WNCC women's comeback comes up short against Casper

The Western Nebraska Community College outscored Casper College 24-12 in the final seven minutes of the game, but it wasn’t enough as the Thunderbirds held on to an 84-79 win Tuesday night at Cougar Palace.

In fact, the difference in the game was Casper’s 8-0 run at the start of the game topped by cold early shooting by the Cougars. Through all the adversity the Cougars had early one, they kept playing and made a valiant late-game run, slicing the lead to four points on a Kelli Carver 3-pointer with 32 seconds to play.

But, the upset big against the No. 19-ranked Thunderbirds fell short.

Hemingford’s Shelby Campbell had a big reason for the Cougars comeback from 17-points down. The smallest player on the court knocked home two 3-pointers, the first with five minutes left and then another with a minute to play to bring the Cougars back to 79-73.

Campbell also added a drive along the baseline and then an underhanded, reverse lay-up to excite the team on the comeback. She finished with 15 points, including 3 of 3 from beyond the arc.

Campbell said this was a tough contest to take, especially with the comeback the team had.

“We should have brought that momentum the first half but we dug ourselves a hole and it was a tough hole to get out of,” she said. “We worked really hard the last seven minutes and I think all the girls came together as one because we wanted and needed this win.”

Campbell, though was just one of three Cougars to finish in double figures. Yuki Morimoto lead the way with 20 points, including four 3-pointers, while Amber Kistler tossed in 10 points and one trey.

The Cougars also got clutch play from other players as well. Khayla Gladney came off the bench to score eight points, while Thais Pinto added seven and Carolina Alves had six.

The key in the game was Casper’s ability to knock home the 3-pointers, nailing seven treys for the game. The Thunderbirds hit five 3-pointers in the first half along to run to a 42-32 halftime lead. Lindsey Fearing paced Casper with 30 points, including 6 of 9 shooting from beyond the arc. Samira Van Grinsven also chipped in 18 points.

Campbell said it was tough to defend their big girls popping 3-pointers, but in the second half, they held them in check by playing hard defense.

“It was pretty hard to stop their tall 3-point shooters, but as long as we got a hand up in their face we could stop them. We just need to play hard defense,” she said. “Coach actually told us at halftime that we didn’t have much of a defense and that was why we were down. We brought our heads together and came to the conclusion that we had to kick it into gear and play as a team.”

Even though the Cougars lost the contest, the team picked up huge confidence, especially playing with sophomore starter Stormye Everett, who is out with an injury.

“We worked really hard and the chemistry was there. We were working together and we trusted each other and that was huge,” Campbell said. “I think we found our chemistry again. I think it will only get better from here.”

The Cougars will found out if they continue that second-half chemistry Thursday night when they host Eastern Wyoming College at 7 p.m.

Casper (23-3) 42 42 – 84
WNCC (18-6) 32 47 – 79
CASPER COLLEGE
Sherece Huddling 9, Samira Van Grinsven 18, Shanice Billington 9, Yianna Nadeau 2, Megan Wilson 8, Lindsey Fearing 30, Juliana Paunovic 8.
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Amber Kistler 10, Shelby Campbell 15, Yuki Morimoto 20, Ariane Brown 2, Tiffany Moorer 4, Carolina Alves 6, Madison Keller 2, Michelle Glaze 2, Thais Pinto 7, Kelli Culver 3, Khayla Gladney 8.