WNCC women rout Lamar in first day of Lamar Tournament

The Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team picked up its ninth win of the season with an easy win over Lamar Community College Thursday at Lamar, Colo.

The Cougar women won 101-42 as the team did not shot one 3-point attempt in making 42 field goals. The Cougars were also 17 of 30 from the free throw line. WNCC held a 42-24 halftime lead over the Runnin' Lopes.

Four Cougars recorded double figure scoring nights. Chelsea Lyles led all Cougars with 20 points followed by Cheri Palmer with 17, Emma Beddome with 16 and Jenni Colwell with 10.

Other Cougar scorers include Dana Iverson with four, Michelle Lighthall with two, SeLina Ysac with two, Shaquilah Davis with four, Alison Cheney with six, Tawny Drexler with nine, Eli Cosme-Gonzalez with six, and Carly Glisan with five.

WNCC will next be in action Friday at 2 p.m. against McCook Community College. The Cougar men will open up the Lamar tournament Friday at 8 p.m. against Lamar Community College.

Texas Tech delivers first loss to TCU, 71-58; De Bem plays well in win

From the Texas Tech Website
The Red Raiders (5-2) delivered the Horned Frogs (4-1) their first loss of the season Wednesday night at the United Spirit Arena. Down by as many as 13 points in the 2nd half, Texas Tech fought their way back and won 71-58. The Red Raiders (5-2) delivered the Horned Frogs (4-1) their first loss of the season Wednesday night at the United Spirit Arena. Tech was led by senior Martin Zeno who scored 26 points and 10 rebounds. According to Coach Knight, “[Martin] played his best game [of the season] in terms of what he gave to the team.” Zeno commented, “I felt like tonight was my time to shine.” Zeno was followed by hot three-point shooter Alan Voskuil with 16 points who shot 57% (4 of 7) from behind the arc. Charlie Burgess also scored in double figures, contributing 13 points on 4 of 7 field goals. In a topsy-turvy, nail-biting game, the Red Raiders went on a 32-10 run over a 12 minute span to overcome a 13 point deficit in the 2nd half, giving Coach Knight his 895th victory. Capitalizing on multiple Tech turnovers in the first half, TCU held a 35-29 point lead at halftime and started the 2nd half very strong, jumping out to a 48-35 advantage. Despite the Horned Frogs early success in the second half, Coach Knight felt that “our guys did a pretty good job of hanging in there.” Free throws played a key role in Tech’s come from behind victory, with the Red Raiders making 24 of 32 from the line. Junior Ricardo De Bem played significant minutes in the 2nd half and had a key bucket, a pair of free throws, and strong inside presence, finishing the game with 4 points. Freshman Mike Singletary played with energy down the stretch coming up with key steals, blocking shots and adding 3 points. After the game, Martin Zeno explained the pivotal role these two newcomers played in the game. “Singletary and Rico got us going… they motivated us.” Sophomore Trevor Cook played well in the first half and had the opportunity to start the 2nd half, tallying up 6 points. Player of the Game – Martin Zeno. He penetrated and attacked the basket when it was needed the most. Zeno’s 26 points is his season high. The Red Raiders take on the Centenary Gents (4-3) on Saturday at 5:30PM in Shreveport, Louisiana. The game will be broadcast on the Texas Tech Television Network.

Gering's Roth headed to play volleyball at WNCC

Western Nebraska Community College volleyball coach Chris Green is already loading up for a next year to try to win a second straight NJCAA national championship. With six sophomores departing, there are some holes to fill on the court.

Green didn’t have to look far to sign his first player as Gering’s 6-foot-1 middle hitter Whitney Roth decided to join the Cougar volleyball program. Roth said it was an easy choice after seeing them win the national title a couple weeks ago.

“WNCC is a great place and it is close to home. It feels great to be going there,” she said. “With their success, it is a great place to be and Chris [Green] has them going in the right direction. He really knows what he is doing so I felt it was a great place to go.”

Gering coach Craig Schadwinkel couldn’t be more pleased to see another Gering player play for Chris Green. Since Green has taken over, five Gering players have donned the Blue and Gold of WNCC – Sara Mayo and Heidi Harms (2000-2001), Nicole Gonzalez (2001-2002), Jenny Quicke (2003-2004) and Stacie Meisner (2006-2007).

“I couldn’t think of a better place for her to move up to and play for especially after their recent success,” Schadwinkel said. “What a great honor for her.”

Roth had a standout senior season for the Bulldogs helping them to an 18-10 mark. Gering won 11 of their first 12 matches of the season. Roth also led or was among the team’s leader in many categories.

The area that stood out, though, was her presence on the offensive side of the ball. Roth led the team in kills 178 and also hitting percentage with a whopping .560 percentage. She was also second in solo blocks.

Green said that Roth will fit in to his style of play for the next two years.

“I think her height and her court vision is there,” he said. “What Craig and Gering High School has done with her in the program will make her an effective middle blocker. She might not be right away an explosive-type player, but she is going to be effective for us. She knows the court and she knows where the holes are on the court. She does a great job of getting things done, getting a kill when a team needs a kill.”

Green said that she will have competition at the middle blocker spot. The Cougars return NJCAA all-tournament team member Fatima Balza back. Also, Chelsea Lyles has an option to return if she doesn’t sign someplace else for basketball.

“Whitney will have some competition in the middle already with freshman coming back,” he said. “I think her height and the skills she has learned here at Gering High School will allow her to contribute and be a great player with the Cougar volleyball team. We are excited to have her and we are excited to having her join our team as early as next month.”

Roth, who announced the decision with her parents, Rhonda and Ted, alongside, is a bit nervous stepping onto the court with the national champions. But she is ready for the challenges to get better as a player.

“I am nervous but I practiced with them a few times and it is so totally different then high school ball. The speed of the game is so much faster and I have to get used to that,” she said. “[Them winning the national title] makes it so much better to be joining a team that is the best in the country right now at their level.”

Roth started to take an interest in WNCC when she was watching them play her freshman year in high school. Then, former Gering player and WNCC Cougar Stacie Meisner talked to her about the program here and there, telling her what it is like at the college level. Roth also played club volleyball for Green’s Panhandle Volleyball Club.

Roth’s plans are to study Radiology or business marketing and then transfer to a four-year school to play volleyball.

“Hopefully, I want to transfer on to somewhere and if that happens it will be great,” she said. “Gering is a good place to be and there are a lot of memories here.”

WNCC men defeat Buckley in final day of Thanksgiving Classic

It took some time for the Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team to get warmed up Sunday in the final day of the Thanksgiving Classic. But when they did, the Cougars stopped a 2-game losing skid with an impressive 116-67 win over Buckley Air Force Base.

WNCC coach Brian Joyce said this is a good game to gain some confidence after suffering losses to Eastern Wyoming College and Western Wyoming Community College in the first two days of the Thanksgiving Classic.

“I thought this was a collective group effort. This was a game where everyone gets to play and it helps them gain some confidence,” Joyce said. “But it is a dangerous game because you allow them to stay close and it is difficult to stay in there and stay focused.”

Six players registered double figure scoring in the Cougar’s seventh win of the season. And, a day after Tearon Hill scored 29 points in the Western Wyoming loss on Saturday, Hill continued his torrid scoring spree with 21 points on Sunday, including 9 or 15 shooting and several dunks.

But, Hill wasn’t the only Cougar player to sparkle. Deividas Busma finished with 19 points, including 5 of 6 shooting from the charity stripe. Also, Drew Eisinger finished with 16 points including four 3-points, Doradji Wilson finished with 12 points, and 10 points each from Jamie Eisinger and Lloyd Hickinson.

Joyce said this win should help lift the spirits of the team.

“I think our confidence is down some, but I told our guys I haven’t changed in terms of my opinion of us being a good team, I just don’t know when it will be,” he said. “It will take some time to grow and we will have some growing pains. We just have to be patient and work through it. But the only way you work through adverse situations is to play hard and we need to go back to work and get after it and gett better at some things. So, maybe these last couple of games is an opportunity for us to learn from. Only time will tell.”

It took WNCC some time to get uncorked. With eight minutes left in the first half, WNCC held a slim 28-27 lead over the Panthers. It was over the next four minutes that the Cougars opened up the contest, going on a 17-1 run. During that run, Busma had 10 of his 19 points including six straight points. WNCC went on to lead 52-36 at halftime.

