WNCC Cougar men lose heartbreaking overtime game to EWC 90-88

Contributed by the Scottsbluff Star-Herald

Whew!

That's probably what the Eastern Wyoming College men were saying as they trotted off the court Wednesday night, just seconds after escaping an exhilarating contest with their border rival Western Nebraska Community College at Cougar Palace.

As fans stood in suspense, the Cougars barely missed on two short-range shot attempts in the final 2 seconds, allowing the Lancers to survive 90-88 in a memorable overtime finish.

"I'm really proud of the way our team battled," EWC coach Casey Jones said. "It's not a sub-region game anymore, so it's not one that we really, really talk about as a team. But I know for the kids and the fans, it's one of their favorite games of the year.

"You can't help but get roped into the rivalry, so this is a big win for us."
If it were evident early in the game, both squads made it clear that they wanted this victory badly down the stretch. Although the Lancers led for much of the second half, WNCC put together a furious rally in the final minutes of regulation to send the contest into overtime.

With EWC clinging to a 79-77 lead, WNCC guard Daniel Smith drove down the lane and scored with just 2.2 seconds remaining in regulation. EWC's desperation half-court shot was off the mark, forcing the extra period.

In overtime, both teams battled neck and neck, until EWC managed to move ahead by four points, 89-85, with just 8.5 seconds to play. But just like it did in regulation, WNCC didn't go away, using two free throws by Smith to pull within two points with 7.8 seconds to go.

EWC's Casey Robinson then made a free throw with 6.2 seconds left, making it a three-point contest. Smith was then fouled at the other end, and he went to the free-throw line and made the first of his two attempts. With WNCC needing a two- or three-point basket and only 2.2 seconds left, Smith was forced to intestinally miss his second free-throw attempt. His high-arching lob bounced off the back of the rim, and the Cougars nearly made a basket on a tip-in try. WNCC grabbed the rebound and again nearly scored on a short jump shot, but the shot was just off the mark as time expired.

"As much as we didn't want to see it go into overtime, it's always fun as a coach to see how your teams responds in a situation like that," Jones said. "I thought our guys responded very well."

Although the Cougars couldn't help but feel heartbroken after the game, WNCC coach Brian Joyce was pleased with how his players never gave up.

"I thought we dug ourselves a hole, but we did a good job of battling back and fighting until the end," Joyce said. "I thought we played with more passion and energy than we did the first time, and we played smarter. Still, we've got to sustain it a little longer than we did tonight."

Jones, whose team held a 77-70 lead with just 1:42 left in regulation, said he wasn't surprised by WNCC's late rally to force overtime. EWC, though, helped give the Cougars new life, as the Lancers converted only 3 of 8 free throws in the final 1:42.

"The only frustrating thing is that I felt we had control of the basketball game [until the last 3 minutes of regulation]," Jones said. "In any late-game situation, if you let a team stay close enough, they're going to make a charge at you. It came down to making free throws and getting defensive rebounds. We missed some free throws, and they took advantage of penetration on their end and just clawed their way back one point at a time."

EWC held control for much of the first half, even bolting ahead 25-17 with 9:15 remaining. WNCC, however, charged back, outscoring the Lancers 22-13 the rest of the half to head into the locker room with a 39-38 lead.

The momentum was short-lived, though, as EWC took control again early in the second half. In fact, the Lancers eventually built their lead to nine points, 64-55, with just over 8 minutes to play.

Although EWC couldn't put the Cougars away for good in regulation, Jones was far from disappointed. He was happy to see his team play well again after struggling in an 82-66 loss at Western Wyoming on Saturday.

"Our last game out was really frustrating, so as a coach I just wanted our guys to battle," Jones said. "Obviously, we wanted to win, too, but what I really wanted to see was us get back to playing well, and we did that."

Joyce said he's confident his team will recover from the setback. The loss was WNCC's third straight and left it with a 12-10 season record.

"We've been pretty resilient overall this season," Joyce said. "I told our guys that we could either keep fighting or quit - it's one or the other. I think our guys will bounce back."

Scotty McRae led EWC (13-9) in scoring with a game-high 29 points. Casey Robinson added 27 points, and Matt Pritchett pitched in 22.

For WNCC, Daniel Smith finished with 22 points, and Lloyd Hickinson added 18. Two other Cougars scored in double figures, as Kelvin Franklin had 15 points and Drew Eisinger added 14. Hickinson had a game-high nine rebounds.

EWC 38 41 11 -- 90
WNCC 39 40 9 -- 88
EASTERN WYOMING
Dane Hill 2, Matt Pritchett 22, Leo Morris 2, Scotty McRae 29, Jordon Johnson 4, Caleb Moore 2, Casey Robinson 27.
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Jamie Eisinger 8, Daniel Smith 22, Kelvin Franklin 16, Lloyd Hickinson 18, Drew Eisinger 14, Deividas Busma 4, Chris Hamblin 6, Terrell Price 3.

WNCC women's defense too much for the Lady Lancers

The Western Nebraska Community College defensive pressure and an 11-0 early run was all the Cougar women needed to pick up their 19^th win of the season over Eastern Wyoming College 83-28 Wednesday night at Cougar Palace.

The Cougars not only dominated the court with a smothering defense, they also dominated the Lancers on the boards, out-rebounding EWC 68-37. It was a kind of win that WNCC coach Dave Harnish wanted to see from his team with only seven regular season games left.

“I was pleased, after the NJC loss, I thought we did a good job down at Northeast Nebraska to get a win and tonight our mental focus and our awareness on the floor was a lot better,” he said. “We needed to do that tonight and I thought we were solid all night long. We didn’t shoot the ball as well as I liked, but I thought we executed.”

What did it for the Cougars was an early 11-0 run over a two minute span that opened up a 4-4 game with 15 minutes to play to a commanding 15-4 lead with 13 minutes to play. And it was Scottsbluff graduate SeLina Ysac and Jenna Colwell that ignited the run.

Ysac recorded four points off a steal and then later off an offensive rebound. Colwell did the same, collecting four points.

EWC coach Tom Andersen said his team couldn’t handle the Cougars pressure.

“We hung with them for a little bit and then they went on that run and got ahead of us,” he said. “We then just didn’t respond well to their pressure defense. We obviously got annihilated on the boards both halves. They just beat us defensively and on the boards.”

Harnish said for some reason his team plays better in a pressure situation.

“We don’t play well when we are not pressing for some reason. We opened up in a half-court man-to-man and it seemed like we didn’t have any energy,” he said. “We then went into a full-court press and it seemed to pick us up offensively and defensively. We just seemed to play better that way. Anytime we back off, it seems like we struggle with our energy level.”

EWC’s Jessica Martinez buried a 3-pointer to stop the 11-0, but it was only temporarily as the Cougars as they opened up a 20-9 lead on a Cheri Palmer bucket. The Cougars continued hitting on all cylinders as Tawny Drexler made back-to-back buckets for a 30-13 lead and then Emma Beddome nailed four straight points to end the half with the Cougars up 38-17.

The Cougars continued their strong defense in the first 10 minutes of the second half, holding the Lancers to just three points as WNCC raced to a 60-20 lead. Ysac and Carly Glisan each canned 3-pointers in the 22-3 run.

After that, both teams played even as all the Cougar players scored in the game. Ysac led the way with 12 points, including two 3-pointers and nine rebounds. Beddome also finished with 11 points and six rebounds.

Skye Smith, who made the winning bucket Saturday night against Western Wyoming, led the Lancers with 13 points.

Andersen said it is disappointing in how his team played after the big 72-71 win Saturday night.

“We played well Saturday night and shot and rebounded well. Tonight, we shot poorly,” he said. “You have to give WNCC’s defense credit for that. We didn’t get a lot of good looks and we had three, four or five shot clock violations. We just didn’t respond to their pressure and their size.”

EWC (5-14) 17 21 – 38
WNCC (19-4) 38 45 – 83
EASTERN WYOMING
Kera Bretney 7, Shealyn Wells 4, Jessica Martinez 7, Candace Mitchell 2, Skye Smith 13, Jaqi Bell 5.
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Cheri Palmer 9, Dana Iverson 3, Emma Beddome 11, Michelle Lighthall 6, SeLina Ysac 12, Shaquilah Davis 9, Alison Cheney 4, Tawny Drexler 7, Jenna Colwell 5, Eli Cosme-Gonzalez 5, Chelsea Lyles 5, Carly Glisan 7.

