WNCC signs Widick to softball letter of intent

»Kimberly keeps swinging: (from the Greeley Tribune)

Platte Valley senior standout Kimberly Widick will continue playing softball after a stellar career on the diamond for the Broncos.

Widick has signed to play softball for Western Nebraska Community College in Scottsbluff, Neb.

Widick was a talented hitter and shortstop for the Broncos (17-7), who advanced to the 3A state semifinals for the first time in program history this past fall.

After her strong senior season, Widick was named an all-Patriot League selection and was an all-state honorable mention by The Denver Post.

Widick will be a shortstop and utility player for Western Nebraska, which was 43-21 last season.

WNCC women go to 17-0 on season with win over Otero on the road

LA JUNTA, Colo. -- Kyra Peterson poured in 16 points and the Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team played strong defense in picking up their 17th win of the season with an impressive 64-53 win over Otero Junior College Saturday afternoon on the road.
               WNCC coach Dave Harnish was pleased with his squad picking up a quality win over Otero, who came into the contest as the top defensive team in the nation.
               "I feel a lot better after this win," Harnish said. "We played with a lot better intensity. We came out pretty strong and took control and had the lead the entire game. The defense was also solid tonight. We got up by 14 in the second half and they cut it back down to about four. But, then we worked it back up to 20. The kids played with good intensity, battled and rebounded well, and defended well. It definitely is a good win against a good team."
               The Cougars bolted to a 27-20 lead and kept control of the contest throughout. The big key in the came was rebounding, where the Cougars out-rebounded the Rattlers 43-33. TIffany Moorer led the team with seven rebounds.
               WNCC also got balanced scoring, as nine players found the scorebook, including three in double figures. Peterson had 16 points, including two 3-pointers to pace the team. Moorer finished with 13 while Samantha Sanders had 10 points and one 3-pointer.
               Harnish said Otero is not an easy place to play and come away  with a win. Plus, the Rattlers are a salty ballclub, having knocked WNCC out of the Region IX tournament a year ago.
               "This is a tough place to play," Harnish said. "They have a good coach and they play hard. It is a tough environment down here with the crowd. The kids got the lead up to 20 and kept the crowd quite. We did a good job tonight."
               The 16th-ranked Cougars will return to action Tuesday when they travel to Casper College Tuesday night before returning home to face Northeast (Neb.) Community College Saturday afternoon. Saturday's contest tips off at 1 p.m. and is a sub-region contest.

WNCC (17-0)                     27 37 -- 64
Otero (12-3)                       20 33 -- 53
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Samantha Sanders 10, Shelby Campbell 4, Tiffany Moorer 13, Thais Pinto 1, Carolina Alves 8, Kyra Peterson 16, ChaCha Ofoegbu 1, Leona Garrett 6, Shelby Jones 4.

WNCC men fall to Otero by three points

LA JUNTA, Colo. -- The Western Nebraska Community College men's basketball team put Friday's loss to Lamar Community College behind them and played much better against Otero Junior College on Saturday.
               The Cougars, however, came up short, falling 72-69 to the Rattlers despite a 28-point, 11-rebound outing from sophomore Hauns Brereton.
               WNCC coach Russ Beck said he was proud of how his team put the Lamar behind them and played well, just coming up short.
               "We executed fairly well. We still had 21 turnovers. Defensively, we were improving a lot. If we start cutting down on our turnovers on our possessions, we will start winning," he said. "I am proud of the guys because they battled and they played well. I thought they played together and that is half the battle."
               Beck said they shot well from the free throw line, at 78 percent, but they gave up too many offensive rebounds and turned the ball too much.
               "We have to minimize our mistakes and do a little bit better job rebounding," he said. "They had 19 offensive rebounds, so we need to do a better job boxing out because we are shooting ourselves in the foot with turnovers and then we are giving them extra shots."
               WNCC, 9-8, had two players finish in double figures. Besides Brereton's 28 points, Joe Stock chipped in 12 points with four 3-poiners. Mike Peltz also had a good game, finishing with nine points, six rebounds and four assists.
               Beck said they it is just a matter of time for this team.
               "We are close and we are getting better," he said. "We just need to get better soon than later."
               WNCC will be back in action Tuesday night when they travel to Casper College before hosting Northeast (Neb.) Community College on Saturday at 3 p.m.

