WNCC women suffer heartbreaker against Seward County

Submitted by Jeremy Woznick, Star-Herald Sports Reporter

GARDEN CITY, Kan. - The Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking finish to its nine-game road trip Saturday afternoon at the Garden City Thanksgiving Classic in Garden City, Kan.

The Cougars, who are ranked No. 10 in this week's NJCAA national poll, dropped a 62-61 decision to undefeated Seward County Community College.
According to WNCC head coach Dave Harnish, it was a game his ball club certainly should have won.

"It was a tough loss. It was a game we should have won," Harnish said. "We turned the ball over 29 times and that really hurt."

Trailing 40-31 at intermission, WNCC held Seward County to just 22 points in the second half. The Cougars held a one-point lead and owned possession late in the game. However, a questionable turnover was called on WNCC that allowed Seward County to go back in front. WNCC's last-second shot was just off the mark as time expired.

"I was really happy with the way we competed," Harnish said. "We competed well and I thought we outplayed them except for the turnovers. It was a tough one to lose."

Amber Kistler was the lone Cougar to score in double figures. The Bayard High School graduate netted 18 points with a pair of 3-pointers. Stormye Everett and Yuki Morimoto both scored eight points, while Tiffany Moorer added seven.

WNCC out-rebounded Seward County 55-35 in the contest. Everett led the way with 11 boards. She also had two steals defensively.

Thais Pinto collected eight blocks for the Cougars and Morimoto dished out a team-high four assists.

WNCC finished the game shooting 45 percent from the field. The Cougars converted 7 of their 13 free-throw opportunities.

The Cougars, who finished their season-opening road trip with a record of 7-2, will finally be in action at home beginning Thursday in the Colorado/Nebraska Showcase at Cougar Palace in Scottsbluff. The three-day tournament will run through Saturday. WNCC will then wrap up its first-semester schedule by hosting the Lady Cougar Holiday Classic Dec. 10-12.

WNCC (7-2) 31 30 - 61
Seward County (8-0) 40 22 - 62
WNCC
Amber Kistler 18, Stormye Everett 8, Shelby Campbell 4, Yuki Morimoto 8, Ariane Brown 4, Tiffany Moorer 7, Carolina Alves 2, Michelle Glaze 2, Thais Pinto 6, Khayla Gladney 2.