WNCC baseball, softball head outdoors to prepare for season, which begins in a couple of weeks

It is hard to think baseball and softball seasons when there is snow on the ground and wind chill temperatures at or below freezing.

But for the Western Nebraska Community College baseball and softball squads they are making the best of the weather as they prepare for their seasons beginning in two weeks. Sunday, in fact, was the first time both teams practiced outdoors after spending the last two weeks indoors.

“We did make it outdoors once this semester [Sunday] so that was nice but we still have some improvements to work on and we need to get acclimated to the weather again,” Cougar softball coach Maria Winn-Ratliff said. “The weather does make it challenging but you have to make the best out of what you have. We work indoor in the gym on drill work and a lot of infield play. The outfield gets somewhat neglected due to the size but we can still work on cut-off plays and plays to the plate they get to do a lot of base running.”

Winn-Ratliff said the team will take advantage of the warm temperatures on Monday with a second-straight day outdoors. She is hoping the team can be outside a couple more times during week if the weather holds out.

“So it looks like we might have a chance to be outside 4 times before our first game. Not ideal but it is better than not having an opportunity to be outside at all,” she said. “Our practices right now consist of a lot of drills we call the everydays. Pitchers are doing a variety of workouts in addition to throwing in live situations. We hit in our indoor facility six times a week and workout at 6 a.m. three days a week and then try and put a lot of defensive work in on the weekends.”

Baseball coach Mike Jones, whose team captured the Region IX tournament last spring, said they are anxious to spend more time outdoors.

“So far we are mainly indoors, of course, and we are doing a lot of drill work, trying to simplify all our fundamentals and mechanics,” he said. “We are anxious to get outside where we can get in some team practice. For right now, we are doing all we can.”

On Sunday, both teams did make it outside, practicing at Oregon Trail Park. Practices during their first outdoor session involved base running and throwing situations for the baseball team and base running and outfield work for the softball team.

The coaches are hoping the weather takes a turn for the better in the next couple weeks to get even more time on the diamond as their seasons are fast approaching.

“It is crazy because everyday in practice we talk about how many days we have until we open up,” Jones said. “We keep counting down and then you go outside and it is below freezing wind chill. It is pretty tough to really stay on track. It is hard to imagine us playing baseball here in three weeks.”

The softball team opens up Feb. 8 with a doubleheader at Frank Phillips College and then they head to Odessa College for a 2-day tournament Feb. 9-10. The baseball team will open up a week later, when they Feb. 15 at Seward County Community College and then the 16-17 at Barton County Community College.

For the men, this is different since they enter as the Region IX champions after taking care of Trinidad State Junior College in last year’s Region IX championship game.

“We have a target on our back this year and we are the team that everybody is trying to keep up with and beat on,” Jones said. “It is a little bit different for us but we are not going to change our mentality; we are going to just keep playing every game, try to do well in conference play and see where everything falls out. At the same time, the guys need to be aware that everybody will be gunning for them.”

The Cougar men return just five players from last season’s championship team, including pitchers Greg Crowe, Todd Stachura, Cesar Perez and Eric Bissonette. Jones said his team will have to play well from the entire season since there is a different regional tournament alignment.

“Our regional tournament changes quite a bit for everybody because you have to finish in the top four or you don’t even go to the regional tournament,” he said. “It is real important in conference play to take care of your business.”

While the baseball team has a lot of newcomers, the softball team has 10 players return from their 36-21 and runner-up finish at last year’s regional tournament. So far, Winn-Ratliff is impressed with how the team continues to show improvement in building for the season-opener in less then two weeks.

“We have shown improvement in our bunt defenses and our 1/3 defense,” she said. “Our hitting is starting to come around and our pitchers seem to be making good adjustments in the cages”

The pitching staff is much improved. The Cougars return two pitchers that saw plenty of action a year ago in Natasha Dypchey and Jessica Pexton. They also return Ashley Patton, a right-hander from Delta, Utah.

The Cougars also have two promising talents in freshmen Kelsey Garner of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, and Allie Griffin of Fort Collins, Colo.

The team also returns a slew of position players, including all-region players Jessie McNabb, Kara Ryman and Lauren Mills. Also returning are Amanda Torimaru, Amanda Hensley, Whittany Foster and Lauren Bourdon.

“We have a good mix of returners and newcomers. We are fighting the injury bug right now but nothing too major, just some bumps and bruises,” Winn Ratliff said. “We have increased our pitching depth from a year ago so hopefully that will take some pressure off of our staff. We continue to keep improving our hitting so it will be a matter of if we can put it all together on the same day.”

Both coaches, though, are excited to get things started in a couple of weeks. “I think we are all excited to actually get to be outside and see how we match up,” Winn-Ratliff said. “I don't know if any of us are ready for that long bus trip.”

WNCC women win, men lose to Northeast Nebraska in sub-region contests

NORFOLK -- The Western Nebraska Community College men's and women's basketball teams saw different results in East Sub-region contests Saturday afternoon against Northeast Community College in Nofolk.

The Cougar women received a 16-point performance from freshman Jenna Colwell in posting a come-from-behind win over the Hawks 70-60. It was the Cougars 18^th win of the season and makes them 2-0 in sub-region play.

The Cougar men fell to 1-1 in sub-region play falling to the Hawks 70-60, The Cougar men led early, at 6-4, and then never led again, falling to 12-9 on the season.

WNCC assistant coach Jennifer Pedersen said the women played one of their best first halves and then needed to come back from a 5-point second half deficit to collect the win on the road.

“We played a good first half and then we came out in the second half and didn’t play that well,” she said. “We got down by five in the second half and then we went on a big run. That was when we decided to play a little bit more.”

Pedersen said it was a close game throughout. The Cougars led 32-22 at halftime and wa minute and a half to play, it was only four-point contest. It was then that the Cougars opened up the game with free throw shooting.

Both teams did shoot well from the charity stripe. The Cougars were 73 percent from the line, while the Hawks were 81 percent. The difference was shooting from the field, where the Cougars shot 49 percent compared to 34 percent for the Hawks.

Colwell was one of four Cougars to finish with double-digit scoring. Alison Cheney collected 14 points, followed by Chelsea Lyles and Emma Beddome with 10 points each.

Colwell and Cheney each shot 70 percent from the field. SeLina Ysac and Tawny Drexler led the team on the boards pulling down seven and eight rebounds respectively. Beddome also recorded six boards.

While the women remained perfect in sub-region play, the Cougar men weren’t that fortunate. Brian Joyce said free-throw shooting was a factor. WNCC made 5 of 9 free throws, while Northeast was 20 of 30. WNCC also had 23 fouls called on them compared to seven for the Hawks.

“They [Northeast] shot 39 percent from the field and the big thing in the first half is they scored 12 points off of our turnovers. So, they weren’t particularily shooting well, they were just getting lay-ups off of our turnovers.”

WNCC stayed with the Hawks early, holding a 6-4 lead early. Northeast then opened several 8-point leads. Each time, though, the Cougars would bounce back slicing the lead to one point, 31-30 on a Deividas Busma with 2:21 to play in the half. Northeast then scored the final points of the half to lead 35-30 at intermission.

The Cougars stayed within range of the Hawks in the second half, cutting the lead to three points, 53-50, on a Jamie Eisinger bucket. That was as close as the Cougars got before Northeast outscored WNCC 17-10 the rest of the way.

Joyce said his team did play well in some aspects.

“I thought in the first half we came out in the first half and controlled the tempo, which we have struggled with recently,” Joyce said. “I thought our guards did a good job of picking it and controlling the tempo early.”

WNCC’s Kelvin Franklin paced the Cougars with 23 points. Busma also collected a double-double with 13 points and 20 rebounds.

WNCC will return to action Wednesday when they host its Highway 26 rivals. The women’s game tips off at 5:30 p.m. followed by the men.

Men’s Game
WNCC (12-9) 30 30 – 60
Northeast (12-7) 35 35 – 70
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Kelvin Franklin 23, Jamie Eisinger 4, Daniel Smith 4, Deividas Busma 13, Chris Hamblin 4, Oscar Cartwright 6, Lloyd Hickinson 6.

Women’s Game
WNCC (18-4) 32 38 – 70
Northeast (16-5) 22 38 – 60
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Emma Beddome 10, Alison Cheney 14, Tawny Drexler 2, Jenna Colwell 16, Chelsea Lyles 10, Cheri Palmer 8, SeLina Ysac 4, Shaquilah Davis 1, Carly Glisan 5.

