WNCC women's basketball team set for regional tournament on Friday

The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team will be looking to capture its sixth Region IX championship in eight years when they take part in this weekend’s Region IX championship in Sterling, Colo.

The Cougars will begin that quest on Friday against Little Big Horn College on a good note after winning their last five contests, including a 66-48 win against Northeastern Junior College on Sunday. The tournament runs through March 9 with the championship game. Tip-off for the opening round contest is slated for 3 p.m.

WNCC enters with a 23-7 record and a number one seed from the East Sub-region, but they don’t enter the tournament as the favorite as Casper College (27-3) and Northeastern Junior College (24-5) are the picks to win the tournament.

“We are on a good side of the bracket,” WNCC coach Dave Harnish said. “We are opposite the two strongest teams in the region in Casper and Sterling and we wouldn’t have to see them until the championship game. But, you don’t know what would happen. It is us to get to that point and not looking ahead.”

The scenario for the regional tournament is practically the same as two seasons ago when the Cougars went to regionals in Miles City, Mont., they were not the favorite. Miles City entered the tourney with just one loss on the season and was picked to win the title. WNCC played tough defense throughout the tourney and captured the regional title in 2008 over Miles City.

Harnish said that is the same story this season.

“In a regional tournament anything can happen because everybody starts with a 0-0 record,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you come in with a 2 seed, a 1 seed, or a 4 seed; everyone has the same opportunity to win the regional tournament. It is whoever gets hot and who is playing well. The way we played Sunday, we can carry that on. If we can do that, we certainly can go in and win the championship. IF we don’t do the things that we have to do, we are not going to.”

WNCC definitely is playing some of their best basketball after going through a month of trials and tribulations. The Cougars have won their last five games after falling in back-to-back contests to Casper and Eastern Wyoming College.

Since those two losses, the Cougars picked it up a notch, topping Northeast Nebraska 71-69, McCook 76-51, Lamar 77-44, Eastern Wyoming 70-65 and NJC 66-48.

The big key in those wins was defense and rebounding, the two things that Harnish said will be crucial to the team’s success this weekend.

“We really haven’t had a problem scoring; it really is about rebounding both offensively and defensively and stopping other teams,” he said. “We have done a better job, but it remains to be seen if we can do that four nights in a row.”

Consistency in rebounding and defending really has hurt the team this season. The Cougars, who are usually one of the top defensive teams in the region year in and year out, are sixth this season fiving up 60.3 points a game. On the flipside, the Cougars are second In region in offensive output, scoring 74.6 points a game. Casper is the only team scoring more points at 78 points a clip.

“It has been a tough semester going into the tournament,” Harnish said. “I think we have made progress the last two weeks and definitely put it all together against Northeastern Junior College on Sunday. The fact remains is can we do that for four game stretch of regional tournament. That will be the key. “

Harnish said he knows little about his first round opponent, Little Big Horn. Little Big Horn enters the tournament with an 11-18 record. He said that he isn’t worried about Little Big Horn, it is getting his team prepared that is fundamentally important.

“Regardless of who we play, it is about what we do on the floor,” he said. “As long as we are willing to compete and rebound the ball, we should be able to move forward in the tourney. It doesn’t matter who we play or what they do, it is a matter of how we are going to come out and play. If we can do the things that I know we can do, we should be fine.”

The tournament opens up Friday and Saturday with first-round contests. Friday’a action has Gillette College taking on Sheridan College at 1 p.m.; WNCC facing Little Big Horn at 3 p.m., Dawson Community College meeting Casper College at 5 p.m., and Eastern Wyoming College facing Northeastern Junior College at 7 p.m.

Saturday’s action has Central Wyoming facing Lamar Community College at 1 p.m., Otero Junior College meeting Western Wyoming at 3 p.m., McCook Community College facing Miles Community College at 5 p.m. and Northwest College facing Northeast Community College at 7 p.m.

WNCC, if they win, will face the winner of the Otero and Western Wyoming game Sunday at 3 p.m. The semi-finals are slated for Monday.

The Cougar games can be heard on Wild Country 106.9 or on the web at wildcountry1069.com. The games are also being video streamed online from gonjc.com.