WNCC (9-8)                        30 39 -- 69
Otero (13-5)                       33 39 -- 72
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Hauns Brereton 28, Mike Peltz 9, Justin Omogun 3, Marko Kovacevic 4, Joe Stock 12, Raul Delgado 2, Aamie Kelliehan 2, Miguel Gotti Ramos 6, Aaron Turner 3.

WNCC men fall to Lamar 101-77

               LAMAR, Colo. -- The Lamar Community College men's basketball team sizzled from the field in running to a 101-77 win over Western Nebraska Community College Friday at Lamar, Colo.

               The Runnin' Lopes opened up a tight game in the opening minutes, including going on a 7-0 run midway in the first half. That run pushed a 22-16 Lamar lead into a 29-16 lead. Lamar went on to lead 57-29 at intermission.

               The second half was better for the Cougars as they fought back on many occasions slicing the lead to 14 points several times. Hauns Brereton scored seven straight points midway through the second 20 minutes to cut the deficit to 74-60 with 9:30 to play.

               The Cougars kept playing hard getting the deficit to 80-66 on two Marko Kovacevic hit two free throws. At that point, the Cougars were clicking on offense, but it was short lived as Lamar 9-3 run to push the lead back to 20 points and coasted to the Runnin' Lopes seventh victory of the season.

               WNCC had three players finish in double figures. Brereton paced the team with 21 points, followed by Justin Omogun with 12 points and Aamir Kelliehan with 10 points. Raul Delgado and Joe Stock each finished with nine points.

               Lamar had three players collect double digits, led by Arden Dennis with 24 points followed by Josh Turner with 20 points and Ron Waller with 14.

               WNCC will look to get back on the winning track Saturday afternoon when they face Otero Junior College.

WNCC (9-7)                        29 48 -- 77

Lamar (7-5)                        57 44 -- 101

WESTERN NEBRASKA

Mike Peltz 5, Joe Stock 9, Justin Omogun 12, Stephen Shepherd 2, Hauns Brereton 21, Raul Delgado 9, Aamie Kelliehan 10, Marko Kovacevic 6, Aaron Turner 2.

WNCC pick up 16th win of the season with 70-45 win over Lamar

LAMAR, Colo. -- The Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team started slow, but heated up in the second half to post a 70-45 win over Lamar Community College Friday at Lamar, Colo.

               The win pushed the No. 16 Cougars to 16-0 on the season as they look for win number 17 Saturday against Otero Junior College in La Junta, Colo.

               Friday's contest saw two Cougars finish with double figure scoring, led by sophomore Tiffany Moorer with 14 points. Kyra Peterson finished with 13 points, including three 3-pointers. Eight other Cougars also finished in the scorebook.

               WNCC coach Dave Harnish said his team started slow, keeping a good Lamar squad in the contest.

               "It was a very lethargic start for us early and we turned the ball over. I think we had 17 turnovers at halftime," he said. "For some reason we weren't into it mentally. We turned the ball over, missed some layups, and it was a very frustrating first half. The second half was better. We attacked it better with the press. We played more up tempo the second half. I thought the defense was good, not great tonight."

               Lamar controlled the first 10 minutes of the game, vaulting to a 13-5 lead and later at 16-10. WNCC came storming back on 3-pointers by Shelby Campbell and Kyra Peterson. Carolina Alves later gave the Cougars their first lead of the game at 17-16.

               WNCC held a slim 25-21 lead at intermission.

               Harnish said the key between the first and second half was getting some transition baskets from the 4th-best national defense.

               "Early in the second half we got some transition baskets and pushed the lead to 12 or 14 points," Harnish said. "Overall, it was just a bad night because we turn it over 25 or 26 times. We struggled making decisions. I think we are the better team, but we made too many mistakes."

               The Cougars took control of the contest in the first two minutes of the second half, scoring the first two buckets, including four points from Samantha Sanders and a bucket by Moorer for a 31-21 lead. WNCC pushed the lead to 12 points on several occasions as Peterson drained a couple treys from the corner, the final with about eight minutes to play after Lamar sliced the lead to 49-40.

               WNCC put the game away with a 15-2 run to finish the contest.

               The Cougars will know face a tough Otero squad that enters the contest with a 12-2 record. The contest also pits two of the top five defensive teams in the nation as Otero comes in with the top defense in the nation, allowing just 46.9 points a game.