Former Cougar named Pre-season all-conference for softball

AUGUSTA, GA -- The Peach Belt Conference announced its first-ever preseason All-Conference softball team as the 2008 season prepares to get underway. The team was chosen by the league’s Sports Information Directors and features players from six of the 10 baseball-playing schools in the PBC. Four of the honorees were named All-Conference following the 2007 season.

Columbus State, who advanced to the national semifinals in 2007, led all schools with three preseason All-Conference players as did Armstrong Atlantic State. North Georgia was next with two players.

Mandy Chandler was named PBC All-Conference last season for GCSU. The junior from Covington, Ga., went 22-12 with a 1.33 ERA and 280 strikeouts in 2007. She also led the PBC with 221.1 innings pitched.

Rachel Darr was also impressive on the mound for Columbus State and was named PBC Tournament Most Valuable Player in 2007. A senior from Columbus, Ga., Darr was 27-2 in 2007 with a 0.98 ERA. She led the PBC in wins and was eighth in strikeouts with 157 on the season.

Jessica Strickland was named the co-Player of the Year in the Peach Belt in 2007 and became USC Aiken’s first All-American. A junior from North Charleston, S.C., she hit .349 with 16 home runs and 58 RBIs in 2007, breaking the USCA single-season record for homers, RBIs and total bases. She was also ranked in the top 10 in seven major PBC stat categories.

Monica Wofford hit .345 last year for Francis Marion. A senior from Myrtle Beach, S.C., she collected nine doubles, two home runs and was ranked eighth in the PBC with her .462 on-base percentage. She also had a .962 fielding percentage at first base.

Natalie Vogler was named All-Conference last spring for Armstrong Atlantic State. The senior from Lynn Haven, Fla., hit. 361 with a team-best eight home runs and 41 RBIs. She was also ranked among the PBC league leaders with her .613 slugging percentage and .447 on-base percentage.

Leslee Smith was also named All-Conference from North Georgia as a freshman at third base. Returning for her sophomore season, the native of Lexington, Ga., hit .352 and led the Lady Saints with 10 home runs and 52 RBIs, which was also tied for sixth in the Peach Belt.

Brittany Leverett was the 2007 PBC Freshman of the Year and gets the preseason nod at shortstop after hitting .350 with 54 RBIs for the Lady Cougars. A native of Appling, Ga., she was also ranked third in the PBC with 62 runs scored and led the league in walks with 35.

Cassie Cooper made only three defensive outfield errors in 2007 and had a .956 fielding percentage to show for it at Columbus State. A senior from Phenix City, Ala., Cooper hit .335 with six homers and 31 RBIs. She also stole 11 bases.

Kari Marsico is also back for her senior season in the Armstrong Atlantic State outfield. A native of Rapid City, S.D., she hit .310 for the Pirates with a team-leading 14 doubles, seven home runs and 32 RBIs.

North Georgia’s Jessica Skeels is the final outfielder on the preseason All-Conference team. A native of Lawrenceville, Ga., Skeels hit .350 with eight home runs and 46 RBIs…as a freshman. She also had just one fielding error and a .958 fielding percentage.

Nicole Huddleston is the designated/utility player on the preseason team. A sophomore from Rossville, Ga., Huddleston played first base and pitched for AASU. At the plate she hit .304 with a team-best eight home runs and 29 RBIs. On the mound she was 4-1 in 13 appearances.

Cougar men and women fall to Northeastern Junior College

It wasn’t a good evening for the Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s basketball teams Wednesday against Northeastern Junior College.

The men hung with the Plainsmen in the first half and then watched NJC pick up the intensity to cruise to a 106-84 win.

The WNCC women saw their 13-game win streak come to a halt with a commanding 79-61 defeat to the Plainswomen.

For both teams, it was a matter of facing two hot-shooting NJC teams. The NJC men shot 58 from the field and opened up a tight game in the last minutes of the first half to hold a 52-44 halftime lead. The Cougars, though, were within striking distance most of the first half, holding a 21-19 lead after two Kelvin Franklin treys and a Deividas Busma old-fashioned 3-point play.

WNCC kept the game close until the Plainsmen went on a 9-0 run to grab a 30-25 lead. WNCC did cut the lead to 34-29 on a Busma bucket. The Cougars sliced the lead to even closer on back-to-back Busma buckets at 44-40, only to watch NJC take the halftime lead.

In the second half, the Cougar men shot just 34 percent from the field and quickly were taken out of the contest as the Plainsmen built a 68-48 lead. WNCC, though, kept hanging tough battling to the final buzzer, but couldn’t get within 20 points.

The Cougars did put three players in double figures. Daniel Smith led the way with 22 points followed by Kelvin Franklin with 21 points, including five 3-pointers. Busma also had 17 points and seven rebounds in the loss.

NJC had six players in double figures, led by Mike Dominguez with 18 points.

The Cougar women couldn’t find any rhythm after the first 10 minutes of the game as the Plainswomen shot well and generated 13 steals in stopping the Cougar women’s 13-game winning streak.

But WNCC was its own worst enemy shooting just 39 percent from the field and were just 57 percent from the charity stripe. The Cougars also nailed just 3 of 12 from 3-point arc.

NJC, on the other hand, seemed to not miss hitting on 58 percent from the field while knocking down five 3-pointers. NJC’s dominance started early as Guernsey-Sunrise’s Jennifer Garner nailed the first five points of the game on a 3-pointer and then a field goal. WNCC, however, bounced back tying the game on an Alison Cheney bucket off an assist by Tawny Drexler at 8-8.

Cheney came right back to give the Cougars their only lead of the game at the 13:21 minute mark. The game was tied twice after that, the final time at 12 on two Dana Iverson free throws. After that, the Plainswomen kicked it into second gear, going on a 30-17 run, highlighted by five more points by Garner and also clutch free throw shooting and buckets by Kristen Forbes. Forbes scored seven of her game-high 23 points in the first half to help NJC to a 42-29 halftime lead.

The second half was much of the same for the Cougar women, where they couldn’t get a run started to slice into the lead. NJC pushed the lead to 21 points, 56-33, going on a 12-2 with 13:01 to play.

WNCC did, however, put together a mini 10-4 run to cut the lead to 67-48 as Chelsea Lyles scored seven of the points. NJC had an answer, though, as Forbes nailed a 3-pointer and didn’t let the Cougars back into the game.

WNCC had two players in double figures. Lyles led the way with 13 points, while Cheney chipped in 12.

NJC was led by Forbes 23 points, including a perfect 7 of 7 from the field. She also rattled home two treys. Guernsey-Sunrise graduates Conner and Garner also performed well. Garner finished with 11 points, including two treys, while Conner had seven points and 10 assists.

Both Cougar teams will return to action Saturday for sub-region contests against Northeast Community College in Norfolk before returning home next Wednesday to host Eastern Wyoming College.

WNCC (17-4) 29 32 -- 61
NJC (18-3) 42 37 -- 79
NORTHEASTERN COLORADO
Jacqie Neill 12, Sarah Conner 7, Britney Creamer 2, Stacy Howard 6, Jennifer Garner 11, Kristen Forbes 23, Kristy Henderson 8, Jessica Priest 2, Taija Bennett 2, Silke Forstmann 6.
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Cheri Palmer 2, Dana Iverson 4, Emma Beddome 9, SeLina Ysac 7, Shaquilah Davis 9, Alison Cheney 12, Tawny Drexler 2, Chelsea Lyles 13, Carly Glisan 3.

WNCC (12-8) 44 40 -- 84
NJC (18-3) 52 54 -- 106
NORTHEASTERN COLORADO
Eric Miller 2, Lawrence Tyson 10, Jeron Lewis 16, Alex Garcia 18, AJ Wilson 12, Troy Smith 16, DeRay Wilson 8, Demario Partee 2, Mike Dominguez 18,, Kylor Dossett 4.
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Jamie Eisinger 4, Daniel Smith 22, Oscar Cartwright 8, Kelvin Franklin 21, Lloyd Hickinson 5, Drew Eisinger 4, Deividas Busma 17, Chris Hamblin 1, Greg Hinkle 2.

Joyce returns to NJC as an opposing coach

The Sterling, Colo., Journal-Advocate, the town's local paper, ran a story on Western Nebraska Community College men's basketball coach Brian Joyce's return to Sterling for their game Wednesday. The story can be viewed by following the link below.

http://www.journal-advocate.com/articles/2008/01/22/news/sports/sports1.txt

WNCC basketball teams take on NJC Wednesday in road contests

Game Information
Women, 5:30 p.m.
Radio KOAQ AM690
Men, 7:30 p.m.
Radio: KOZY FM101.3
Location: Sterling, Colo.

