[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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