The second half was all WNCC and it was Hill that started things early with 12 of the first 20 points for a 72-42 lead. WNCC kept playing strong as they went on a 11-0 run midway through the second half for ann 89-48 lead.

Later, Lloyd Hickinson and Devon West put on a dunking exhibition. Hickinson started things with a drive down the middle and a power dunk for a 108-64 lead. West followed that with a power dunk of his own seconds later and WNCC went on to the 116-67 win.

Joyce said this team still needs to learn to play strong for 40 minutes.

“I just think when you are young like this, obviously you have to be patient. We expect some of these things to happen at times when you start sluggish and then get going,” he said. “The problem is, when you play better teams, you can’t spot them leads and you can’t spot them points where you always have to play from behind. That is something we just need to grow and work through.”

WNCC, now 7-4 on the season, will return to action this weekend when they travel to the Lamar, Colo., Classic. After that, they will participate in the Region IX Shootout in Torrington, Wyo., Dec. 7-8 before finishing off the second semester Dec. 14 at home against Laramie County Community College.

Joyce said they cannot take any games for granted from here on out.

“It doesn’t matter if we are playing at home or on the road, our margin of error is very small right now. We are learning so much about ourselves of what we can do,” he said. “Hopefully, our guys will bounce back and we will have a good week of practice and we will be ready to go. Eventually, I think this will be a good team. It will take a little time.

Buckley 36 31 -- 67
WNCC 52 64 -- 116
BUCKLEY AIR FORCE
CJ Justice 16, James Lewis 21, Rich Page 1, Joshua Cradoet 8, Reginald Slaton 3, DeShawn Crawford 15, Mike Washington 3.
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Greg Hinkle 2, Jamie Eisinger 10, Daniel Smith 7, Kelvin Franklin 9, Lloyd Hickinson 10, Drew Eisinger 16, Deividas Busma 19, Chris Hamblin 3, Doradji Wilson 12, Devin West 7, Tearon Hill 21.

WNCC men fall, Cougar women win in second day of Thanksgiving Classic

The Western Nebraska Community College and Western Wyoming Community College men’s basketball teams saved the best game for last on day two of the Thanksgiving Classic at Cougar Palace.

WNCC, who trailed for 38 minutes of the game, finally took its first lead of the night on a Jamie Eisinger bucket at 81-80. It wasn’t enough, though, as the Cougars fell to the Mustangs 87-83 in a wild and crazy finish.

In other action in the second day of the Thanksgiving Classic, the WNCC women defeated Eastern Wyoming 62-38, the EWC men handed Buckley Air Force a 95-45 loss, and the Pratt Community College women defeated Lamar Community College 90-67. Action continues today with the WNCC men taking on Buckley in a 2 p.m contest.

Tearon Hill, who finished the night with a double-double with 29 points and 11 rebounds, said his team will need to buckle down and rebound today in the final game of the Thanksgiving Classic.

“The loss really came from the first half where we didn’t play as hard as we could. We should have shifted it into second gear,” the freshman from Carrolltown, Texas, said. “We didn’t play defense as hard as we could and we didn’t box out. They were getting a lot of second chance points and we really need to buckle down on defense.

As much as the Cougars were down and out for much of the game – Western Wyoming held leads of 8, 10 and 12 points for much of the game – the Mustangs couldn’t put the Cougars away. Western Wyoming held a 77-68 lead with five minutes to play only to see Hill score seven of the next 11 points, including an old-fashioned 3-point play and a bucket from a bounce pass from Eisinger.

WNCC finally tied the game at 79, only their third tie since the score was knotted at four on Eisinger’s two free throws.

After the Cougars took the lead at 81-80 on Eisinger’s bucket, the Mustangs came right back down the court and nailed a 3-pointer. Drew Eisinger followed with a bucket to tie things again at 83. Jared Quayle, who finished with a game-high 36 points including 12 of 15 from the free throw line, came back with an old-fashioned 3-point play with 1:17 to play to put Western Wyoming up for good at 86-83.

Hill said that his team did fight back, but it was missed opportunities throughout the game that cost the Cougars the contest.

“We had to dig deep [at the end] because it is tough to lose at home, especially since the loss [Friday night],” Hill said. “A lot of the guys had a lot of time to think since yesterday and we decided that we were going to come in today and leave it all on the line.”

As much as it seemed the Cougars were getting beat on the scoreboard, they actually shot better from the field then the Mustangs. WNCC made 44 percent of their shots compared to 41 percent for Western Wyoming. The difference in the game, though, came in the 3-point shooting where Western Wyoming made 10 of 16 treys compared to just 4 of 15 for WNCC.

While the Cougar men fell for the second straight time, the Cougar women picked up their fourth straight win with a 62-48 win over Eastern Wyoming. Still, WNCC coach Dave Harnish feels his team is not playing well offensively.

“Both teams missed a lot of shots and it was another night where we go 8 of 18 from the free throw line and we missed some easy shots inside. It is typical of the year so far,” Harnish said. “We have to overcome all that and learn how to make free throws and the lay ups. I do think we execute well and we are making better strides in decision-making; we just struggle to score.”

As much as the Cougars were struggling scoring, shooting just 39 percent from the field and 44 percent from the charity stripe, it was the Cougars defense that stood tall for another night. WNCC held the Lancers to 33 percent shooting from the field and 20 percent from the 3-point arc. The Cougars also generated 27 turnovers in the contest.

WNCC also forced two 30-second shot clock violations in the first half to help open up a close ball game. At one time, WNCC held a slim 8-7 lead after Eastern Wyoming’s Skye Smith made back-to-back buckets.

After that, WNCC went on a 22-4 run to grab a 30-13 halftime lead. And, it was the defense that generated the run as WNCC forced two shot clock violations and had a number of steals and offensive putbacks for buckets.

“I think the thing we have been decent with was our defense. We have been pretty solid defensively and that is what has held us together and get some wins here,” Harnish said. “But we just have a problem to score in transition, to score in our offense, and to make the shots when we need to. The defense has been solid and that has been the positive thing to come out the first semester.”

EWC coach Tom Andersen said this game is a barometer of where his team needs to be later in the year.

“There defense was obviously better then ours, forcing us into a lot of turnovers and a lot of poor shot selection,” Andersen said. “But defensively we played better tonight the we did [Friday night]. We just gave them a lot of good opportunities and they are a real athletic team and took advantage of those.

“We couldn’t get the offense going tonight and that is basically because of WNCC’s defense. They created a lot of problems for us on offense. We just have to keep getting better. The kids play hard at times. We were our worse enemy today, but you have to give a lot of credit to WNCC, they are a real good defensive team and real athletic. This is a gauge to where we want to get to.”

WNCC was paced by three players in double figures. Emma Beddome led all scorers with 13 points followed by Tawny Drewler and Chelsea Lyles with 10 points each. EWC was led by Jaqi Bell with 10 points.

The EWC men picked up its second win in the Thanksgiving Classic rolling over Buckley Air Force 95-48. In fact, the Lancers held a 61-24 lead at intermission and never looked back as they connected on nine 3-pointers.

The Lancers put five players in double figures. Scotty McRae paced the team with 13 points followed by Casey Robinson and Dane Hill with 12 points, and Edsel Vila and Matt Pritchett with 11 points.

Buckley was led by three players with 12 points in Sancoyus Justice, James Lewis and DeShawn Crawford.

In the other contest in the tournament, Pratt Community College defeated Lamar Community College 90-67. Pratt is coached by former Gering graduate and Nebraska player Brooke Schwartz. The Beavers had two players finish with double-doubles as Chadron graduate Sydney Moore had 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Elizabeth Friesen had 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Second Day Box Scores

Lamar women 32 35 – 67

Pratt women 52 38 – 90

LAMAR COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Kathryn Clouser 7, Kristen Bell 6, Enid Sanchez 2, Christina Belone 6, Donni Smith 9, Sara Beshears 20, Alicia Smith 8, Artra Griffin 4, Alyssa Gordon 5.

PRATT COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Jenna Getz 1, Wyneisha Webb 10, Taryn Dean 7, Kelsey Slater 5, Brittany Pencis 18, Lindsee Bachichs 14, Sasha Crosby 18, Elizabeth Friesen 11, Sydney Moore 13, Ashley Scroggins 9..

