capped off the first semester Saturday afternoon at Cougar Palace.
The Cougars, 14-0 after the first semester, used their patented intense defense to stymie the Williston State College Teton potent 3-point shooting offense in claiming a 73-37 win in the final day of the Lady Cougar Holiday Classic.
In fact, Harnish said Saturday was the best the team has played in the last two weeks.
“I thought from these three games, this was our best game. I thought this was a complete game where defensively we played well, but it seemed like the offense had a better rhythm,” Harnish said. “We shot the ball a lot better. It just felt we had better rhythm then Friday where we struggled. I thought we played well on both sides of the ball.”
One of the areas that stood out for the Cougars against Williston is the team’s depth, All 12 players on the roster scored. Early on, the team was powered by Emma Beddome and Carly Glisan, who earned starts on Saturday.
Both freshman started the game canning 3-pointers to give the Cougars a 6-1 lead and from there, they never looked back. Beddome finished the game with 12 points, while Glisan had five. Chelsea Lyles, another freshman, came off the bench to also pour in 12 points to tie Beddome for the team lead.
Harnish said this could be one of his deepest teams that he has coached in his 19 years.
“We started the game rotating a lot of kids in and out,” he said. “It is always nice to have depth, and I thought all the kids had a lot more energy and mentally tougher. It was also nice to see everyone was able to play, score and they did their job and did well.”
Harnish said unlike other years, he is not to play anyone on his roster in pressure-cooker situations.
“This is a team this year that you can play any kid at any time. Sometimes you can go deep on the bench, but you are afraid to play kids in certain situations,” he said. “There is no question that we are deep and these kids play well when they are out there and they have done that. What is nice about this team is they do play both ends of the floor well.”
Saturday, the Cougar players showcased just how good they are. The team utilized an intense defense in the tune of generating 20 steals, blocking four shots and holding a potent 3-point shooting team to 2-of-14 (0-11 in the first half) to just 37 total points.
WNCC held a commanding 43-18 lead at intermission on the strength of Beddome’s nine points. None of the other 10 players that saw action in the first half scored more than two buckets. The team also shot 53 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes. More importantly, the Cougars’ bench outscored Williston’s 40-23.
Harnish said one of the reasons for the team’s over whelming victories this year – the team is winning by an average of 40 points a game – is the team’s all-around athleticism.
“This team has a little bit more size in all the positions then previous teams,” he said. “We have been good defensively with other teams but w hat makes this team so good is we can start anybody and anybody can play anywhere on the floor. This team has played better then I thinked they were.”
The Cougars will know head into the break with their next game Jan. 10 at home against McCook Community College. Harnish said that is when the next installment of the season starts.
“We have the break coming up and really there is three parts to the season,” he said. “The first part is the first semester, which we just finished 14-0. We have played well in all games and didn’t take one game off, where some years we haven’t.
The girls have played well night in and night out. The second part coming up is the second semester and that includes sub-regional games and the seeding for the regional tournament. The third part is the regional tournament.”
In the other game of the Holiday Classic, Colby Community College and Little Big Horn hooked up in a high-scoring affair that saw Colby winning 126-86. Colby knocked home 20 3-pointers on the night, including 12 in the first half, but still only held a 63-48 halftime lead.
Erin Goodhue led Colby with 26 points, including 7-of-8 from the 3-point arc. Little Big Horn put two players in the 20-point plateau. Raylee Pretty Weasel finished with 26 points including five 3-pointers, followed by Misty McCormick with 25.
Little Big Horn 48 38 – 86
Colby CC 63 63 – 126
LITTLE BIG HORN
Misty McCormick 25, Brittany Smith 8, Raylee Pretty Weasel 26, Shaleen Old Coyote 4, Laval Spotted Horse 17, Tasha Carpenter 6.
COLBY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Courtney Frimmer 16, Katie Joens 1, Jacci Tinkel 16, Erin Goodhue 26, Tamara Thomas 8, Jamie Schroeder 15, Loree Siruta 7, Vanja Zelenovic 7, Shanice Johnson 8, Sandra Sormaz 18, Ingrid Pudiner 4.
Williston 18 19 – 37
WNCC (14-0) 43 30 – 73
WILLISTON STATE
Erika Stewart 3, Sam Botsfiled 4, Kirsten Hernandez 7, Leigh Sifuentes 4, Kim Oyloe 9, Heidy Bouchard 1, Kia Herbel 9.
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Kiki Taylor 3, Dana Iverson 1, Emma Beddome 12, Tiara Scott 4, Lesley Olson 4, Aurelle Derenoncourt 6, Victoria Martin 4, Alison Cheney 9, Shiraya Soto 6, Chelsea Lyles 12, Britney Hayes 5, Carly Glisan 5.
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