               "We need a game like Otero. We had kind of a soft schedule in going 16-0, but we really haven't played anyone really good," Harnish said. "We now have Otero on their home court and they will be the best team we have seen all year. This is something we need because right know we are playing to the level of our competition. Hopefully we will play better tomorrow [Saturday] against a better team and we will find out a little bit more of what we are made of."

WNCC (15-0)                     25 45 -- 70

Lamar (7-8)                        21 24 -- 45

WESTERN NEBRASKA

Samantha Sanders 7, Shelby Campbell 5, Tiffany Moorer 14, Kyra Peterson 13, ChaCha Ofoegbu 2, Darechia Johnson 7, Leona Garrett 6, Thais Pinto 8, Carolina Alves 7, Shelby Jones 1.

WNCC men topple EWC, stops five-game losing skid

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team received 21 points from Joe Stock, including five second-half 3-pointers, in stopping a five-game losing skid with a hard-fought 74-62 win over Eastern Wyoming College on Tuesday at Cougar Palace.
                The win also stopped a five-game losing skid for the Cougars and the big reason was the team’s defensive pressure that generated 24 Eastern Wyoming turnovers.
                WNCC coach Russ Beck said they there were a couple of players that stepped up big for the team tonight, including Alliance’s Mike Peltz and sophomore Joe Stock.
                “Peltz did have a good game. He is a good creator. He is a warrior,” Beck said “He does exactly what I ask him to do. He doesn’t do anything that I don’t want him to do. You know what, though, Joe had a good game, Hauns had a good game, and I thought Raul came in and did some nice things.
                It was Stock, though, that gave the team the lift they needed in the second half as he blistered the nets for five 3-pointers to change the complexion of the game.
                “Joe has been in the gym  and has been working on getting his shooting license for about three days now,” he said. “He got it today and I think the repetitions  in him trying to get his shooting license really helped him tonight.”
                EWC coach Casey Jones said they were their worst enemy, suffering 17 first half turnovers and then let Stock steal the game from them with his stellar shooting.
                “In my mind, the game was pretty simple. It was 29 turnovers including 17 in the first half. In my opinion we should have been up by 15 at half by shooting 60 percent, but we turned it over 17 times,” he said. “The second half one player beat us as No. 12 [Joe Stock] hit threes. Later in the game, with five minutes to play, other players on their team had confidence and made some shots.
                “There wasn’t very many points scored in the game and when one kid makes five threes in a half, it is pretty tough.”
                Beck said this is a good win for his squad, especially against a Lancer team that is better than their 2-12 record.
                “Casey is a good coach and those boys play awful hard,” Beck said. “We expect to see a whale of a game when we go to their place. They are very close to starting to rack up some wins and they will start surprising some people.
                EWC bolted out of the gates early, moving to an 10-4 lead and led 14-10 on a Ivan Simic bucket. That was when things went the other way for the Lancers as the Cougars went on a 10-0 run over the next nine minutes to grab a 20-14 lead.  The run included a thundering dunk by Stephen Shepherd and a a steal and 3-point play by Alliance’s Mike Peltz.
                The Lancers finally broke the scoring slump on a bucket by Sidney’s Matt Rosenbaum with 6:16 in the first half. EWC came back to tie the game at 26-26 on back-to-back buckets by Jarett Upchurch. But, two buckets by Justin Omogun gave the Cougars a 30-28 led into halftime.
                The second became the Joe Stock show as the sophomore from Louisiana buried five 3-pointers, including three in the first three minutes of the half to bolt the Cougars to a 42-32 lead. WNCC kept the lead near double digits for most of the half.
                After Peltz hit an old-fashioned 3-point play to push the lead to 59-44 with 6:26 to play, the Cougars went on a 10-4 run to widen the gap to 21 points, 69-48. The Lancers fought back, going on a 12-3 run to slice the lead to 72-60 with under a minute to play.
                WNCC finished the contest out-shooting the Lancers 61 to 49 percent. It was also the 3-point shooting that was the difference as WNCC connected on 5 of 8 shots, while the Lancers were just 2 of 10.
                WNCC had three players finish in double figures. Stock had 21 points followed by Justin Omogun with 15 and Peltz with 12.
                The Lancers were paced by Ivan Simic with 12 points followed by Matt Rosenbaum with 10.

