Tuesday, November 06, 2012

WNCC women's basketball ready to open the season



                [11/1/2012] Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball coach Dave Harnish will begin his 25th season as head coach of the Cougars when the team tips off Saturday against the Nebraska All-stars.
                And, as much as the Cougar players are anxious to get things started at 2 p.m., Harnish is also excited for this coming season.
                “We {the coaches] have been very pleased with the growth and dedication that they put in the weight room and everything that has been required of them,” Harnish said. “I am excited to see this group play. I think we will be fun to watch, I think this will be a team that will compete night in and night out. We are going to defend very well and play the game the right way. I am excited about them and the kids are excited to get the season started.”
                WNCC was slated to open against Buckley Air Force Base, but when Buckley canceled, Harnish put together the all-star team consisting of former Cougars as well as high school stars from around the area.
                Last season, the Cougars finished with a 21-9 record, but were hobbled by the injury bug. This season, there is plenty of depth and talent to go around making the outlook for this season could be one similar to his Region IX championship teams of the 1990s and mid early 2000 years where the team was one of the top defensive teams in the nation.
                “You never know what your strengths will be offensively until you play some games, but I hope we will shot the ball pretty well this year,” Harnish said. “We are not tall based on having five or six kids over six-foot, but we are tall in other positions. I really do believe defensively, we have the capabilities of being one of the better defensive teams I have ever had here. We do a very good job in both the half court and full court, and we rebound the ball very well. I would say right know our strength will be our defense and we will find out where our strength is offensively.”
                The Cougars enter the season with plenty of youth with just three players back from a year ago.
The returners back include Jessica Aratani, a 5-foot-10 forward/guard from Morrill; 5-8 Kelsey Doddridge of Windsor, Colo., and Idil Ozbayrak, a 5-8 guard from Ankara, Turkey. Ozbayrak is coming off an ACL tear that happened last February.
                A big addition to the team is sophomore transfer Gritt Ryder of Rungsted Kyst, Denmark. Ryder earned GNAC Conference Freshman of the Year honors while playing for the University of Alaska Anchorage where she averaged 5.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists a game in helping the Seawolves to their third straight NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearance in five seasons.
                The rest of the roster is all comprised of freshmen, including two Wyo-Braska standouts in Ashley Stevens, the 5-9 forward from Bridgeport, and Mikayla Brower, the 5-7 guard from Torrington, Wyo., who was named the top female athlete in Wyoming with the Milward-Simpson Award in July.
                The big addition to the team this year is Evgenia-Jess Samorodova. Samorodova is a 6-3 center from Russia, who can shoot form inside and outside.
                Other newcomers to the team include 5-4 Lauren Rivera, 5-10 Michelle Brassard, and 5-9 Shalisa Moffit of Colorado Springs, Colo., 5-6 Katie Kerkhoff of Parker, Colo., 5-6 Maurissa Ortega of Lafayette, Colo., 5-3 Simone Evans of Aurora, Colo., 5-9 Alyssa Yates of Spokane, wash., and 6-0 Jenna Lindquist of Ft. Collins, Colo.
                Harnish is pleased with the progress of the freshmen both on the court, the weight room and in the classroom so far this season. Harnish said he is looking for plenty of success this season.
                “I honestly can say that this team will be tough to beat whether at home or on the road because we defend well, and you have to defend well when you to on the road. I think we are that,” Harnish said. “I am really excited and I think we will be fun to watch. I hope people come and watch us play because they will see a great work ethic, and they will see the game the way it is supposed to be played, the blue-collar way. I am excited to show this team to the public and watch them play.”

2012 Schedule
November
3 – Nebraska All-stars; 9-10 -- @ Colby Classic, Colby, Kan.; 13 – Colorado Christian J.V.; 16-17 – Central Wyoming Classic, Riverton, Wyo.; 20 – Casper College; 29-30 – Air Force Prep Tourney, Colorado Springs, Colo.
December
1 – Air Force Prep Tourney, Colorado Springs, Colo, 6-8 – Lady Cougar Holiday Classic.
January
7 -- @ Northwest Kansas Technical College, Goodland, Kan.; 8 -- @ Lamar Community College, Lamar, Colo.; 11 – McCook Community College; 18 – Trinidad State Junior College; 19 – Otero Junior College;  22 – Eastern Wyoming College; 26 -- @ Casper College, Casper, Wyo.; 29 -- @ Northeastern Junior College, Sterling, Colo.
February
8 – Lamar Community College; 9 – Northeastern Junior College; 15 -- @ Otero Junior College, LaJunta, Colo.; 16 -- @ Trinidad State Junior College, Trinidad, Colo.; 19 -- @ McCook Community College, McCook, Neb.; 21 -- @ Eastern Wyoming College, Torrington, Wyo. 27 – Northwest Kansas Technical College.

2012 Roster
No.           Player                                                 Ht.            Pos.           Class          Hometown
4                Mikayla Brower                              5-7            G                 Fresh         Torrington, Wyo.
5                Lauren Rivera                                  5-4            G                 Fresh         Colorado Springs, Colo.
10             Kelsey Doddridge                          5-8            G                 Soph          Windsor, Colo.
11             Gritt Ryder                                        5-10         W                Soph          Rungsted Kyst, Denmark
13             Shalisa Moffit                                  5-9            G                 Fresh         Colorado Springs, Colo.
21             Katie Kerkhoff                                 5-6            G                 Fresh         Parker, Colo.
22             Maurissa Ortega                             5-6            G                 Fresh         Lafeyette, Colo.
23             Simone Evans                                  5-3            G                 Fresh         Aurora, Colo.
24             Idil Ozbayrak                                    5-8            G                 Soph          Ankara, Turkey
32             Michelle Brassard                          5-10         F                  Fresh         Colorado Springs, Colo.
33             Alyssa Yates                                     5-9            W                Fresh         Spokane, Washington
34             Ashley Stevens                               5-10         F                  Fresh         Bridgeport, Neb.
40             Jessica Aratani                                 5-10         F                  Soph          Morrill, Neb.
42             Jenna Lindquist                               6-0            F                  Fresh         Ft. Collins, Colo.
50             Jess Samorodova                           6-3            C                 Fresh         Russia



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