Buckley men 24 21 – 45

EWC men 61 34 – 95

BUCKLEY

Sancoyus Justice 12, James Lewis 12, Shaun Williams 2, Joshua Cradoet 2, Reginald Slaton 3, DeShawn Crawford 12, Mike Washington 2.

EASTERN WYOMING COLLEGE

Chris Daniels 5, Paulius Cibulskis 12, Dane Hill 3, Edsel VVila 11, Matt Pritchett 11, Leo Morris 4, Artunas Simanavicius 6, Scotty McRae 13, Jordon Johnson 1, George Williams 8, Caleb Moore 9, Casey Robinson 12.

Eastern Wyoming women 13 25 – 38

Western Nebraska women 30 32 – 62

EASTERN WOMING COLLEGE

Kera Bretney 6, Jessica Martinez 9, Candace Mitchell 2, Sheila Reece 4, Skye Smith 7, Jaqi Bell 10.

WESTERN NEBRASKA C.C.

Cheri Palmer 6, Dana Iverson 2, Emma Beddome 13, SeLina Ysac 4, Michelle Lighthall 2, Alison Cheney 7, Tawny Drexler 10, Jena Colwell 7, Chelsea Lyles 10, Carly Glisan 2.

Western Wyoming men 43 44 – 87

Western Nebraska men 36 47 – 83

WESTERN WYOMING

Trey Stephens 3, Kyle Straatman 2, Mitch Schuler 2, Darin Weeks 10, Courtney Birch 3, Jared Quayle 36, Corey Kaminska 8, Armando Brito 12, Nick Howard 5, Maciej Ustarbowski 6.

WESTERN NEBRASKA

Jamie Eisinger 4, Daniel Smith 6, Kelvin Franklin 8, Lloyd Hickinson 2, Drew Eisinger 19, Chris Hamblin 8, Doradji Wilson 7, Tearon Hill 29.

EWC men defeat WNCC men in first day of Thanksgiving Classic

The Eastern Wyoming College men’s basketball team shot 48 percent from the field and frustrated the Western Nebraska Community College offense with an in-your-face, hustling defense to register a commanding 86-61 win over the Cougars in the first day of the Thanksgiving Classic at Cougar Palace.

The other game of the Thanksgiving Classic saw the Western Wyoming Community College men run past Buckley Air Force Base 96-54.

Today’s matchups in the second day of the Thanksgiving Classic will pit Eastern Wyoming against Buckley at 3 p.m. and the Cougars against Western Wyoming at 7 p.m.

EWC coach Casey Jones said he harps on playing strong defense in practice and in a game. Friday night, it was that stingy defense that gave the Cougars fits all night long.

“If you categorize our practices, we go 70 percent defense, 25 percent offense in the mindset that our defense will create our offense,” the Lancer first-year coach said. “We are not very good offensively yet, but I am not worried about. If we learn how to guard, we don’t have to worry about nights that we don’t shoot the ball very well because we can fight through those nights. We guarded OK tonight. We gave up a lot of dribble penetration and a lot of transition and didn’t handle posts very well.”

As much as the Lancer defense was sparkling, the offense was hitting clutch shots and making it hard for a Cougar comeback in the second half.

WNCC did, however, start off on a good note, grabbing a 14-8 lead on a Tearon Hill offensive rebound and putback with five minutes gone in the first half. After that, though, the Lancers turned the game around in a heartbeat as Chris Daniels netted back-to-back buckets to tie the game at 14.

Both teams went back and forth for much of the first half. WNCC’s Kelvin Franklin nailed a 3-pointer with 3:30 left in the half to five the Cougars a 33-32 lead. That, though, was the last time the Cougars would lead as 10 seconds later, Casey Robinson buried back-to-back treys to give EWC a 38-33 lead. EWC led 43-38 at halftime.

EWC nailed 10 3-pointers in the contest and Jones said they had a decent night shooting from beyond the arc.

“We are an OK 3-point shooting team and we are good at it when we go inside first and create it from inside out,” he said. “It looks like we shot a good percentage and we should because the kids that we have that can shoot it are skilled shooters.”

The Cougars shooting, on the other hand, was lethargic. WNCC shot 37 percent from the field compared to 48 percent for EWC. The Cougars also were a dismal 14 percent (2-of-14) from the 3-point area compared to the Lancers’ 43 percent (10-of-23). The Cougars even couldn’t hit free throws on the night, finishing with 7-of-16 shooting (43 percent), while the Lancers were 13-of-17 for 71 percent.

The second half was a nightmare for WNCC. After cutting the lead early to 45-40 on a Kelvin Franklin bucket, the Lancers turned up the defensive heat. At one point, the Lancers went on a 9-0 run to grab a 61-44 lead.

Jones said he was proud of his squad for not letting WNCC come back in the second half, which has been the Achilles heel for them so far this year.

“We have been going through some problems of leading in the second half, pretty much all our games except for the Southern Idaho game, and for some reason just giving them up,” he said. “I think the team showed tonight they are sick of giving up leads and they wanted to prove they were strong enough and good enough to finish off games.”

EWC was paced by four players with double-digit scoring nights. Sophomore Casey Robinson led all scorers with 25 points, including three 3-pointers. Also hitting for double digits were Daniels and Scotty McRae with 15 points and George Williams with 10.

WNCC had just two players netted double digits, led by Franklin’s 16 points and Daniel Smith’s 14 points.

In other action Friday, Western Wyoming buried 11 3-pointers and put three players in double figures as they ran over Buckley 96-54. Jared Quayle led the way with 21 points, including three 3-pointers. Armando Brito finished with 17 points and three 3-pointers, while Corey Kaminkska had 10 points.

Buckley was led by James Lewis with 20 points followed by Sancoyus Justice with 17.

Buckley 27 27 – 54

Western Wyoming 50 46 – 96

BUCKLEY AIR FORCE

Sancoyus Justice 17, James Lewis 20, Shaun Williams 2, Rich Paige 3, Miles Jones 2, Joshua Cradoet 2, Reginald Slaton 2, DeShawn Crawford 6.

WESTERN WYOMING

Trey Stephens 4, Kyle Straetman 3, Mitch Schuler 5, Darin Weeks 5, Jeremy Catron 3, Courtney Birch 6, Jared Quayle 21, Corey Kaminska 10, Armando Brito 17, Brodie Birch 5, Nick Howard 4, Maciej Ustarbowski 9, Tyvyn Mitchell 5.

EWC 43 43 – 86

WNCC 38 23 – 61

EASTERN WYOMING

Chris Daniels 15, Dane Hill 8, Matt Pritchett 9, Scotty McRae 16, George Williams 10, Caleb Moore 2, Casey Robinson 26.

WESTERN NEBRASKA

Jamie Eisinger 4, Daniel Smith 14, Kelvin Franklin 16, Lloyd Hickinson 4, Drew Eisinger 6, Chris Hamblin 4, Doradji Wilson 3, Devin West 2, Tearon Hill 8.

WNCC< EWC women win openers of Thanksgiving Classic

The Western Nebraska Community College and Eastern Wyoming College women’s basketball team’s opened the Thanksgiving Classic in fine fashion at Cougar Palace.

The Lancers put four players in double figures, including a 22-point outing by Skye Smith, to run past Lamar Community College 76-66. The Cougars put two in double-figures and used a 18-4 run midway through the first half to claim a 79-54 win.

The Classic continues today with Pratt taking on Lamar at 1 p.m. and WNCC facing EWC at 5 p.m.

WNCC coach Dave Harnish said his team continues to struggle offensively.

“We have struggled offensively all season long. We did that tonight again in streaks, especially starting the game. We got a little bit better rhythm before halftime to get it up by 14 at halftime,” he said. “I think the best we played was the first five or six minutes of the second half, both offensively and defensively. Then we went another 10 minutes where we scored just two or four points. It has been a struggle and after 10 games, you would think we would do things better.”

Friday evening, the Cougar women went 1 of 11 from the 3-point area and 16 of 28 from the free throw line. The Cougars also shot 39.7 percent from the field in the win.

For a stretch there, the Pratt Beavers were in control of the Cougars, running to an 8-3 lead five minutes into the game. It was at that point the Cougar defense picked up and the offense kicked it up a gear. Cheri Palmer started things with four points. Then, sophomore Alison Cheney connected on back-to-back buckets to put WNCC up 13-10.