EWC (2-12)                          28 34 – 62
WNCC (9-6)                        30 44 – 74
EWC
Nikos Stathopoulos 7, Jordan Johnson 7, Corey Puckett 4, Jarett Upchurch 8, Zach Young 6, Tautvydas Kairys 6, Chad Cottam 2, Matt Rosenbaum 10, Ivan Simic 12.
WNCC
Mike Peltz 12, Joe Stock 21, Justin Omogun 15, Stephen Shepherd 4, Hauns Brereton 9, Raul Delgado 8, Aaron Turner 2, Marko Kovacevic 2.

WNCC women top EWC for 15th win of the season

The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team shot 50 percent from the field and used another strong defensive effort in recording its 15^th win of the season with a 70-50 win over Eastern Wyoming College Tuesday night at Cougar Palace.
                It was the Cougars first game back from the holiday break and they didn’t skip a beat defensively in remaining unbeaten on the year. The No. 16 WNCC team had three players record double-figures , led by Hemingford graduate Shelby Campbell with 12 points. Carolina Alves followed with 11 and Thais Pinto with 10.
                EWC, who has lost their last five games, was led in scoring by Krystal Pittman with 16 points. Pittman sank five 3-pointers and pulled down seven rebounds in the contest. Sarah Smith also had a good game, finishing with 10 points and seven boards.
                Campbell said that they played alright, but there were a few things that were still rusty from the holiday break.
                “We didn’t play our average game that we normally have been playing. We are just getting back into our game,” the sophomore point guard said. “After the game, Coach [Dave] Harnish pointed out the things we need to work on. We still got the W, and it is the small things that you do to win games, and defense is huge tonight.”
                WNCC started the contest strong, zipping out to an 8-0 lead behind back-to-back buckets by Alves. EWC came right back to slice the lead to 8-6 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Jubilee Sutherland.
                Campbell said the opening few minutes was a huge momentum boost for the team.
                “It was a huge confidence booster. Anytime you can come out of the gates solid, then it is good momentum throughout the game,” she said. “We knew coming into the game that Eastern Wyoming lives and dies from the 3-pointer. The first half we were well aware of that.”
                The first half stayed tight between the Highway 26 rivals; that is until the eight minute mark. That was when the Cougars opened up an 18-15 advantage and led by double digits, 25-15 behind a huge 3-pointer by Kyra Peterson. WNCC went on to lead 33-22 at halftime.
                The Cougars’ defense picked up greatly in the second half. After the Lancers sliced the lead to seven points, 34-27 on a Pittman trey, the Cougars went on a 12-2 run, capped by Campbell sticking the ball back in the hoop after following her missed shot to lead 48-29.
                The big difference in the contest was shooting. The Cougars shot 49 percent from the field, including 57 percent in the first half. EWC was just 33 percent from the field. The majority of the Lancers’ points came from behind the arc. EWC canned nine treys, five in the second half.
                WNCC will take its unbeaten mark on the road as they travel to Lamar Community College and Otero Junior College on Friday and Saturday. The Lancers return home for Wyoming Conference action against Northwest Wyoming and Sheridan this weekend.
                Campbell said they are going into this weekend’s contest with caution.
                “We are not looking past them, that is for sure,” she said. “All teams are teams to reckon with. We just have to go down there with the same mentality and confidence.”

EWC (6-9)                            22 28 – 50
WNCC (15-0)                      33 37 – 70
EWC
Krystal Pittman 16, Jayda Schelling 8, Shauri Lyon 4, Jubilee Sutherland 6, Sarah Smith 10, Jessica Santistevan 2, Shickerra Marsh 4.
WNCC
Samantha Sanders 5, Shelby Campbell 12, Tiffany Moorer 4, Lisa Durden 6, Kyra Peterson 5, ChaCha Ofoegbu 8, Leona Garrett 7, Thais Pinto 10, Carolina Alves 11, Shelby Jones 2.

WNCC men and women set to entertain EWC on Tuesday, Jan. 11

                The Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s basketball teams will open the second semester in the Highway 26 Border War against Eastern Wyoming College Tuesday, Jan. 11, at Cougar Palace.

                Both Cougars teams enter with contrasting records. The Cougar women enter the 2011 opener riding a sterling 14-0 record and a No. 19 ranking in the nation. The Cougar women will face an Eastern Wyoming College squad that has lost four straight contests. The women’s contest tips off at 5:30 p.m. followed by the men’s contest.

                The men’s contest will be an interesting contest as records mean very little. The Cougar men, who have been off since Dec. 4, enter with an 8-6 mark after dropping their last five contests. The Lancers record is also deceiving. EWC enters with a 2-11 mark, but they easily could be 11-2.