Western Nebraska Community College’s Brian Joyce played for, coached at and met his wife Tina, at Northeastern Junior College. So when Joyce brings his Cougar men into Wednesday night’s contest against the Plainsmen, it might seem a tad funny to be on the opponent’s bench, or at least for a while.

“It will be different coaching there. Obviously, me and my wife met there, I played there and I have coached there, so there are a lot of fond memories about the town, the community, the campus, and the people,” Joyce said on his return back to Sterling, Colo. “The people there have been really good to my family, and [Lowell] Roumph, who was my coach and mentor, is still there and I talk to him at various times. It will be exciting to go back. It will be a little bit different, but once the tip is up, then you focus on the game and trying to get a win.”

The Cougar men will be looking for their 13th win of the season against a NJC team that is 17-3 on the season at 7:30 p.m. at the Bank of Colorado Center in Sterling. The women will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. in a game that features two teams that are evening matched.

Joyce knows that what matters most is how his team performs on the court.

“It will be really intense and I think it will be exciting. It will be a fun game to be a part of and I know our guys are really excited about it,” he said. “And, to win on the road, you have to do the little things that make a difference, such as eliminate easy baskets, eliminate second shots and we have to beat them to the ball in a lot of situations. It will be a tough game to win on the road, but I think our guys, mentally, know what it takes.”

WNCC enters the contest on a 3-game winning streak after defeating McCook Community College, Laramie County Community College and Casper College since coming back from break. In fact, the Cougars defeated LCCC in double overtime 72-71 two weeks ago. Last weekend, the Golden Eagles upended No. 16 Sheridan College on a last second shot.

The Cougar men also played one of their best contests last time out, a 90-81 win over Casper College, who came into the contest with a 12-4 record. Joyce said his team is starting to put all the pieces together.

“We have come a long way. I still think we have a long way to go and our upside is still pretty big in terms of where we can go,” Joyce said. “We just take it one game at a time and hopefully gain some momentum to where you are playing well at the end of the year. Right know we have been playing pretty well and we will have a good test on the road.”

Definitely WNCC will be tested when they tip off against NJC. At the same time, both teams bring the same kind of teams into the contest. The Cougars are averaging 77.5 points a game, while giving up 67.7 points. WNCC has three players in double figures. Daniel Smith leads the team at 13.0 points a game, followed by Kelvin Franklin at 12.5 points and Drew Eisinger at 12.2 points a game.

The Plainsmen, who won the regional title a year ago, is averaging 80 points a game while giving up 68.2 points. So, on paper, the teams are pretty similar considering that the Plainsmen also have three players averaging in double figures.

Troy Smith is leading NJC at 13.5 points a game followed by Mike Dominguez at 11.7 points, including 59 3-pointers already this season. DeRay Wilson is also averaging 10.7 points a contest.

“There is now question that our focus is to keep improving for the regional tournament and the guys have been working hard and along the way you have little tests to see how you have improved,” Joyce said. “This is a big test on the road. We will get a real idea of what we need to work on and where we are at and how we stack up against a better team. This will be a good test for us.”

Just like the men’s contest, the women’s contest will also test the Cougar women’s ability to keep getting better. Women’s coach Dave Harnish said it really isn’t a big game for his squad in being a sub-region contest, but what it is in turn is a contest that he hopes his team will continue to build upon for the regional tournament later in the season.

“We are playing a team that is one of the top teams in the region and anytime you go on the road and play a very good team, it is always difficult,” he said. “What Sterling brings is they bring back sophomore leadership at the guard position. It is always tough when you go down there regardless of records. It is a good game for us. We need to learn to play on the road against good teams and it will make us better as the year goes along.”

The Cougar women, 17-3, have won 13 straight contests. Last week against Casper, the Cougar women played one of their best games in rolling over Casper College 80-44, behind a 34-point performance off the bench. NJC also defeated Casper recently in a defensive battle 44-41 on the road.

“I thought we played well against Casper, but we also had a motive there where Casper beat us last year in the championship game. Our girls were pumped up and excited to play Casper. I guess you hope they have that same emotion throughout of what they did against Casper in every game. We have to play well with a lot of enthusiasm to be successful, especially tomorrow night (Wednesday night). If we not come out with the same emotion as we did against Casper, it will be a tough night.”

Defense is what is carrying the Cougar women so far. They are giving up just 48 points a game, fourth in the NJCAA national statistics. Miles Community College, a Region IX team, leads the nation allowing 45 points a game, while Wednesday’s opponent, NJC, is 10th allowing 52.5 points a game.

“Defense is a key for us in the sense we have to play good defense. We have struggled offensively,” Harnish said. “We did come out against Casper and had a little bit better rhythm, but for the most part we have not produced offensively as well as I have liked. We have not shot the ball well consistently. We have struggled offensively throughout the year so defense has to be a staple to our success, especially if you play on the road.”

Offensively, the Cougars are averaging 72.5 points a game, while the Plainswomen are scoring at a clip of 74.5 points a game.

WNCC has three players averaging in double figures. Chelsea Lyles leads the team averaging 13.7 points a game and 5.2 rebounds a game. Right behind Lyles is Emma Beddome and Alison Cheney each averaging 10 points a contest.

The Plainswomen are led by Guernsey-Sunrise graduates Jennifer Garner and Sarah Conner. Garner is averaging 10 points and five rebounds, while Conner is posting 12.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 3.8 steals a contest.

After the NJC contest, both Cougar teams will hit the road for key sub-region contests against Northeast Community College in Norfolk as both teams look to stay unbeaten in sub-region play.

The games Wednesday can be heard on the radio and Internet. The women’s contest can be heard on AM690, while the men’s game will be on KOZY-FM101.3.

WNCC basketball teams take on NJC Wednesday in road contests

Game Information
Women, 5:30 p.m.
Radio KOAQ AM690
Men, 7:30 p.m.
Radio: KOZY FM101.3
Location: Sterling, Colo.