WNCC continued playing well offensively and defensively as Chelsea Lyles and Dana Iverson connected on a 2-pointers and SeLina Ysac nailed the only 3-pointer of the game for a 19-12 lead. WNCC built the lead to 13 points, 33-20 on back-to-back buckets by Tawny Drexler. WNCC moved the lead to 37-23 at halftime.

The Cougars continued playing strong in the first eight minutes of the second half, building a 59-33 lead and never looked back.

At times, the Cougars looked strong defensively, just like the Cougars of old. Again, though, Harnish said it is consistency that has him perplexed.

“It has been the same story, we don’t have the consistency night in and night out for 40 minutes,” Harnish said. “We go 1 of 11 from the 3-point line tonight and we don’t shoot free throws well. The defense is spotty at times. It is just not all there and we continue to have problems every night in something different.”

Shaquilah Davis led the Cougars with 15 points followed by Iverson with 10 points. Emma Beddome had a near double-double finishing with nine points and eight rebounds.

Pratt was led by Wyneisha Webb with 17 points, including two 3-pointers. Also collecting double-digit scoring was Lindsee Bachicha with 11 points. Chadron graduate Sydney Moore finished the game with four points and two rebounds. Moore was perfect from the free throw line, going 4-for-4.

Eastern Wyoming’s offense was just as potent as the Cougars. The Lancers were hitting on all cylinders, especially in the first half as EWC bolted to a 43-35 halftime lead. Doing most of the damage was post player Kara Bretney, who had eight first-half buckets underneath. Smith also excelled in the first period scoring 10 of her game-high 22 points.

EWC coach Tom Andersen said that the offense was there all night, it was just the lapses on defense that kept Lamar in the game.

“Offensively we did alright,” the first-year Lancer coach said. “We were able to get pretty good shots for the most part. We had a few too many turnovers, but other then that we had good shots. Our defense wasn’t that well, especially in the first half. We tightened it up a little in the second half. They did hit some threes, but we are still learning a lot of things. We have a lot of freshmen out there that have not played a lot.”

EWC shot 40 percent from the field compared to 32 percent for Lamar. One of the big areas that was the difference was free throw shooting, where the Lancer’s Smith was a perfect 10 of 10 from the charity stripe. EWC was 17 of 26 for the game for 65 percent.

Besides Smith with 22, other Lancer’s in double figures included Bretney and Jessica Martinez with 12 points each, and Candace Mitchell with 10. Lamar was led by Enid Sanchez with 15 points, including three 3-pointers, and Alicia Smith with 14 points and four 3-pointers.

Today, the Lancers will take on WNCC in the Thanksgiving Classic at 5 p.m. and Andersen said they will have their hands full.

“They are a quality program and team,” he said. “Hopefully we can take care of the ball and get something out of our offense and our defense can play better then they did tonight. It will be a big challenge for us, but it will be something that we will need to see.”

EWC 43 33 – 76

Lamar 35 31 – 66

EASTERN WYOMING

Kara Bretney 12, Shealyn Wells 1, Cecily Zarate 2, Stacie Folker 9, Jessica Martinez 12, Candace Mitchell 10, Sheila Reece 2, Skye Smith 22, Jaqi Bell 6.

LAMAR COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Kathryn Clouser 7, Enid Sanchez 15, Christina Belone 2, Donni Smith 9, Sara Beshears 11, Alicia Smith 14, Reannon Dunn 1, Artra Griffin 3, Alyssa Gordon 4.

Pratt 23 31 – 54

WNCC 37 42 – 79

PRATT COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Wyneisha Webb 17, Brittany Pencis 1, Sasha Crosby 6, Lindsee Bachicha 9, Elizabeth Friesen 11, Sydney Moore 4, Ashley Scroggins 2, Jen Perkins 4.

WESTERN NEBRASKA C.C.

Cheri Palmer 7, Dana Iverson 10, Emma Beddome 9, SeLina Ysac 5, Shaquilah Davis 15, Alison Cheney 9, Tawny Drexler 7, Jenna Colwell 2, Eli Cosme-Gonzalez 3, Chelsea Lyles 7, Carly Glisan 5.

Thanksgiving Classic set for Cougar Palace Friday through Sunday

A day after the Western Nebraska Community College and Eastern Wyoming College players and coaches stuffed themselves full of turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie, the men’s and women’s basketball teams will be on the court today running off their Thanksgiving meal in the Thanksgiving Classic at Cougar Palace.

Action in the tournament begins at 1 p.m. today and Saturday with four games each day.

The Eastern Wyoming women begin the after Thanksgiving contest against Lamar Community College followed by the Western Wyoming Community College men against Buckley Air Force Base at 3 p.m.

The Cougars will then take centerstage with the WNCC women facing Pratt Community College at 5 p.m. followed by the Cougar men meeting their Highway 26 rivals from across the border Eastern Wyoming College men at 7 p.m. The tournament runs through Sunday, with four games on Saturday and one game on Sunday.

All four contests have interested tidbits to them to make for a festive occasion. WNCC coach Brian Joyce expects to see plenty of good basketball over the weekend.

“I think this will be a good tournament,” he said. “We play against Eastern Wyoming, Western Wyoming and Buckley Air Force Base. They all have different styles and it will be a challenging weekend.”

WNCC enters today’s contest at 6-2 after suffering it’s first two losses of the season last weekend at the Air Force tournament. The Cougars fell to Otero 68-65 and Garden City Community College 66-43 before defeating Air Force Prep 63-56 after trailing 29-26 at halftime.

Joyce said he was happy with how his team played Sunday to after suffering two defeats earlier in the tournament.

“I thought out guys showed a lot of character in bouncing back against Air Force Prep. That is a team that is hard to play in their style of play down there on the road,” he said. “I was pleased with how our guys responded. When you have as many new guys as we have and have five guys on the court that have not played college basketball, you will have some valleys as well as peaks, so hopefully we can learn from that and not have that happen in the future.”

In the win against Air Force Prep, the Cougars had three players in double figures led by Daniel Smith with 18 points. Deividas Busma finished with 12 points and Drew Eisinger had 11 points.

The Lancers, who opened the season with two wins at Cougar Palace, will be entering the Classic after suffering three losses at the Eureka Classic in Twin Falls, Idaho, last weekend. EWC fell to Riverside Community College 62-60, South Mountain College 79-71 and then to No. 2-ranked College of Southern Idaho 101-83.

Against CSI, Scotty McRae paced the team with 25 points followed by Casey Robinson with 17, including five 3-pointers. The Lancers opened the tournament with a heartbreaking loss to South Mountain after leading 49-29 at halftime to fall by four points. Robinson and Matt Pritchett led the team with 14 points each.

Joyce said his Cougar team has to be weary of a talented Lancer squad though.

“We have seen Eastern play three or four times and they play some good teams and I think they will be tough,” he said. “They have some good pieces on the outside and inside, so it will be important for us to execute the right way and do a good job against them.”

The Cougar women will also see a talented squad in Pratt Community College, even though they upheanded the Beavers earlier this year at the Colby Tournament. Pratt will be coming to WNCC with plenty of local flair as the Beavers are coached by former Gering High standout Brooke Schwartz. They also feature Sydney Moore, a Chadron High 3-sport athlete, who is in her freshman year at Pratt, Kan.

WNCC, though, will have the return of sophomore Chelsea Lyles this weekend for the 6-3 Cougar women. Lyles will suit up after helping the Cougar volleyball team to the national title on Saturday.

As for her basketball teammates, the are entering the home opener on a two-game winning streak after winning two games at the Air Force Prep tournament. The Cougars opened the last weekend at Colorado Springs, Colo., falling to the Air Force All-Stars 62-59, before rebounding with wins over Air Force Prep 75-52 and then Ft. Carson Army Base 76-49.

Other action today in the tournament features two schools that re-initiated women’s basketball this season with Lamar and Eastern Wyoming College at 1 p.m. The Lancers defeated Lamar Community College earlier this year on the road.

The 3 p.m. contest features Western Wyoming against Buckley in a contest that features former WNCC coach Trace Bevell in his first year as the head coach of the Mustangs out of Rock Springs, Wyo.

The rest of the tournament will feature action on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s schedule will see Pratt facing Lamar at 1 p.m., the Eastern Wyoming men meeting Buckley at 3 p.m., the WNCC and EWC women playing at 5 p.m. and the WNCC men taking on Western Wyoming at 7 p.m. Sunday’s lone contest will see the WNCC men facing Buckley at 2 p.m.