Beck said EWC is one of the hardest-playing teams another team can face.

                “We got to watch them play a little bit and watched some film on them and to be honest with you, they are probably the hardest playing team in our region,” he said. “They play with great effort and intensity. They do the little things. They get on the floor for loose balls. They share the ball. They are really crafty. They are going to come with a whole lot of energy. If we are going to take care of business, we have to match their energy.”

                Beck said it is not so much of what EWC does, it is more important for his team to play well. Beck has seen progress from the team in the five days of practice since the team returned from the holiday break.

                “We have been retooling some things offensively, trying to build a little better chemistry with our squad,” he said. “I think we are one of the more talented teams within our region, but we need to play a little bit more constant in terms of our effort and our intensity. I think we have learned a lot about our team from the first semester in playing a very tough schedule. I am excited about the second semester and the prospects of where we can take this too.”

                The Cougar men have been practicing for the last five days to shake off that holiday rust. Beck said that he likes the energy that the players have right now, heading into the important slate of games.

                “The best practices we have had all year have all occurred in the last couple of days,” Beck said. “That excites me with our energy. The boys are refocused. They weren’t pleased with all the results from the first semester. They are hungry and I can see some chemistry starting to gel.”

                Both Lancer teams have already played in the new year, both suffering losses this past weekend at home. The Lancer men fell to Casper College 65-54 and Gillette College 84-74, while the EWC women lost to Casper 78-53 and Gillette 103-72.

                Beck said that really doesn’t matter.

                “Any adjustments that we made over the break are not evident to anyone yet until we play, so that is a little advantage to us,” he said. “The advantage to them is that they had a chance to knock off that holiday rust when they played Casper and Gillette. I think it goes either way, but all that is out of the window when the ball goes up.”

                After Tuesday’s contest, the Cougar men and women will face Lamar Community College and Otero Junior College on the road on Friday and Saturday.

NOTES

The Cougar softball team will also be holding a chili supper during the evening from 5-7 p.m. The chili supper will be held in the Cougar Den and includes all-you-can-eat chili. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $5.

Tuesday’s promotion is WNCC staff and faculty appreciation. Members of the WNCC family will be recognized at the game. Each will also receive a free bag of popcorn.

There are a couple of roster changes for the second semester for the men’s and women’s basketball team. On the men’s side, the Cougars lost Gering’s Chris Jackson who decided to not play basketball. But, the Cougar men added Alliance graduate TJ Peltz, who will redshirt this season. Peltz is a 6-3 forward/guard. As for the women’s team, only one player didn’t return and that was guard Brittany Macey.

WNCC softball team holding chili supper on Jan. 11

Western Nebraska Community College softball team will hold an all-you-can-eat chili supper during the men’s and women’s basketball games with Eastern Wyoming College on Tuesday, Jan. 11.

The chili supper will run from 5-7 p.m. in the Cougar Den. The cost is $5 and includes chili, dessert and a drink. Tickets can be purchased at the door. There will also be a raffle for different prizes as well. The Cougar women’s basketball game begins at 5:30 p.m. followed by the men’s game.

The chili supper is a fundraiser for the softball program. The team captured the Region IX tournament last season and made their second trip to the national tournament in three years. This year’s softball season will open up Feb. 12 on the road at Garden City Community College.

The first home softball game is slated for March 17 against Black Hills State College.

For more information on the chili supper, contact WNCC softball coach Maria Winn-Ratliff at 308-635-6189 or at winnm@wncc.edu.

WNCC hosting Cougirlz Dance Camp on Jan. 21

Western Nebraska Community College will be sponsoring the 2011 Cougirlz Dance Camp for girls ages preschool to fifth grade.

The camp will be held Friday, Jan. 21 from 4-6 p.m. in Cougar Palace and the participants will perform at halftime of the WNCC and Northeast (Neb.) Community College men’s basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 22. Game time is slated for 3 p.m.

The camp is designed to give campers a competitive opportunity to develop the fundamental skills of dancing and sportsmanship. The camp will teach and focus on basic skill development, a fun dance routine, and a cheer.

Campers will be divided based on age and skill level. The cost of the camp is $25 before Jan. 17, which includes a T-shirt. Registration is $35 after that date or at the door.

For more information or to register, contact Charity Beck at 308-672-1531.