Western Nebraska Community College’s Brian Joyce played for, coached at and met his wife Tina, at Northeastern Junior College. So when Joyce brings his Cougar men into Wednesday night’s contest against the Plainsmen, it might seem a tad funny to be on the opponent’s bench, or at least for a while.
“It will be different coaching there. Obviously, me and my wife met there, I played there and I have coached there, so there are a lot of fond memories about the town, the community, the campus, and the people,” Joyce said on his return back to Sterling, Colo. “The people there have been really good to my family, and [Lowell] Roumph, who was my coach and mentor, is still there and I talk to him at various times. It will be exciting to go back. It will be a little bit different, but once the tip is up, then you focus on the game and trying to get a win.”
The Cougar men will be looking for their 13th win of the season against a NJC team that is 17-3 on the season at 7:30 p.m. at the Bank of Colorado Center in Sterling. The women will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. in a game that features two teams that are evening matched.
Joyce knows that what matters most is how his team performs on the court.
“It will be really intense and I think it will be exciting. It will be a fun game to be a part of and I know our guys are really excited about it,” he said. “And, to win on the road, you have to do the little things that make a difference, such as eliminate easy baskets, eliminate second shots and we have to beat them to the ball in a lot of situations. It will be a tough game to win on the road, but I think our guys, mentally, know what it takes.”
WNCC enters the contest on a 3-game winning streak after defeating McCook Community College, Laramie County Community College and Casper College since coming back from break. In fact, the Cougars defeated LCCC in double overtime 72-71 two weeks ago. Last weekend, the Golden Eagles upended No. 16 Sheridan College on a last second shot.
The Cougar men also played one of their best contests last time out, a 90-81 win over Casper College, who came into the contest with a 12-4 record. Joyce said his team is starting to put all the pieces together.
“We have come a long way. I still think we have a long way to go and our upside is still pretty big in terms of where we can go,” Joyce said. “We just take it one game at a time and hopefully gain some momentum to where you are playing well at the end of the year. Right know we have been playing pretty well and we will have a good test on the road.”
Definitely WNCC will be tested when they tip off against NJC. At the same time, both teams bring the same kind of teams into the contest. The Cougars are averaging 77.5 points a game, while giving up 67.7 points. WNCC has three players in double figures. Daniel Smith leads the team at 13.0 points a game, followed by Kelvin Franklin at 12.5 points and Drew Eisinger at 12.2 points a game.
The Plainsmen, who won the regional title a year ago, is averaging 80 points a game while giving up 68.2 points. So, on paper, the teams are pretty similar considering that the Plainsmen also have three players averaging in double figures.
Troy Smith is leading NJC at 13.5 points a game followed by Mike Dominguez at 11.7 points, including 59 3-pointers already this season. DeRay Wilson is also averaging 10.7 points a contest.
“There is now question that our focus is to keep improving for the regional tournament and the guys have been working hard and along the way you have little tests to see how you have improved,” Joyce said. “This is a big test on the road. We will get a real idea of what we need to work on and where we are at and how we stack up against a better team. This will be a good test for us.”
Just like the men’s contest, the women’s contest will also test the Cougar women’s ability to keep getting better. Women’s coach Dave Harnish said it really isn’t a big game for his squad in being a sub-region contest, but what it is in turn is a contest that he hopes his team will continue to build upon for the regional tournament later in the season.
“We are playing a team that is one of the top teams in the region and anytime you go on the road and play a very good team, it is always difficult,” he said. “What Sterling brings is they bring back sophomore leadership at the guard position. It is always tough when you go down there regardless of records. It is a good game for us. We need to learn to play on the road against good teams and it will make us better as the year goes along.”
The Cougar women, 17-3, have won 13 straight contests. Last week against Casper, the Cougar women played one of their best games in rolling over Casper College 80-44, behind a 34-point performance off the bench. NJC also defeated Casper recently in a defensive battle 44-41 on the road.
“I thought we played well against Casper, but we also had a motive there where Casper beat us last year in the championship game. Our girls were pumped up and excited to play Casper. I guess you hope they have that same emotion throughout of what they did against Casper in every game. We have to play well with a lot of enthusiasm to be successful, especially tomorrow night (Wednesday night). If we not come out with the same emotion as we did against Casper, it will be a tough night.”
Defense is what is carrying the Cougar women so far. They are giving up just 48 points a game, fourth in the NJCAA national statistics. Miles Community College, a Region IX team, leads the nation allowing 45 points a game, while Wednesday’s opponent, NJC, is 10th allowing 52.5 points a game.
“Defense is a key for us in the sense we have to play good defense. We have struggled offensively,” Harnish said. “We did come out against Casper and had a little bit better rhythm, but for the most part we have not produced offensively as well as I have liked. We have not shot the ball well consistently. We have struggled offensively throughout the year so defense has to be a staple to our success, especially if you play on the road.”
Offensively, the Cougars are averaging 72.5 points a game, while the Plainswomen are scoring at a clip of 74.5 points a game.
WNCC has three players averaging in double figures. Chelsea Lyles leads the team averaging 13.7 points a game and 5.2 rebounds a game. Right behind Lyles is Emma Beddome and Alison Cheney each averaging 10 points a contest.
The Plainswomen are led by Guernsey-Sunrise graduates Jennifer Garner and Sarah Conner. Garner is averaging 10 points and five rebounds, while Conner is posting 12.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 3.8 steals a contest.
After the NJC contest, both Cougar teams will hit the road for key sub-region contests against Northeast Community College in Norfolk as both teams look to stay unbeaten in sub-region play.
The games Wednesday can be heard on the radio and Internet. The women’s contest can be heard on AM690, while the men’s game will be on KOZY-FM101.3.

WNCC men's basketball team hosting Night with the Cougars on Valentine's Day

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team is offering youngsters an opportunity to spend Valentine’s night with the Cougars with a “Date Night” on Feb. 14.

The camp, or fun evening, includes five hours of fun and games with the men’s basketball team, including dinner, homework hour (if requested), five hours of organized games, signed player poster and one free ticket to the Feb. 16 Coguar game with attending parent.

The night with the Cougars is for youngsters ages 4 to 12 and runs from 5 - 10 p.m. on Valentine’s Day at WNCC's Cougar Palace. The event is co-sponsored by Runza Restraurant.

Cost for the evening festivities is $25 for one child, $45 for two siblings and $65 for three siblings if pre-registered by Feb. 10. After that day, the cost is $30 for one, $55 for two and $75 for three.

For more information on the event, contact WNCC men’s basketball coach Brian Joyce at joyceb2@wncc.net or at 308-635-6780. Registration forms can also be downloaded off the Cougar athletic website at sports.wncc.net.

WNCC softball team raffling a 3-day hunt in Texas

The Western Nebraska Community College softball team has a deal for all the hunters or outdoorsman. The team is raffling off a chance to win a 3-day hunting trip to Crowell, Texas, to hunt Turkey and Wild Pig.

The winner will receive guide service, lodging and Texas license for the 3-day hunt. The winner will be responsible for transportation to Crowell, Texas, and food. The hunt must be used between March 29 and May 11.

Raffle tickets for a chance to win the hunting trip are 1 ticket for $10, 3 tickets for $20 and $10 tickets for $50. Get your tickets from any Cougar softball player or coach. The drawing will be held in late February.

The hunt is donated by John and Kimberly Foster, with the proceeds benefiting the Cougar softball team.

For more information on the 3-day hunt, contact WNCC softball coach Maria Winn-Ratliff at 308-635-6189 or at winnm@wncc.net.

WNCC women handle Casper College easily 80-44 for 13th straight win

The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball sophomores remember the Region IX championship game from a year ago when Casper College handed the Cougar women a 64-51 in the title game, ending the Cougar’s four-year reign as the Region IX champions.

Wednesday night, the Cougar women played like a championship team in easily handing Casper an 80-44 defeat. It was WNCC’s 13th straight win, and it gives the Cougars some confidence for the rest of the season.
In fact, WNCC coach Dave Harnish said this is the way his team should be playing every time.

"The big difference was that we finally played a game where we had emotion and intensity. We played at the level that I wished we had played at all year long,” Harnish said. “The first half we were playing too fast and creating our own turnovers by travels and fortunate to be 17 at the half because of solid defense. But, it was nice to see the desire and the intensity level was great tonight. We just have to learn to play within our speed.”

Sophomore Carly Glisan, who chipped in 9 points including some clutch play in the first half, said this win is especially sweet in more ways then one.

"This win is huge because last year we lost to them in the championship game and that was a terrible feeling, and to come back and beat them as bad as we did feels great. The win is really good for our team because it is the first time we played an entire game to our best potential. I am really excited and we can build from that.”

What gave the Cougars the win, though, was a relentless defense and scoring from all sides, including 34 points from the players that came off the bench. Harnish was extremely pleased with that aspect.

“All year long it seems like we had two or three girls that have played well and tonight I thought it was a night where the starters played well and the kids that came off the bench played well and kept the tempo up to where we wanted it. This was a game where we had everybody into the game and working together and everybody doing the little things that need to be done.”

Glisan said this is the way the team should be playing every time they step onto the court.

“When we play as a team, everybody scores, everybody penetrates and everybody has the part in the game. We don’t have two great players, we have a whole bunch.”

Early on, Casper seemed to have the Cougars number once again, racing to a 14-7 lead on back-to-back 3-pointers with 10 minutes left in the opening half. It was at that point that WNCC shifted things into high gear, going on a 30-9 run to grab a 40-23 lead.

The players off the bench started the scoring spree including a 3-pointer by Glisan to cut the deficit to one point, 14-13. Seconds later, Jenna Colwell nailed two free throws to give the Cougars only their second lead of the game. Gilsan came back and scored back-to-back buckets and WNCC would never look back the rest of the night.

Chelsea Lyles led the Cougars with 20 points. The sophomore also had four assists, two steals and was 5 of 7 from the free throw line. Alison Cheney also found the double-digit scoring column with 11 points and four rebounds, while Dana Iverson finished with 10 points, including two 3-pointers.

WNCC shot a blistering 51 percent from the field compared to 32 percent for Casper. The Cougars were also 14 of 21 from the charity stripe, while Casper was 7 of 12.

The T-birds were led in scoring by Josie Stewart with 12 points, including two 3-pointers.

WNCC, 17-3, will have a week off to tune up for a trip to Sterling, Colo., to face Northeastern Junior College. The Plainswomen knocked off Casper over the weekend 44-41 and sport a 15-3 record.

Glisan said they can utilize this win for the rest of the season.

“It feels great to win a game like this. Everyone is excited and everyone is happy,” she said. “We haven’t had a good win like this. For confidence, we know we can play to this level. We know that we can play to this level.”