"We are trying to win every game. That is our goal,” Joyce said. “Every time we go out will do everything we can to win that game. I think when you play the right way and do the right things on both ends of the court; you will have a chance of winning your fair share of games. That is our focus and we will keep approaching it that way.”

Larger group of Lady Blues confident in success; Former Cougar Shareef one of them

As appeared on the Bluefield Daily Telegraph website. Story was by Brian Woodson

BLUEFIELD — There weren’t many complaints about playing time last season from the Bluefield State Lady Blues.

“It was tough,” Bluefield State sophomore Rachel Ellis said.

“We were tired,” added Bluefield State senior Laila Shareef, with a laugh.

No wonder. With just six players to start the season, and just eight when it came to an end, there wasn’t a whole lot of time to sit on the bench.

“It was hard, it was really hard,” said Ellis, who fought through asthma to average nearly 30 minutes a game. “We were there for each other and it made us a lot closer.

“This year I think we have a lot of team chemistry, I think we’ll do good.”

The good news is the roster includes 12 players, including five returnees that combined to score nearly 27 points a game for the Lady Blues.

They’ve been joined by seven newcomers, including five freshmen, a junior walk-on and a sophomore transfer.

“I think we’re going to have a successful season,” said Shareef, who hails from Denver. “We have a lot of hard workers and a lot of more numbers so we should be able to pull off more wins this year.”

Neither Shareef or Ellis are used to losing. Bluefield State finished 7-21 last season, that following a 3-3 start. Not surprisingly, the Blues were picked to finish 15th out of 16 teams in the WVIAC.

“We are underrated and that is always good,” Ellis said. “Nobody thinks we’re going to be good.”

Except for the Blues themselves.

“We are very excited,” said Ellis, whose Blues will host Bluefield College next Tuesday. “We’ve got a lot more people this year and we’ve all been working real hard.”

Shareef felt the sting of the losses. A senior from Denver, Shareef arrived at Bluefield State last year after two years at Western Nebraska Community College.

“It’s a great school, we went to nationals both years,” said the 5-foot-7 Shareef, the leading returning scorer at 9.5 points a game. “Last year was a rough season because we didn’t have numbers.

“I wasn’t really used to losing, but this year we’ve got numbers so it should be a whole different deal.”

Elis is also from a winning program at Wyoming East. Ellis started 25 games last season, averaging 4.2 points a contest.

“It was hard, in high school we went to states every single year,” Ellis said.

“Every year we got beat by the same champs. It’s hard coming in and losing every game...We weren’t used to losing that much.”

Three other returnees have joined Ellis and Shareef, including Adizatou Maiga — from Mail, Africa — Christina Smyre and Charise Watts.

They’ll all have to step up their games to replace leading scorers Jennetta Smith, Shamatee Mitchell and Hyshea Branche, all of whom have graduated.

Both returnees are hoping that the Blues can do more on the floor this season. With the lack of numbers, it was often hard to even run plays.

“We work hard, defensively we’re a lot better and we run plays now,” Ellis said.

Shareef added. “You couldn’t do much of that last year because everybody was always tired, and people were having to fill in other positions that they’re not used to playing.”

The newcomers are talented, led by former Montcalm star Eva Grose. The Blues have players from six states, along with Maiga from Africa and Swedish import Natalie Nordstrom.

“We’ve got Eva in the post, and we don’t have too many posts,” Shareef said. “She has done really good, she has stepped up a lot.”

Shareef arrived at Bluefield State after corresponding with Lady Blues’ coach Gary Brown through video and e-mails. She’s glad to be in Bluefield.

“I came down here and I’ve been here ever since,” she said. “It’s all right, it’s not home, but it’s all right.”

While Ellis was encouraged to attend Bluefield State by her brother and BSC student Amy Brewer, there are other parts of the college game that took a while to get used to.

“Coach Brown is a lot different than my coach was in high school, he’s a lot more strict and we have a lot longer practices,” said Ellis, who just returned to the team about three weeks ago because of treatment for asthma. “It’s like an hour and a half to like three hours and that’s a big difference.

“It’s close to home for me though. I can go home whenever I want and the money is here and my major is here so it just worked out for me.”

Bluefield State is still small in terms of height, having no player standing more than 5-foot-9, but they hope to make up for lack of size by running the floor. There are other intentions too.

“We want to be the No. 1 defensive team in the conference, but it’s going to be hard because we’re small,” Ellis said.

“Defense and hard work, and rebounding,” added Shareef. “We’ve got to send everybody to the boards this year.”

The Lady Blues hope that formula leads to more wins.

“Hopefully we’ll do a lot better than last year,” Shareef said. “I feel like we’re a lot better this year already. We’re underrated and we’re coming to play.”

Pacheco, Eichler sign with Division I schools, Schauermann heads to Metro State

Soriana Pacheco, Jennifer Eichler and Kendra Schauermann had a whirlwind past week after helping the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team capture its first national championship in school history.

Two days after capturing that first place trophy, the three officially inked with four-year colleges to continue their playing days. Pacheco signed with Kansas State University out of the Big 12, while Eichler inked with Division I Tulsa University. Schauermann is headed a little closer to home, putting her signature on the Metro State University letter of intent Monday afternoon.

All three capped their Cougar careers in style and are looking to add another chapter in their memory book.

“I think I have improved a lot here,” Eichler, the Rapid City Stevens graduate, said. “I think it helped me prepare a lot of Tulsa. It is DI and when I see that, it looks a little bit tougher.

“I went to visit there a couple months ago and I love everything about the campus, the girls are amazing and the coach seems to know what he is talking about. Their record is amazing and I just want to play for them.”

Eichler led the team in kills this season and had two break-out matches in the first two rounds of the national tournament last week, tallying 63 kills in four matches. She led the team with 16 kills against Hillsborough Community College in the opening round, and then tallied 15 kills against the University of Arkansas-Ft. Smith in the quarter-finals.

Eichler also earned all-region and all-tournament honors at the Region IX tournament this year.

Green said Eichler improved a ton since she got here three seasons ago. Eichler red-shirted her first year year because of a stomach virus.

“She is someone that didn’t play club volleyball in high school and she kept improving her athletic ability since when she first got here,” he said. “We are going to miss her a lot on the rightside.”

Pacheco will be another player that will missed next season. Green said that his 5-foot-10 setter was the quarterback of the team. In her two seasons at WNCC, Pacheco made the national tournament all-tournament team two straight years, was a first-team NJCAA all-American her freshman year, and was all-Region IX both years.

“Soriana will be competing in the Big 12 and we don’t want to root against Nebraska too often, but when she is playing against Nebraska, we might have to change to purple and white,” he said. “We are hoping Soriana does a good job down there.”

Pacheco said that she has many ties to this area and loved her two years at WNCC. Now, she is ready for the next step.

“I went to Kansas State and I really liked the campus and I am going there because my coach told me it was very good,” she said. “I really loved it here and I am going to miss a lot of the girls and the coaches.”

While Eichler and Pacheco are headed to the Division I level, Schauermann signed with a Division II school. In fact, Schauermann said this is the school she has always wanted to attend.

“I have wanted to go to Metro State since I was younger because they have the major I want to go into of meteorology,” she said. “I went on a visit there my senior year of high school and I have beenn planning on going there for a while. I am excited to be close to my family. All my brothers go to CU Boulder, so I will be closer to them in the Metro area.”

Schauermann, along with Eichler, will be graduating in December. Schauermann said that she loved her 1 ½ years at WNCC.

“I loved it here. The community was awesome and going to a smaller school right away was definitely the right choice,” she said. “Obviously we had a really good team, so that helped me get prepared for the next level of volleyball.”

Green said that Schauermann should help out the Roadrunner volleyball program at the libero position.

“Kendra was already a pretty polished player when she got here and she has done some great things here,” he said. “I think she has improved her passing and I think she will do some great things at Metro State probably as their libero.”

Green said these three players will do well at the next level. “It will be a big step up for these three young ladies,” he said. “But, I think they are prepared for it.”

Green said that Stacie Meisner, a Gering graduate, and Shawntell Jones are also expected to sign to play at the next level later on.

College, community celebrate national title with Cougars

Almost immediately after Western Nebraska Community College captured the NJCAA National Tournament championship Saturday, Kendra Schauermann began thinking about her grandfather, Bill Honaker.