WNCC baseball team holding hitting league beginning Jan. 25

Western Nebraska Community College baseball coach Mike Jones, his staff and players will be hosting a competitive hitting league for five weeks this January and February at their indoor hitting facility at Comm Shop #6, located just south of East Overland on 2nd Avenue in Scottsbluff.

The league is designed for baseball players, ages 10-18, to work on their skills and have some fun competing against their friends. Teams will be comprised of three players each and will play one game per week for five weeks beginning on Tuesday, Jan. 25.

The leagues will be limited to 12 teams or 36 players. if you do not have a team you will be placed on one. The cost per player is $50. Instruction and feedback will be given to help make the players better hitters as well.

For more information or to register for the league you may contract Jones at 308-635-6198 or by email at jonesm@wncc.edu. Registration forms can also be downloaded from the Cougar athletic website at sports.wncc.edu.

WNCC softball team holding pitching clinic on Jan. 23

                The Western Nebraska Community College softball team will be holding a pitching clinic for are youth on Sunday, Jan. 23 at Cougar Palace.

                The pitching clinic is open to girls ages 5 to 18. The camp runs from 2-5 p.m. The cost of the one-day camp is $25.

                Camp flyers can be obtained in the athletic office at the college or downloaded off the Cougar athletic website at sports.wncc.edu.

                For more information on the camp, contact softball coach Maria Winn-Ratliff at winnm@wncc.edu or at 308-635-6189.

WNCC volleyball team will hold open tryouts Jan. 15

Western Nebraska Community College volleyball coach Giovana Melo has announced that there will be an open tryout for any volleyball players that would like to play for the 2010 NJCAA national champion Cougars.

                The try out will be held Saturday, Jan. 15, 2011, from 3-5 p.m. in Cougar Palace. Melo said the tryout is open to any high school graduating senior.

                Melo said that during the season, she doesn’t get a chance to see a lot of high school volleyball matches because of the Cougars’ schedule. So, this is a way to see all the talent out there.

                “I just want to give the local players an opportunity to get seen,” she said. “I know during season we are playing and many of them do not play club so we don’t get much time to watch them play and I think we have a lot of local talent. I just want to give them a chance to show their talent.”

                The WNCC women finished last season with a 43-4 record and captured their second national title in four years. Melo, in her three seasons as head coach of the Cougars, has guided the Cougars to three straight Final Four appearances. Melo, who played for WNCC in 2001 and 2002, has a career coaching record of 144-12.

                Melo’s players have gone on to play at four-year schools around the United States, including Fatima Balza at Penn State, Nayka Benitez at Creighton, Brooke Blomenkamp at Grand Canyon College, Whitney Roth at Texas A&M-Kingsville, Cami Weimer at Oklahoma Baptist, Paulina Piegza at St. Johns, and Kalei Kabalis at Washington State.

                For more information on the tryout, contact Melo at melog@wncc.net.

WNCC women go to 14-0 with win over Trinidad State

                 The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team started slow, but cranked the offense up late in the first half and cruised to an 88-39 win over Trinidad State Junior College in the second day of the Lady Cougar Holiday Classic.

                The win lifted the No. 17 Cougars to 14-0 on the season as they enter the holiday break. The tournament will conclude tomorrow at 1 p.m. as Colby Community College will battle Trinidad State. Colby was a 92-36 winner over Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture.

                WNCC coach Dave Harnish said it is nice to be 14-0 at break.

                “The kids are excited about being 14-0, but I think with this group, you look beyond the record,” he said. “I told them tonight I think they worked hard this semester. They worked hard in the weight room and worked hard in practice. We certainly can do things better, but I think the effort has been there and that is all you can ask. So, it is nice to be 14-0. But, I think it was their effort and dedication  and putting the time in that has got them to where they are at. I hope they remember that next semester.”

                Friday’s game wasn’t close at the start. Harnish said the switch in defense finally got that separation from a hustling Trinidad State squad.

                “We started the game with a man-to-man defense and they hit some threes. We weren’t getting out on people and I thought Trinidad did a good job the first 10 minutes of the game, where we only had a two or four point lead,” he said. “We had to switch to a trapping zone to try to get us going a little bit more defensively. Switching the defenses opened the door, got us some turnovers and got our tempo up. I thought the second half we did a better job in that man-to-man. Defense.”

                Trinidad State held a 6-2 lead n the Cougars on a Ciera Jones bucket. But, the Cougars changed the tide, going on a 10-0 run behind six points by ChaCha Ofoegbu and four points from Carolina Alves for a 12-6 lead.