Casper (11-7) 23 21 – 44
WNCC (17-3) 40 40 – 80
CASPER COLLEGE
Mijana Cejic 2, Emily Elliott 3, Dana Seth 9, Sarah Johnson 5, Cassandra Suffolk 4, Valencia Cottom 2, Josie Stewart 12, Juliana Paunovic 7.
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Cheri Palmer 9, Dana Iverson 10, Emma Beddome 4, SeLina Ysac 6, Shaquilah Davis 3, Alison Cheney 11, Tawny Drexler 2, Jenna Colwell 6, Chelsea Lyles 20, Carly Glisan 9.

WNCC men, women entertain Casper College Wednesday

When Danny Smith nailed the game-tying 3-point shot on Saturday to help the Western Nebraska Community College Cougar men earn a 72-71 double overtime win over Laramie County Community College, it was a momentum turner.
“That win gives us a lot for our confidence. We have been practicing hard after coming back from break and really getting after it for three hours straight, going all out to get ready for this next semester,” the point guard from Baltimore said. “These games count a lot for your league games. A win like that does a lot for our confidence. We are going into Wednesday with a good head on our shoulders. We are ready and focused. We have been practicing really hard.”
Wednesday, the Cougar men will be hoping to ride some of that confidence they generated on Saturday when the play host to Casper College in a men’s and women’s doubleheader beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Cougar Palace.
Smith knows, though, that the Casper game won’t be easy by any means.
“We haven’t talked about them,” he said. “We saw them play at the Colby College tournament. I know they have a pretty good point guard and a pretty solid big man. Other than that we will come in to play and compete tomorrow night.”
The Casper men come into the contest with an impressive 12-4, including a 74-69 overtime win over Northeastern Junior College on Saturday. Casper is averaging 80 points a game, while giving up 74 points.
The T-Birds are led by sophomore Jeremiah Wilson at 13.6 points and 9.3 rebounds a game. They also see Josh Davis scoring 12.9 points a game, while David McKinnie is netting 12.1 points a game.
Ryan Allen, a Torrington High graduate, is also seeing impressive minutes, averaging 5.2 rebounds and one steal a game for the T-Birds.
WNCC, on the other hand, is not that far behind Casper. The Cougars have won their last two contests and are 11-7 on the season. They accomplished the 11 wins with a fierce defense. Against McCook in a 87-66 East sub-region win, the Cougars’ defense held the Indians in check in the second half.
Then, in the LCCC contest on Saturday, the Cougars got stop after stop in the overtime period, including thwarting three shots with under 19 seconds to play in the second overtime to preserve the win.
“We did get into a shooting slump during the game, which was bad, but we got stops after stops on defense,” he said. “Coach Joyce always told us if we aren’t playing very good offense, you have to get stops. We did and we battled on.”
WNCC comes into the contest as the 32nd best defense in the country giving up 66.9 points a game. Offensively, the team has been spectacular at times, averaging 76.8 points a game.
The Cougars are led by a variety of players, including three players averaging in double figures. Smith leads the way, averaging 12.5 points a game followed by Kelvin Franklin’s 12.4 points a game. Drew Eisinger is also averaging double-digits at 11.7 points in 18 games so far this season.
Like the Cougar men, the women’s basketball team is also riding some momentum entering Wednesday’s non-sub-region contest against the Thunderbirds. WNCC has won its last 12 contests for a 16-3 record. The Cougar women also boast one of the top defenses in the nation, falling in at 6th with a 48.3 average.
In WNCC’s last 12 contests, they have won by 10 or more points. The closest contest was Saturday when they overcame a 32-24 halftime deficit to defeat Otero Junior College 62-52.
The WNCC women, in the meantime, are lead by a slew of players. Chelsea Lyles is the only one averaging double-digits at 13.1 points a game. Right behind Lyles, though, is Alison Cheney at 9.8 points and Emma Beddome at 9.3 points.
Wednesday’s contest with Casper will, in fact, be a important since the T-birds ended the Cougars four-year run on the Region IX title last March by defeating the Cougars in the title contest. And, this game will not be easy. Casper comes in with a 11-6 record after falling to Northeastern Junior College on Saturday 44-41.
Casper is led by Miljana Cejic at 13.7 points a game, followed by Adrianna Washington and Josie Stewart at 11.5 points a game.
Tonight’s Region IX rivalry match with Casper will also feature plenty of excitement including the unveiling of the volleyball national championship banner before the men’s basketball game. Also, there will be free Runza sandwiches with a drink purchase, Runza promotions and free-throw shooting contests at halftime.
After Casper’s contest, both Cougar teams will have a week off before they travel to Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colo., for a doubleheader next Wednesday.

Skate with the Cougars this Sunday, Jan. 20

Western Nebraska Community College and the Playhouse Skate & Fun Center is sponsoring a “Skate with the Cougars” Sunday, Jan. 20 from 5 – 7 p.m. at the Playhouse Skate & Fun Center in Gering.

Admission is $3 per student and includes pizza and autographs. Skate/blade/scooter rental is $2 or you can bring your own. WNCC Cougar kid’s Club Members get free admission with their Kid’s Club Pass.

Players from all seven Cougar sports will be at the Playhouse for the youngsters to meet and skate with. All admission proceeds will be donated back to the WNCC Booster Club.

The Playhouse Skate & Fun Center is located at 775 Crescent Drive in Gering. For more information contact the Playhouse at 308-632-5996 or WNCC athletic director Jennifer Pedersen at 308-635-6798.

WNCC men earn double overtime thriller against LCCC 72-71

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team survived Saturday night against Laramie County Community College and it was their defense that gave the Cougars their 11^th win of the season.

WNCC, down by as much as six points with under a minute to play, fought back to claim an exciting and heart-wrenching 72-71 double overtime win against the Golden Eagles in Cheyenne, Wyo.

WNCC coach Brian Joyce credited his team’s never-give-up-attitude in capturing the win.

“I thought we were terrible in the first half and I thought our guys knew that as well,” he said. “But they kept battling in the second half and the only way to get back in it is to fight through the adversity. I thought we our kids did a really good job of hanging in there. That, then, gives you an opportunity at the end to win.”

The Cougars were battling from behind practically all night long. WNCC’s last lead in regulation came with 6:10 left in the first half when Kelvin Franklin stole the ball and made a lay-up. After that, the Golden Eagles took a 35-25 lead into halftime and kept the lead throughout the second half until the waning moments when Danny Smith swished a NBA 3-point basket with two ticks on the clock to send the game into overtime.

“Smith’s shot was a play that we ran twice earlier this year and messed it up. This time we executed it properly,” Joyce said. “With the play, all we wanted is get a good look at the basket and fortunately we hit it.”

Up until the closing seconds of regulation, LCCC kept WNCC at bay. The Golden Eagles held leads of eight points on several occasions, including a six-point, 60-54, lead with under two minutes to play. That is when the game turned around as the Cougars fought back..

Lloyd Hickinson started the Cougars comeback with a bucket. Then, Jamie Eisinger nailed a 3-pointer with 21.9 seconds to play. LCCC went back in front 62-59 on two Dionte’ Clayborn free throws with 11.9 ticks remaining. Smith then came back and nailed the long-range bomb to send the game into overtime.

In the overtime period, the Cougars took their first lead since the first quarter as Deividas Busma nailed two free throws with 3:26 to play and a 64-62 lead. LCCC’s Colby Batiste came back to tie the game on a bucket.

WNCC led two more times as Smith drove the lane and popped in an off balance shot for a 66-64 lead. LCCC, though, came back to tie the game at 66. Chris Hamblin put WNCC back on top with an offensive tip-in with 1:10 to play, only to see the Golden Eagles tie the game on two Batiste free throws with 49.9 seconds.

The Cougars did make a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left, but it didn’t count as the shot bounced off the top of the backboard, giving the ball back to LCCC with 1.2 seconds to play. WNCC’s Smith, though, had an opportunity to win the game in that 1.2 seconds as he unexpectedly received the ball but his directly underneath the basket shot would fall sending the two teams to a second overtime.

LCCC scored the first points of the period on a free throw by Batiste. WNCC, however, came right back to snatch the lead on a Drew Eisinger bucket, 70-69, with 3:11 to play.

The Golden Eagles retook the lead with 2:49 to play on a two free throws by Greg Jones. The lead stayed in LCCC’s favor until the 1:18 mark when Busma scored on an offensive rebound.

Both teams had opportunities to score in the closing seconds. WNCC missed the front end of a one-and-one giving the Golden Eagles a chance to tie or win the game. But, WNCC’s defense down the stretch stopped the Golden Eagles three attempts of scoring in securing the victory.