Specifically, she remembered what he told her before he passed away in September: get a national championship ring.

Needless to say, Schauermann was both emotional and elated when the Cougars put the finishing touches on their amazing season with Saturday's four-game victory over Miami Dade in the national tournament final at Council Bluffs, Iowa.

“I don’t think there is anything that can top this feeling,” she said. “I did this all for my Grandpa. Before he passed away, he told me to get a ring for him. That was the first thing I thought of.”

Schauermann said that a week before he passed away, her grandpa was just laying there and then woke up asking to call all his grandkids. When he talked to Schauermann, she said he told her to get a big championship ring like he won in 1995 as a pitcher for the Silver Streaks out of Denver during the Senior World Series in slow-pitch softball. He was 67 when he won the championship.

Twelve year’s later, Schauermann gave her grandpa his wish of a national championship ring. And the team, including 12 players, two student managers, two coaches and the trainer, can remember this season as earning WNCC’s first national tournament title. Even the fans will remember this win for years to come.

“It will be something to remember for a long time,” sophomore Jennifer Eichler said Monday after the team was honored with a presentation in the gym. “The ring will show it. The pictures will show it. I am sure we will have to look back at the pictures and remember it later in life.”

The team had a short celebration Saturday evening at Ruby Tuesday’s in Council Bluffs, where the team presented Tournament Coach of the Year Chris Green a signed Cougar flag, before heading home Sunday morning.

On the way home, the Cougars were greeted by about 25 fans in Bridgeport, before being escorted back into town on Sunday by the Scottsbluff police department and about 25 cars that followed the bus back to the campus.

Monday, the team was formally recognized at a ceremony in Cougar Palace in front of students, staff, family and community members. They even received a limo ride around Scottsbluff in honor of their championship.

Green said the limo ride was unexpected by fun. “I don’t know if too many people in Scottsbluff knew what was going on, but it was fun to showoff and take some time to celebrate a great achievement like this,” he said.

Athletic director Jennifer Pedersen said that winning a national championship is what every one works for and this is something that the college will take pride in during the celebration.

"Winning a national title is something that every student-athlete dreams of. It is something that every kid thinks about when they start playing sports and it is the highest goal that every athlete wants to achieve,” she said. “So I think that the WNCC women’s volleyball team winning the national title is the epitome of what every athlete wants to do, and they definitely set the example for the other athletes at WNCC, as well as Region IX.”

Pedersen said that her room Saturday night in Colorado Springs where the basketball teams were playing was packed with players and coaches listening to the game.

“We had about 11 of our kids and coach Harnish and myself in the hotel room listening to the game,” she said. “The volume was pretty low so all of us were huddled pretty close around the computer. I think pretty much everyone of us got goose bumps when they announced that we won the title.”

Eicher said the last couple of days shows just how much this championship means to them as well as the community.

“We didn’t know about the Bridgeport greeting until we were a couple minutes away,” she said. “It [the greetings] were amazing and I like the fact that everyone supports us including Bridgeport. It is nice everybody supports us and is willing to come out and show it.”

Green said this national trophy is not only for the team and school, but it is for the community.

“We stopped at the corner in Bridgeport and several people stopped to show their support and made signs for us,” he said. “The bank had their flashing sign going across honoring us. It was cool that not only people in Scottsbluff honoring us, but people in Bridgeport that pay attention to WNCC athletics. It is neat to not only represent Scottsbluff, but the entire western side of Nebraska.”

In fact, with the fan support they received at the national tournament, especially in the wild semi-final match against, Salt Lake Community College, this trophy would not be sitting here at WNCC.

“One thing I didn’t mention at today’s celebration was during the Salt Lake game, I think really the crowd and the fans that came down to cheer us on in the semi-final match definitely had a part us winning against Salt Lake. We have to give them a little bit of credit because they helped us to keep positive and to keep fighting. Every little bit was necessary.”

The Cougars championship run was spectacular in deed. The Cougars had their backs to the ropes in the semi-final match against Salt Lake Community College. Many people were preparing themselves for a defeat. But, the players had other ideas and defeated the No. 1 team in the country in five games to move into the finals.

Sophomore Shawntell Jones said after the Salt Lake win that the team kept believing that they can be national champs.

“That was a big win because we knew we had to come out and fight,” she said. “Losing that first game was pretty intense. We knew that it wasn’t going to be easy and it was going to be a pretty intense match. We knew we had to work for it. Then, we knew we needed the second game and we pulled through [even being down 18-10]. Everybody did their part. We couldn’t have done it without anybody on the team. We needed everybody on the bench, everybody on the court, and everybody did their part.”

In the championship match, the Cougars came in as the underdogs and quickly took control of the match, claiming the first two games against unbeaten Miami Dade. And they did it with a fierce defense that kept balls in play all night to give the Cougar hitters an opportunity at swings at the net.

“It all starts with the pass and without Nayka, Daphine, Stacie and I, our hitters can’t do anything,” she said. “We have to get our balls to our amazing setter. Defense is definitely key, especially against good hitters and I think we did awesome.”

Stacie Meisner, a sophomore from Gering who saw state experience during her high school days, said this tops everything.

“We had everything it took this year to win a national title,” she said. “This is so amazing and it is such an amazing feeling. We will probably be on a high for the next month or two. This is a really good tournament and all the support that we had made it just that more special and memorable.”

Meisner said one of the advantages the Cougars had in the title contest was of their opponents they had to endure not only at the tournament, but all season long.

“You look at the number of games we played and we played twice as many games as Miami Dade did in a season,” she said. “I think that benefited us because every time we go out on the court that is our chance to get better against an opponent instead of spending time in the gym.

“Another advantage we had was we were in this game last year and we knew what it was going to take. We knew we had to come out strong. We knew we were the underdog because Miami Dade came in without any losses and we were the No. 5 seed. We knew we were the underdog and we had to come out and start fast and finish strong and really push. We had to do everything on our side of the court to make sure that we got that win.”

The Cougars finished the regular season with a 54-2 mark and were ranked No. 1 in the country for half of the season. WNCC lost only to Salt Lake Community College and Frank Phillips, who also made the semi-finals falling to Miami Dade and WNCC. Salt Lake claimed third place at nationals with a four-game win over Frank Phillips.

WNCC then finished off the tournament with the four-game win over Miami Dade, in which Green said was a pleasant win against a national power team. In fact, WNCC has never beaten Miami Dade at Nationals, going 0-3, including two years ago in the Final Four.

“We are ecstatic to win,” Green said Saturday night. “We watched film on Miami Dade and people saw them warm up, and they have some amazing hitters. We faced them two years ago in the Final Four and we kind of got wiped off the court. [Saturday] we played better then two years ago and did a great job. We almost played a perfect game.”

Schauermann, who played the tournament with a heavy heart, said she is proud to be part of school history.

“I am glad that I have been a part of that team,” she said. “We have just amazing girls this year. Every one was best friends and every one loved every one. We did everything together and we loved each other and we had amazing chemistry. This is the best feeling in my life. After coming off of last year and coming off that feeling when we lost, this is indescribable.”

Men's, women's basketball teams win in Air force Prep tourney

The WNCC men's basketball team snapped a 2-game losing skid by wrapping up the Air Force tournament on Sunday with a 63-56 win over Air Force Prep. The Cougar women also won their second straight game on Sunday, dropping Ft. Carson Army Base 76-49.

On Saturday at the tournament, the two teams split a pair of contests. The women beat Air Force Prep 75-52 behind 13 points each from Emma Beddome and Cheri Palmer. The men lost their second straight game falling 66-43 to Garden City Community College.

Both squads return to action Friday when they host the Thanksgiving Classic at Cougar Palace.

Police escort, public celebration for Cougar volleyball team after winning national title

Come celebrate with the NJCAA 2007 National Champion Cougar Volleyball team.

That is right, the Cougars won the national title witih a four-game win over Miami Dade College and on Sunday, they will have a police escort into Scottsbluff. Then, Monday morning, there will be a celebration for the public and college at 9:50 a.m. honoring the team for their accomplishments in bringing back the college's first national title.

National champs!!!!!!

National Champs!

Yes, the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team brought home the championship trophy with a thundering win over Miami Dade College Saturday evening in the finals and they did it in dominating fashion.

The Cougars registered a 30-27, 30-26, 21-30, 30-22 win to earn the college’s first national championship. The win was especially sweat since the Cougars lost in last year’s national title contest.

