Pintos scores 25 as WNCC women top Lamar 77-44

Western Nebraska Community College’s Thais Pinto poured in 25 points and had three blocked shots to power the Cougar women to a 77-44 win over Lamar Community College Friday at Cougar Palace.

The Cougar women used a 20-1 run to close out the first half in picking up their 21^st win of the season. Pinto had six straight points during that crucial run to help the Cougars to a 46-18 halftime lead.

“We played much better defense and this win reflects the job we are doing during practice,” Pinto, the Cougars’ 6-foot-7 post, said. “After we lost three games at home, this win shows us how we have overcome and now have won three straight home games.”

What won the game for the Cougars was the strong first half and several players had a hand in the 46-18 halftime lead.

Yuki Morimoto scored 15 of her 19 points in the opening 20 minutes. Shelby Campbell and Carolina Alves also came off the bench to score three points each. Tiffany Moorer also was hot early, scoring six straight points to bring the Cougars back from a 5-2 deficit to a 9-5 lead. The Cougars never trailed after that.

“We were aggressive in the first half,” Pinto said. “We played together, we played with each other more, we had steals, and we hit the boards.”

The Cougars shot a blistering 60 percent from the field in the opening half, as well as connecting on 60 percent from beyond the 3-point range. The Cougars also were unselfish with the fall in the opening half as they had 13 assists and six steals. Stormye Everett, who didn’t score in the game, contributed five first-half assists.

WNCC just gelled on the night as they out-rebounded Lamar 42-26 and out-shot the Lopes 53 percent to 23 percent. The only negative from the game was turnovers as the Cougars committed 20 turnovers, but most of those miscues came from different lineups on the court.

Pinto had one of her best games of the season with 25 points. Her previous best was a 22-point outing against Colby back in December.

“I am working hard in practice and the games to get better for regionals,” she said. “I am trying to stay more confident and working on my toughness.”

Morimoto finished the game with a double-double, scoring 19 and pulling down 10 rebounds. Amber Kistler also finished with 11 points and three steals, while Moorer had seven points.

Lamar was led by Ashley Torres with 16 points, including four 3-pointers.

WNCC, 21-7, will next be in action Tuesday when they travel to Torrington, Wyo., to face Eastern Wyoming College. Tip-off for that contest is slated for 5:30 p.m. The last time these two teams met, EWC escaped Cougar Palace with a 68-66 win.

“We need to play defense, stop penetration and have less turnovers then in the first game we played them,” Pinto said. “We also need to play strong for 40 minutes.”

Lamar 18 26 – 44
WNCC 46 31 – 77
LAMAR
Morgan Smith 4, Britany Rayford 11, Ashley Torres 16, Krystina George 4, Nicole Midder 1, Jackie Eberhard 2, Emily Purton 2.
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Amber Kistler 11, Shelby Campbell 4, Yuki Morimoto 19, Tiffany Moorer 7, Carolina Alves 3, Madison Keller 2, Thais Pinto 25.