“I thought we really battled. It wasn’t pretty at all,” Joyce said. “They got a couple looks at the basket at the end and we just played through it. I thought at the end because we were playing hard, we were in a position finish the game. I think it was a good test that we had to win it on the defensive end.”

The Cougars placed three players in double figures. Smith led the team with 14 points and five rebounds. Hickinson and Busma also chipped in 12 points each. Busma also had five rebounds.

LCCC had four players in double digits. Clayborn led the way with 21 points, followed by Batiste with 19 points, Jones with 13 and Kadare Brown with 11.

WNCC will return home on Wednesday when they face Casper College in a men’s and women’s doubleheader. Doubleheader action at Cougar Palace begins at 5:30 p.m.

WNCC (11-7) 25 37 6 4 – 72

LCCC (3-13) 35 27 6 3 – 71

WESTERN NEBRASKA

Chris Hamblin 2, Deividas Busma 12, Jamie Eisinger 7, Daniel Smith 14, Drew Eisinger 4, Oscar Cartwright 6, Kelvin Franklin 9, Lloyd Hickinson 12, Devin West 2, Terrel Price 4.

LARAMIE COUNTY

Dejan Bratic 2, Odiouma Samake 2, Dionte’ Clayborn 21, Kadare Brown 11, Greg Jones 13, Colby Batiste 13, Brett Barnes 3.

WNCC women move to 15-3 on the season with win over Otero

Submitted by Kevin Klaman, Star-Herald Staff Reporter

The Western Nebraska Community College women's team improved to 16-3 on the season with a 62-52 win over Otero Junior College on Saturday For the women's team, the win was their 12th in a row.

But, like Friday night's game against Lamar Community College, a sluggish first half forced the Cougars to play catch-up in the second half.

"We started slow again tonight," assistant coach Jennifer Pedersen said. "But we played a really good second half. We started running our offense and started playing as a team. Our full-court defense was better and we forced some turnovers."

A stifling inside defense from Otero frustrated Western Nebraska from the perimeter in the first half and led to a 32-24 deficit at the break.

"We were 0-11 from the 3-point line in the first half," Pedersen. "They forced us outside and girls were just trying to make things happen on their own."

That changed after halftime though as the Cougars took advantage of 23 Otero turnovers, many of which came in the second half. Western Nebraska committed just 11 turnovers of its own.

Alison Cheney led the Cougars in scoring with 16 points. Tawny Drexler finished with 10 points and Chelsea Lyles added nine. Emma Beddome grabbed six rebounds in the win and Drexler and Dana Iverson had five each. Lyles came away with four steals and Beddome ended with three.

Western Nebraska shot 38 percent from the field and 16 percent from the 3-point line. The team also hit 79 percent from the free throw line.

Though the WNCC coaching staff isn't enthused about the recent trend of lackluster first halves, Pedersen said the team does display a major strength in the second half. "Our endurance is good," Pederson said. "If we can get that competitive edge, I think we can outlast any team in a physical battle."

The women will return to the court on Wednesday when they face Casper College.

WNCC women (16-3) 24 38 - 62
Otero Junior College 32 20 - 52
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Alison Cheney 16, Tawny Drexler 10, Chelsea Lyles 9, Emma Beddome 7, Carly Glisan 7, Jena Colwell 5, Dana Iverson 4, SeLina Ysac 4.

Former Cougar Burnham became an instant leader for Dickinson State men

From the Dickinson Press website.
For more stories on the DSU basketball program, visit www.thedickinsonpress.com

Sean Burnham has played point guard his entire career. By default, that position has also tended to put him in a leadership role. “It’s nothing brand new for me,” Burnham said.

Perhaps that’s why Dickinson State men’s basketball coach Ty Orton had no qualms about handing Burnham the keys to the team the moment he stepped on the floor.
“As a point guard, he has to be able to get the team to come together and get after guys and tell them they have to play hard,” Orton said. “They understand that this is coming from one of the hardest workers. Sean is a guy that’s stepped on the floor right away and is playing as hard as he could.”

Burnham has been a well-rounded leader for the Blue Hawks this season.

He averages 10 points, a team-high 3.4 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game while leading the team in minutes played – he averages more than 30 minutes a game.

“That’s great in our type of system,” Orton said of Burnham’s ability to play more than 75 percent of a game.

After spending a banner freshman season at Western Nebraska Community College, Burnham transferred to North Platte (Neb.) Community College, where he struggled and played sparingly.

Even though he’s with his third team in three years, Burnham said transitioning into Orton’s system was simple because no player had any expectations of what the season would hold.

“Everyone was trying to find their role,” Burnham said. “I think we all listened to each other and valued each other’s opinions and what coach has to say. We just followed his lead.”

The team hasn’t shied away from following Burnham’s lead either.

DSU senior forward Steve Mitchell said the 6-foot-1 junior’s work ethic has been contagious.

“He’s a good guy we can always follow,” Mitchell said. “… He’s competitive and that’s all you can really ask for.”

The Blue Hawks (6-9), who began the season 6-1 but have since lost their past eight games, open their full-time Dakota Athletic Conference schedule at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Scott Gymnasium against last year’s NAIA Division II runner-up Mayville State (6-8).

Burnham knows beginning the 13-game DAC stretch with a win would not only mark a turning point in the season, it could also set things up for DSU to make a run at the kind of conference season it hoped for when Orton finalized the team last fall.

“I’m excited actually. I think everyone is starting to come around,” Burnham said. “Everyone is buying in and working harder. It’s kind of a wakeup call.”

WNCC men earn 10th win of the season with 89-66 win over McCook

Western Nebraska Community College’s Kelvin Franklin and Drew Eisinger put on a shooting clinic Wednesday evening against McCook Community College.

The two freshman guards combined for 41 points and eight 3-pointers in helping the Cougars to an 89-66 win over the Indians. Eisinger finished the contest, the Cougars’ East sub-region opener, with 21 points and five 3-pointers, while Franklin had 20 points and three treys.

WNCC coach Brian Joyce said this team is starting to come together. “I think these guys are playing the way they are capable of playing,” he said. “We have been under achieving in a lot of ways individually and as a team so far and I think that is a sign of being young and these guys are just stepping up now."

Early on, though, the Cougars weren’t hitting all cylinders trailing McCook 21-19 with 10 minutes gone in the game. It was at that point that Cougars put their game in another gear and opened up a 43-27 behind a solid inside-outside game.

During that 24-6 run, the Cougars canned three 3-pointers including two from Eisinger and one from Jamie Eisinger. Drew Eisinger also took an assist from his brother Jamie for another bucket. That run helped the Cougars build a 45-34 halftime lead.

Joyce said the Cougars’ offensive show was a case of his team playing strong defense.

“Our defense creates our offense,” Joyce said. “When our defense is more solid, it gives us more opportunities to get out and score. It also gets us a chance to get better shots and more possessions."

In the second half, the Cougars defense help bolster the Cougars on the offensive side. Joyce said his team didn’t do a very good job of that aspect the first semester, but was pleased with it in the team’s first game back from break.

“We have been talking in practice that whenever we have some sort of adversity, we have to fight through it,” he said. “We just can’t bog down and let that run turn from six to 14. We have to stop it and we have we need to control what we needed to control. I thought we did a good job with that."

In the second half, McCook sliced the Cougar lead to 13 points, 63-50, on a 5-0 run. That was as close as they got as WNCC opened up an 18-point lead on a Franklin driving bucket. WNCC pushed the lead to 21 points minutes later on six straight Chris Hamblin points, including a razzle-dazzling slam dunk.

Still, as well as the team played offensively, Joyce said there were stretches his team didn’t play well.

“I thought we played really sloppy at times on offense but that is expected when you are laid off for several weeks,” he said. “But I thought we fought through a lot of things. We got down in that first half and we fought through it. When they made a run in the second half, we fought through it. I thought we did a really good job that way especially extending the lead in the second half and we controlled the tempo a little bit better despite the sloppy play at the beginning.”

The Cougars placed four players in double figures. Drew Eisinger led the way with 21 points followed by Franklin with 20, Hamblin with 14, and Deividas Busma with 11. Busma also finished with 10 rebounds.

WNCC, which improves to 10-7 on the season and 1-0 in the East Sub-region, will travel to Cheyenne, Wyo., to face Laramie County Community College on Saturday at 7 p.m. The last time these two teams met, on Dec. 14 at Cougar Palace, the Golden Eagles escaped with a 71-70 win.