                Trinidad wouldn’t go away, staying pace with the No. 17 team in the nation. The Trojans sliced the lead to three points, 18-15, on a Kristen DiPaola 3-pointer, and trailed 22-18 with eight minutes left in the opening half.

                That was when the Cougars put the offense and defense into a different gear, outscoring Trinidad 20-4 the final eight minutes. Thais Pinto had eight of those points, while Shelby Campbell and Samantha Sanders each contributed four points for a 42-22 halftime lead.

                WNCC put the game away in the second half, scoring the first 19 points of the half for a 61-22 lead. Trinidad’s first bucket didn’t come until five minutes into the half on a Carolyn Lampkin bucket. WNCC cruised after that to its 14^th win of the season.

                “Switching the defense helped tonight and I also thought we made some shots tonight,” Harnish said. “That was the big difference between last night [Thursday] because we made some outside shots better tonight, whether from the three or just hitting some 15 footers. “

                WNCC shot 63 percent from the field while Trinidad was just 31 percent. The Cougars also out-rebounded the Trojans 47-21. Pinto had six boards to pace the team.

                WNCC had just two players in double figures. Pinto finished with 17 points on 8 of 10 shooting, while Ofoegbu had 11 points. Trinidad State was led by Lambkin with nine points.

                Harnish said he hopes the players come back ready with the same type of work ethic next semester. WNCC resumes action on Jan. 11 as they host Eastern Wyoming College in a men’s and women’s doubleheader. There will also be a softball team all-you-can-eat chili supper that night as well with tickets just $5 and available from any softball player.

                “The break is a little scary. Last year we were 13-2 and I thought we were playing well and we didn’t play well second semester,” he said. “I learned something of what we did last year and hopefully the sophomores understand that and come back better prepared and make a good second semester and make a good run at the regional tournament.”

NCTA                     14 22 – 36

Colby                    56 36 – 92

NCTA

Jenny Archer 6, Abby Sybrandt 2, Maddie Thurston 11, Nichole Hornyak 10, Jordyn Van Ryswyk 7.

COLBY

Elina Gutmane 16, Kelli Crittenden 9, Brooke Bursiek 12, Morgan Rickwartz 14, Hannah Thornton 16, Liga Vente 2, Crystal Kinderknecht 10, Christina Anderson 5, Tayler Puttergill 8.

TRINIDAD STATE

Shelby Louder 1, Tameka Manning 6, Kiley Dixon 2, Ciera Jones 4, Kristen DiPaola 8, Jasmine Michael 7, Sandra Morales 2, Carolyn Lampkin 9.

WNCC

Samantha Sanders 6, Ashley Soucie 4, Shelby Campbell 6, DaNae Quijas 3, Tiffany Moorer 8, Kyra Peterson 6, ChaCha Ofoegbu 11, Jasmine Shaffer 6, Darachia Johnson 6, Leona Garrett 8, Thais Pinto 17, Carolina Alves 4, Shelby Jones 3.

WNCC women register 13th win of the season in Lady Cougar Holiday Classic

                 The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team put three players in double figures in rolling to their 13^th win of the season in topping Colby Community College 74-55 in the first day of the Lady Cougar Holiday Classic Thursday at Cougar Palace.

                Thais Pinto came off the bench to score 13 points on 6 of 10 shooting in the win. Also finishing with double digits for the No. 17 Lady Cougars were Samantha Sanders and Kyra Peterson with 11 points each.

                The Cougars will try to finish the first semester on Friday in the second day of the Holiday Classic as they will face Trinidad State Junior College at 7 p.m. Colby will take on Nebraska School of Technical Agriculture-Curtis at 5 p.m.

                WNCC coach Dave Harnish said his team played average.

                “We played decent and we weren’t very patient all night long,” he said. “We didn’t have patience offensively and make good decisions. We played in spurts again. We got up pretty good in the first half and had a good halftime lead. I thought we did a better job jumping up to a big lead early in the second half and then we let them cut the lead to 12 points. We didn’t play 40 minutes tonight.”

                What the Cougars did, however, flashed their depth all night. The Cougars out-scored the Trojans off the bench 34-24. Pinto and Peterson were the big guns for the Cougars coming off the bench. Peterson led the team with three 3-pointers on 4-of-6 shooting from the field.