“I can’t think of words right now. This is unbelievable,” sophomore Stacie Meisner said. “For the sophomores on the team, we worked two years for this after we didn’t win last year. Coming into this year, we need what it would take to get here and to get to this game. We worked so hard. We had a good group of freshman come in and they worked their butts off, too, along with us, because they wanted it as bad as we did. We had everything it took this year. This is such a great feeling right now. I probably will be on this high for about a month or so. This is really exciting and a really good tournament. All the support that we had made this win that much more special and that much more memorable."

For nine-year head coach Chris Green, who was smiling from ear to ear, it was a relieve.

“I am a little relieved. I am very proud of the players and proud of how we played tonight,” he said. “I am proud of our defense. Soriana did an excellent job, Our hitters, especially Aida Bauza, was on fire tonight. Jennifer Eichler has contributed so much these last two years. We got our back row players that played great defense again tonight and kept their big hitters becoming too dominant. That is all I can say. I am just proud of what these girls did tonight.”

What makes this win special is it is the first national title in school history.

“We are happy to represent Scottsbluff and bring a national championship back home,” Green said.

The Cougars will return home today and will be escorted into town with a police escort sometime in the afternoon. Also, there will be a celebration at the College gym Monday morning at 9:50 a.m. to welcome home the national champions.

But, the win was definitely was a team win for the Cougars as the Cougars provided plenty of kills, blocks and defensive digs in the win. In fact, for the second straight night, it was the Cougars defensive that proved golden. It was also the Cougars best performance in the tournament, and they saved it for last.

“We did play very well. The first two matches of this tournament didn’t look too well for us. Then the last two matches against Salt Lake and Miami Dade, we had to play better and we stepped it up when we did. You can’t say enough about the girls. They were working for every point and I am very proud for that.. Every single point they worked hard for.

“We had some great digs again and we had people in the right places. Those four players again including Daphine, Kendra and Nayka had great digs. There were people in the front row that had some great saves. We covered up ou4 hitters well. So, when we did get blocked, we were able to cover and set it up again and get another swing at their huge block. Our back row defense,”

The Cougars placed four players with double-digit digs, led by Nayka Benitez, the tournament’s top server award, with 17 kills. Daphine Da Silva tallied 13 digs, followed by Sorana Pacheco and Kendra Schauermann with 10 digs each.

Most of the damage, though, was provided by Aida Bauza, who collected 29 kills on the evening. Bauza also earned the tournament MVP award. Bauza said that she wasn’t expecting the individual honors.

“I can’t explain how I feel right now. I feel very happy, Bauza said. “I didn’t expect this. I am very excited about it. I played with just the heart but this is very important to me. I wanted to win the championship and I put all my heart into the match all the time.”

WNCC The Cougars put three players on the all-tournament team -- Bauza, Pacheco and Fatima Balza. Balza finished the championship with eight blocks and 13 kills. Pacheco had another super match finishing with 10 kills, 10 digs and 57 set assists.

The Cougars also were led by Chelsea Lyles with seven kills, Jennier Eichler with 16 kills, Shawntell Jones with three kills, four blocks and six points, Bauza with five digs to go with her her 29 kills.

Schauermann, who was a part of the Cougars’ superb defensive effort for a second straight night, said there is nothing that will top this feeling.

“This is amazing. This is the best feeling in my life,” the sophomore from Windsor, Colo., said. “After coming off of last year and that feeling that we lost, this is unbelievable. It is indescribable. I don’t think anything can top this feeling right. I did this all for my Grandpa. Before he passed away, he told me to get a ring for him. That is the first thing I though of.”

Well, Schauermann got that ring for her grandpa and for the rest of the team. In fact, the way the Cougars played Saturday night, there was no denying the Cougars of the championship.

The first game was a back and forth affair with WNCC taking an 8-5 lead early on a Eichler kill. After that, both teams went back and forth until Benitez served the final point for the first game win.

The second game was all WNCC from start to finish. WNCC raced to a 5-1 lead behind four points from Benitez. The Cougars kept their foot to the pedal as they accelerated to an 18-10 lead behind two Schauermann service points.

Miami Dade, who entered the championship tilt with a 33-0 record, tried coming back as they sliced the lead to 25-21. WNCC, though, was too tough. After a missed serve, Eichler hammered home two kills and then Da Silva served the final two points for the win.

Miami Dade came out a different team in the third game rolling to a 12-7 and then a 18-12 lead. WNCC fought back slicing the lead to 20-17 on three Jones’ service points and a Eichler kill. But, that was as close as the Cougars got before succumbing to the Sharks 30-21.

The fourth game was a battle between two good ball clubs. WNCC started things as Benitez served three points to put the Cougars up 4-1. Miami Dade rebounded taking a 10-8. Soon after, the Cougars regained the lead on seven Benitez service points for a 17-11 lead. During the scoring spree, Bauza lit up the Miami Dade defense with three of her match-high 29 kills.

The Sharks came back andn sliced the lead to 20-19, but never did regain the lead as Lyles hammered home a kill to stop the rally and then Da Silva served two points for a 26-21 lead. WNCC finished off their first national title as Benitez served the final three points and Bauza got the winning kill sending the nearly 200 Cougar fans storming the floor with jubilation.

“It is amazing to be a part of school history and to be a part of such a great team and part of such amazing girls this year,: Schauermann said. “Everybody was best friends and everyone loved everyone. We did everything together and we loved each other. We had amazing chemistry this year.

“I think what helped win the title was the harder tournament schedule and the fact that we had a lower seed from last year, really gave us some fire underneath us,” she said. “But, coming off of last year’s loss, though, really gave us the drive and the confidence to come out and win a national championship.”

NJCAA National Tournament Final Day Results

Championship Match
Western Nebraska vs. Miami Dade
Scores

3rd Place Match
Frank Phillips College vs. Salt Lake C.C.
Scores

5th place Match
Blinn College sweeps past San Jacinto
32-30, 30-25, 30-27

7th place Match
Iowa Western Sweeps San Jacinto College
After being eliminated from national championship contention on Thursday by third-seeded Frank Phillips College, and after Friday's tough loss to 10th-seeded San Jacinto College, sixth-seeded Iowa Western Community College was looking for a bit of redemption. On Saturday, they achieved a large measure of it.

Playing for pride, sophomore outside hitter Juliana Paz and her teammates represented their school well and swept fourth-seeded University of Arkansas-Fort Smith 30-21, 32-30, 30-15 to capture seventh place at the 2007 National Junior College Athletic Association Women's
Volleyball Championships, which are being held at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

With the win, Iowa Western finishes its season with a 58-5 record, while Arkansas-Fort Smith falls to 39-7.

"I thought yesterday (Friday), after being eliminated from national championship contention (on Thursday), coming out in that first match after that there might be a let down, which is what happened," Iowa Western Head Coach Terry Gamble said. "So, we talked about playing for
pride and representing their school, and they did that today. It was an awesome win. It's good to know the kids are going to leave here feeling good about themselves. It's very good they went out with a win."

Paz, playing in her final match for Iowa Western, led all players with 30 kills, 12 digs and one dig to finish her career for the Reivers the way she had hoped.

"I had in my mind that I wanted to finish up my two-year career here as a winner," a very happy Paz said after the match. "I tried my hardest. All of the girls played hard and I'm very happy with how we played.

Paz, who will be playing for the University of Michigan of next season, finished off the season by setting a new single-season kill record with 1,043 kills, and Gamble knows she will be missed.

"Juliana is one of those special players that comes around once in a life time," he said. "All three of our sophomores, Juliana, Julia (Kenealy) and Gabby (Pfannenstiel) helped build the foundation for a nice national program here.

Kenealy did her best to control the net at her middle blocker position, putting away 13 kills and getting five total blocks, while libero Pfannenstiel picked up 24 digs. Freshman setter Meng Meng Xu led the offensive attack with 50 assists.

Arkansas Fort Smith was led by sophomore right side hitter Hanna Valli, who had 18 kills, two total blocks and one ace, while sophomore outside hitter Brittany Hunt added 10 kills. Freshman setter Lucia Najselova paced the Lions offense with 34 assists.

Ninth Place Match
Barton County comes back to defeat Southern Idaho in five games
The Barton County volleball team fell behind 2-0 and then won the final three games to claim the consolation title in the final day of the national volleyball tournament earning a 24-30,
16-30, 30-22, 33-31, 15-10 win.