McCook (9-8) 34 32 — 66
WNCC (10-7) 45 44 — 89
MCCOOK COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Luvonte Rhines 15, Trey Mosby 15, Javoun Martin 4, Jared Deal 8, Ronnell Grant 4, Lionell Robinson 6, Manuel Cook 2, Russell Roden 2, Trevor Ridlen 2, Josh Ridlen 1, Josh Fanslow 6, Leon Kirkland 3.
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Jamie Eisinger 6, Daniel Smith 9, Kelvin Franklin 20, Lloyd Hicknson 4, Drew Eisinger 21, Deividas Busma 11, Chris Hamblin 14, Doradji Wilson 2, Terrell Price 2.

WNCC women topple McvCook for 14th win

The Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team has been superb defensively this season. But Wednesday night, it wasn't just the defense that came up big. The offense also stepped up during the Cougars' 80-36 East Sub-region win over McCook at Cougar Palace.

One of the stars of the game was WNCC freshman Tawny Drexler, who started the second semester on the right note by collecting 11 first-half points along with several rebounds to help ignite her team.

"This game shows that we need to step it up and play to our full potential every game," she said.

McCook wilted WNCC's aggressive defensive pressure, and the Cougars also caused McCook headaches at the other end of the court with good shot selection.

WNCC, which is ranked sixth in the nation in defense, held the Indians without a bucket for the first 6 minutes of the game. Meanwhile, the Cougars heated up offensively. Emma Beddome's early 3-pointer helped the offensive take flight.

The Cougars enjoyed a 51-20 halftime lead, thanks to 46 percent shooting from the field.
Drexler, who netted 11 of her 15 points in the first half, said the Cougars responded well after coming off a four-week holiday break.

"It was a little scrappy. We lost a lot of rebounds, but overall we did OK. We weren't playing up to our full potential," the 6-foot freshman from Golden, Colo., said. "It is a good game to play coming back so we can get used to each other again and get back into the flow."

The Cougars' offense slipped a tad in the second half, registering just 29 points. But the defense continued to shine, holding the Indians to 16 points on 21 percent shooting from the field.

"We really did well the first half in getting shots, but in the second half we didn't do as well," Drexler said. "But eventually I think we will get it to where [WNCC coach Dave Harnish] and the team wants it to be."

WNCC had balanced scoring, with four players hitting double digits. Everyone who suited up reached the scoring column. Cheri Palmer led the way with 16 points, followed by Drexler's 15. Beddome chipped in 12 points, while Jenna Colwell had 11.

McCook, which dressed just seven players, was led in scoring by Kendra Knight with nine points, followed by Shanice Johnson with eight.

The Cougars (14-3) will return to action Friday and Saturday when they travel to face Lamar Community College and Otero Junior College. WNCC will return to Cougar Palace on Jan. 16 to play Casper College.

"I think the games this weekend are going to be tougher because Otero has some big and strong girls," Drexler said. "For the big girls inside, it will be tough. Lamar is another tough one because they run with us."

McCook (4-11) 20 16 - 36
WNCC (14-3) 51 29 - 80
MCCOOK COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Kendra Knight 9, Ashley Foe 7, Heaven Johnson 6, Charlita Champagne 3, Shanice Johnson 8, Ali Brickley 3.
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Cheri Palmer 16, Dana Iverson 1, Emma Beddome 12, SeLina Ysac 4, Shaquilah Davis 2, Alison Cheney 6, Tawny Drexler 15, Jenna Colwell 11, Eli Cosme Gonzalez 1, Chelsea Lyles 9, Carly Glisan 3.

Cougar men, women open sub-region play Wednesday against McCook at Cougar Palace

When the Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s basketball teams tip off the second semester tonight, it will be like starting with a 0-0 record.

The second semester is the most important part of the season with seeding for the Region IX tournaments at stake. Wednesday evening, the Cougars will open up sub-regional play as they will face McCook Community College. Women’s action tips off at 5:30 p.m. followed by men’s action at 7:30 p.m.

“This is really all you work for. It is the time you play sub-region games to give yourself an opportunity for a good seed and hopefully playing well the last three or four weeks,” WNCC first-year coach Brian Joyce said. “It is similar to what it has always been. It doesn’t change from semester to semester; it is just hoping that we can be a little bit more consistent in terms of what we do. We now have some games under our belt and you would like to think the freshmen would start playing like older players playing the college game.”

WNCC and McCook enter the East Sub-region contest with identical records at 9-7. McCook already played twice since Jan. 1, falling to Brown Mackie Community College 86-74 before beating Hastings College Junior Varsity 84-74.Joyce knows that McCook will not be an easy opponent.

“They play really hard and it is critical in situations like this with us playing hard and them playing hard, and seeing who is in the position to outplay the other team,” he said. “I think they have scrappy players. They have some good guys and have done really well. It will be important for us to match their intensity.”

Joyce said that his players are ready to start the second season. The team has been going through one- and two-day practices since returning Jan. 3.

“The guys have come back real focused. We have had some great practices,” he said. “The guys understand more of what we expect. I think we have much better focus as to our practice and a lot more ownership of guys taking on responsibility of leading this team.”

The WNCC men, who are coming off a heartbreaking 71-70 loss to Laramie County Community College on Dec. 14, have showed signs of greatness. The Cougar men, even though have suffered seven defeats on the year, are among the elite in defense nationally. WNCC is giving up 66.9 points a game, which is 33^rd in the nation. The only other Region IX school ahead of WNCC in defense is Lamar Community College at No. 25.

Individually, freshman Jamie Eisinger is turning heads as he is tied with the nations leaders in free throw shooting at 100 percent. Eisinger has made 12 of 12 charity stripes.

Unlike the Cougar men who are in their second year in the East Sub-region, the Cougar women will be facing new opponents in sub-region play this year. Previously, the Cougars have been in the Central Sub-Region facing Casper College and Western Wyoming Community College for regional tournament seedings.

Last spring the region did some realigning and shifted the sub-regions around. The Cougar women were moved to the East Sub-region and will now battle McCook and Northeast (Neb.) Community College for regional tourney seedings.

Assistant coach Jennifer Pedersen said it won’t be easy by no means in sub-region play and that includes beginning tonight against McCook as they begin their quest to get back to the national tournament.

“We already played them once this year and they gave us a hard time down at Lamar,” Pedersen said. “They really slow the pace of the game down, which really hurt us. They held the ball in one end and obviously we are a running team and that hurt us.

"I think the second half of the season is very important for us this year because we are a pretty young team coming in with 10 freshmen and a lot of our sophomores didn’t get quality playing time last year. The first semester was a time for the team to get together and see how everybody plays. Hopefully we come out this semester and be a lot more competitive and play better together. It is important we come out well in the very first weekend because a lot of the teams in Region IX are hunting for us and have better records then we do.”

The Cougar women enter the second semester with a 13-3 record, which isn’t too shabby considering that the women have been struggling offensively. Still, as much as the team struggled scoring points, they have shined in 3-point shooting ranking among the nations elite. The team is ranked sixth in the nation, shooting 41.72 percent from beyond the arc (63 of 151).

“The reason we are up there in the 3-point category is because we have shot a lot less 3-pointers then we have in the past,” Pedersen said. “In the past we actually draw up plays or give kids the green light to shoot 3-pointers and this year we have been working the ball in to get closer shots because we don’t have the shooters we had in the past.”

One of the main reasons the Cougar women have an eye-popping 13-3 mark is because of their defense. Just like in year’s past, the team is still among the nations elite. Coming into the McCook contest, the Cougar women are eighth in the nation in defense average giving up 50.9 points a game.

Three other Region IX teams are also ranked in the top 20 defensively – Miles City Community College at No. 3 (46.1 per game), Casper College at No. 14 (52.3) and Northeastern Junior College at No. 18 (53.4).

WNCC will face Casper and NJC twice this season in regular season contests and won’t see Miles City until the regional tournament. Miles City is currently 16-0 and ranked in the national polls.

Pedersen said the women are ready bring the regional title back to Cougar Palace.

"They are all excited to get started again,” Pedersen said. “They all practiced pretty hard the first day they came back, I think right now they are a little sore because we have been hitting the running and other things pretty hard. But I think they are ready to get going in the game pace.”

After Wednesday’s home contest, the Cougar women will be on the road Friday and Saturday taking on Otero Junior College and Lamar Community College, while the Cougar men will travel to Cheyenne, Wyo., to face Laramie County Community College on Saturday.