Cougar women's basketball team picks up two wins at Central Tournament, go to 7-0 on season

RIVERTON, Wyo. – The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball connected on
a combined 15 3-pointers in two wins over the weekend at the Central Wyoming tournament in
Riverton, Wyo.

The Cougars, 7-0, opened the tournament by bearing eight treys in an 80-48 win over Central
Wyoming College. Central Wyoming defeated the Cougars last season in the Region IX tournament first-
round.

WNCC followed Friday’s win with another impressive showing, burying seven 3-pointers in a win
over Miles Community College on Saturday.

WNCC will look to stay unbeaten when they host Casper College Tuesday night at 5 p.m. at
Cougar Palace. Casper enters the contest with a 3-1 record after sweeping three opponents over the
weekend against Snow College (58-38), College of Eastern Utah (53-42), and Northeastern Junior College
(70-46).

WNCC was quite impressive in the two wins over the weekend. Against Central Wyoming, WNCC
was 8 of 18 from the 3-point line and shot 50 percent overall from the field. Jess Samorodova and Gritt
Ryder paced the team with 19 and 17 points each. Samorodova had two treys with 19 points, while
Ryder, who committed to play at Colorado State University next year, had three 3-pointers, five
rebounds, four assists, and six rebounds.

Jessica Aratani and Katie Kerkhoff each pitched in nine points in the win, while Ashley Stevens
and Alyssa Yates each had six points.

The Cougars were in control of the contest from the beginning, running to a 9-0 lead before
taking a 38-27 lead into the locker room. The Cougars dished out 22 assists and had 27 steals,

WNCC continued its hot shooting against Miles Community College, blitzing the nets for 53
percent shooting. The Cougars were 7 of 14 from the 3-point line. Samorodova, the 6-foot-3 center from
Russia, buried two treys for her 12 points.

Ryder led all scorers with 21 points on 9 of 12 shooting. Ryder also had five rebounds, five
assists, and six steals. Mikayla Brower also poured in nine points with three steals, followed by Laurin
Rivera with eight points.

Also Shalisa Moffit also finished with double-figure scoring with 10 points. Samorodova, Rivera
and Stevens all pulled down five rebounds in the win.

Friday’s Game
WNCC (6-0)
38 42 – 80
Central Wyoming
27 21 – 48
WNCC
Gritt Ryder 17, Shalisa Moffit 5, Idil Ozbayrak 2, Jessica Aratani 9, Jess Samorodova 19, Mikayla Brower
5, Laurin Rivera 2, Katie Kerkhoff 9, Alyssa Yates 6, Ashley Stevens 6.

Saturday’s Game
WNCC (7-0)
34 34 – 68
Miles CC
20 23 – 43
WNCC
Mikayla Brower 9, Gritt Ryder 21, Shalisa Moffit 10, Jessica Aratani 2, Jess Samorodova 12, Laurin Rivera
8, Katie Kerkhoff 2, Maurissa Ortega 4, Ashley Stevens 2.