WNCC basketball teams fall at Air Force Prep tourney

Courtesy of Kevin Klaman, Star-Herald Sports Reporter

Just three points separated both Western Nebraska Community College basketball teams from continuing their road success to start the young season. Both teams were coming off of 3-0 records at the Colby tournament in Colby, Kan., but both the men and women fell in their first games in the Air Force Prep tournament in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Friday.

The women slipped to 4-3 on the season with a 62-59 loss to the Air Force All-Stars, and the men had their five-game unbeaten streak snapped with a 68-65 loss to Otero Junior College.
In the women's game, a close first half kept the game tight all the way to the end.

"It was back and forth through most of the game," WNCC assistant coach Jennifer Pedersen said. "We were up by 12 at one point in the second half and then they tied it up and went up by four. We tied it up and then they went up by 3, and we never caught them."

Jena Colwell led the Cougars with 14 points in the game. Colwell also had three steals. Emma Beddome added 12 points, including two 3-pointers. She also handed out two assists. Cheri Palmer finished with 10 points, Dana Iverson scored eight and Shaquilah Davis put up six. Carly Glisan also recorded six points on two 3-pointers and grabbed five rebounds. SeLina Ysac also came down with five rebounds and scored three points. Tawny Drexler picked up three steals.

The Cougars led 30-25 at the half and shot 55 percent from the free-throw line.
The WNCC men were also forced to play catch-up as time wound down in their game.

"We were up by 10 at the half and led most of the second half until the end," WNCC coach Brian Joyce said. "We had great opportunities to finish the game and just didn't finish it."

Joyce said Friday's contest had plenty in common with last week's three-game stretch in Colby in which the team had to fight back at the end to win close games.

"I don't think it was any different than we played in Kansas," Joyce said. "We just couldn't finish this time."

Joyce said the team's first loss of the season just reasserts what he has been explaining to his players in practice.

"On a positive note, the loss should help guys understand more why we emphasize some things," Joyce said. "We're a young team. Our approach isn't changing. We need to work on limiting errors and more ball movement on offense."

The Cougars will look to bounce back when they meet Garden City today. But Joyce knows it will be another tough battle.

"Garden City is probably the most talented team we've played," Joyce said. "We have to keep them to just one shot on offense, and we have to be able to control the ball while we're on offense."

Both teams will continue tournament play today.

WNCC women (4-3) 30 29 - 59
Air Force All-Stars 25 37 - 62
WNCC - Jena Colwell 14, Emma Beddome 12, Cheri Palmer 10, Dana Iverson 8, Shaquilah Davis 6, Carly Glisan 6, SeLina Ysac 3.

WNCC men (5-1) 35 30 - 65
Otero 25 43 - 68

WNCC volleyball in championship match; defeated No. 1 Salt Lake in five tough games.

For more photos of the match go to wncccougars.albumpost.com

Western Nebraska Community College coach Chris Green couldn’t say enough about his defense Friday night against No. 1 Salt Lake Community College.

In fart, it was the back row that tallied the Cougars into the NJCAA championship match with a thrilling five game win over the Bruins, 30-19, 31-29, 21-30, 30-24, 15-12. The win sends the Cougars into their second straight title match against No. 2 seed Miami Dade today at 6 p.m. Miami Dade swept past Frank Phillips College 30-18, 30-22, 30-27.

“We have one happy group down there [on the floor],” Green said. “Hopefully we can get some sleep tonight and hopefully they will relax and get ready to play probably one of the most athletic team that I have seen in a while here. Miami Dade is incredible. We will have to play one heck of a game [today]."

But, if the Cougars play defense like they did against Salt Lake Friday, the Cougars should do just fine. Green couldn’t say enough positives about a defense that rose to the occasion when the Cougar’s backs were against the wall.

“Salt Lake was an amazing team. They had some great hitters in outside hitters Cinthia Silva and Samantha Richard and Talita Santo was amazing, in the middle. Those three players are incredible. But, our defense in the backrow was great,” Green said. “I just want to compliment our back row defense. Kwndra, Nayka, Daphine, Stacie; those four players had so many digs from those hard hits and we saved so many balls in digging those balls nice and high. It was that great defense that helped us win.”

“They don’t get a lot of credit a lot of times. Tonight, it was their night. They played great defense. We will have to do that even more so tomorrow against Miami Dade.

The Cougars defense, especially in the fourth and fifth game, stepped up their play big time. WNCC had four players register double-figure digs led by Nayka Benitez with 24, Daphine Da Silva with 17, Kendra Schauermann with 14 and Soriana Pacheco with 12.

But, as much as the defense played, it was the heart and drive of the Cougar ladies that persevered in a match that Salt Lake had the momentum early.

“It was a great win and having to come back in the second game was really exciting,” Green said. “I have said this four or five times already, but that was the key. Coming from behind and not giving up in that second game. We got beat pretty bad in the first game, got way behind in the second,, and we kept fighting and fighting and we were able to win that second game.”

Green said the second game win was crucial, especially since the Cougars trailed 18-11 in the game and came back to win 31-29 WNCC accomplished that win by pure dedication. First it was three service points from Gering’s Stacie Meisner to slice the lead 19-16. Then, after Salt Lake went up 26-21 and seemed to have the Cougars on the rope, Jennifer Eichler and Soriana Pacheco teamed up on a block.

Schauermann followed with three points to cut the lead to 26-25. Moments later, Eichler, who is making a cause for tournament MVP, heated up on the attack with a thundering kill. WNCC then had their backs on the ropes once again at 29-28. This time, Pacheco found the floor on a setter’s dink. Da Silva finished off the Bruins with two service points as Pacheco hammered home the game winning kill from the rightside.

Salt Lake rebounded in the third game finding holes in the Cougars defense left and right. The Bruins won 30-21 and seemed in control of the match.

No one told the Cougar players that as WNCC did to the Bruins what they did to them. WNCC came out in the fourth game and took control of the momentum. Meisner started things off on a hot note giving WNCC a 5-1 lead before three Benitez points, two of which were aces, pushed the lead to 10-3.

WNCC widened the lead to 20-12 on two Pacheco points and a huge Eichler kill. But, Salt Lake fought back slicing the lead to 24-22 on five points from Tela Burnett. WNCC came back as Chelsea Lyles hammered home a kill followed by three Da Silva service points for a 28-22 lead. After a missed serve, Aida Bauza came back with a kill to help WNCC force a game five.

Game five was all Cougars. In fact, Salt lake led just once at 1-0. After that, WNCC took contorl grabbing a 9-6 lead on three Benitez points, two of which were aces. Salt Lake fought back slicing the lead to 12-11 on a kill from Talita Santos. It didn’t matter, though, as WNCC’s Eichler became money in the bank with other kill to put WNCC up 13-11. After a Salt Lake timeout, Fatima Balza rattled home a kill to move WNCC to 14-11 before WNCC won the game on a hitting error by Salt Lake.

Eichler, who finished the game with 17 kills and five blocks said it turned out that they wanted it more then the Bruin players.

“This win was huge. It was very big and we are so excited to have won it,” she said. “We won this game because we wanted to and there is a national championship on the line. We came into the gym expecting to be going five games with them. Now, we are in the championship match again.”

Eichler said they will need to play just has hard against Miami Dade, who has won four national titles since 1999.

“We know what they are made of. They are Miami Dade,” she said. “They have a huge block, big arms and they are tall girls. We just have to play our best.”

Eichler said, however, they probably wouldn’t mind of playing Miami Dade right away Friday night after the blockbuster win in the semi-finals.

“There is probably enough adrenalin that we probably could if we needed to,” she said. “The other thing is that we probably wouldn’t because we a little tired, but we could if we needed to.”

Same with freshman Aida Bauza, who led the team with 22 kills. She said this team showed plenty of heart to move into the championship match.

“I think the key to the win was to play hard. We were down and then we got motivated and said to keep playing hard,” she said. “That was the key. “

WNCC also received eight kills and eight blccks from Fatima Balza, three blocks and four points from Shawntell Jones, eight points, four aces and 24 digs from Benitez, six digs and seven kills from Chelsea Lyles, nine kills and 54 set assists from Pacheco, seven points and 14 digs from Schaerermann, and eight points and five digs from Stacie Meisner.