WNCC women's basketball drops contest to South Plains by a point

Submitted by Jeremy Woznick, Star-Herald Sports Reporter

COLBY, Kan. - The Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team couldn't make a double-digit, second-half lead stand up as the Cougars dropped a 54-53 season-opening setback to South Plains College (Texas) on Thursday at the Colby Ambassador Classic in Colby, Kan.

WNCC, which is ranked No. 11 in the NJCAA preseason national rankings, led by as many as 10 points with 10 minutes to play before falling in the final few seconds. Leading 53-52 with just two seconds to play in the contest, WNCC missed a free throw and committed a crucial foul on the rebound attempt. South Plains responded by knocking down both free throws to earn the win.

"The kids came out and played hard, but the little things really hurt us tonight," WNCC assistant coach Jennifer Pedersen said. "We missed too many layups and we had a few turnovers at the wrong time when we should have had the game won."

Three players cracked the double-figure scoring column for WNCC in the game. Lorena Medairos and Shaquilah Davis both poured in 12 points, while Stormye Everett added 10. SeLina Ysac tallied eight points and Tawny Drexler added six.

Drexler led the Cougars on the glass with eight rebounds. She also collected a pair of steals. Davis added six rebounds and led the Cougars with six assists and three steals. Ysac pulled down six boards and Everett had five.

South Plains held a 24-23 advantage at the half.

"I think we were pleased with the effort for the first game," Pedersen said. "South Plains is a very athletic team and they played well. But I thought the way we dominated defensively, we probably should have came out on top."

WNCC will be right back in action today at 5 p.m. against the Hastings Junior Varsity. The Cougars will wrap up the tournament on Saturday against Colby.

WNCC (0-1) 23 30 - 53
South Plains (1-0) 24 30 - 54
WNCC
Lorena Medairos 12, Michelle Lighthall 1, SeLina Ysac 8, Shaquilah Davis 12, Stormye Everett 10, Tawny Drexler 6, Caley Fisher 2, Juliana Bassetto 2.