                “We played a lot of kids tonight, which was nice. That shows that we have good balance,” Harnish said. “It was nice to see Kyra hit some shots because she has been struggling a little bit from the field. It was nice to see her hit some threes. Our defense was wasn’t great. Our offense was great. It was a tough week with finals, but we got through it and.”
                WNCC and Colby traded buckets early in the game until WNCC went on a 10-0 run to open up a 11-8 lead to 21-8 on a Leona Garrett bucket. The Cougars led 40-23 at halftime after Peterson hit a shot at the buzzer after getting an offensive rebound.

                WNCC kept excelling early in the second half, jumping out to a 46-28 lead on two Samantha Sanders free throws. Colby fought back, cutting the lead to 13 at 46-33 on a Christina Anderson 3-pointer and a bucket by Kelli Critterden.

                The Cougars quickly silenced the mini Trojan run as they ripped off nine straight points behind two buckets by Pinto, a bucket by Shelby Campbell and a trey by Peterson for a 55-33 lead. Peterson added two more threes in the last eight minutes to help the Cougars to their 13^th win of the season.

                WNCC out-shot Colby 52 percent to 41 percent. Colby and the Cougars each had 33 rebounds, as Pinto finished with five to lead WNCC.

                Colby had two players in double figures, led by Brooke Bursiek with 11 points and Mullen High graduate Tayler Puttergill with 10 points.

                Harnish said they need to play better tomorrow against Trinidad to finish the first semester on a strong note.

                “We have to play better tomorrow night because teams will always play hard against us,” he said. “We have to learn to be a little bit more disciplined. I thought Colby worked a little harder than us tonight.  I was a little disappointed in that aspect because we could have played better.”

Colby                    23 32 – 55

WNCC (13-0)      40 34 – 74

COLBY

Elina Gutmane 6, Kelli Crittenden 8, Brooke Bursiek 11, Morgan Rickwartz 3, Hannah Thornton 6, Brittany Schamberger 7, Crystal Kinderknecht 3, Christine Anderson 3, Tayler Puttergill 10.

WNCC

Samantha Sanders 11, Shelby Campbell 6, Tiffany Moorer 6, Kyra Peterson 11, ChaCha Ofoegbu 9, Leona Garrett 6, Thais Pinto 13, Carolina Alves 8, Shelby Jones 2.

Voice of the Cougars' shaves head to live up to promise to the volleyball team for winning nationals

 

                 Hometown Family Radio’s Matt Williams lived up to his promise Monday to the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball when the Voice of the Cougars shaved his head.

                Williams said it takes some getting used to having a bald head.

                “It was a lot of fun to have the team shave my head,” he said. “I told them when we were in Missouri that if they won the national title that they could shave my head when we get home. It was something fun for them to do as a team activity. So I kept my promise. Special thanks to Becky Zwickl at Aulicks TLC for having us and using the clippers.”

            Sophomore Kathryn Stock said it was an epic event to shave his head for the promise he made to the team for winning nationals.

            “It was great to remember once again that we had won nationals and that Radio had promised to shave his head if we won it all,” she said. “I was proud of us again and realized how great the support we have is. It was also fun to make little designs in his hair, too.”

            The one that worried Williams was that the girls would pull his hair with the clippers or miss and put a gash in his head. But, they didn’t.

            “There wasn't much of a pull on my hair,” he said. “That was my worry that it would tug on my hair but it didn't and was fine and the girls buzzed it all off.”

            Tania Torres, a sophomore middle hitter, didn’t think he would go through with it. But, when he did, she wasn’t hesitant to take hair off of Williams’ head.

            “It was so much fun,” she said. “I did not think he was actually going to do it, but he did and it showed us how important our accomplishment of a national championship was not only for us, but also for our fans and many followers.”

            With a chair set up in the Spa by TLC, the players, the Spa employees and some customers witnessed the head shaving. Scottsbluff graduate Mackenzie Westphal got the first whack at cutting off his hair with some clippers and wasn’t afraid one bit.

            “It was a fun way to all to be together again with the team and our supporters (Radio, Becky and the other girls at the Spa),” Westphal said. “It was a fun reminder that we won. Radio now looks really pretty. But really who knew he had such a great head under all that hair.”

            Gering graduate Sierra Schmidt was hesitant at first to do any clipping, but after working up some nerve, she shaved off a little bit of his curly hair. Sara Hirschfeld said it was fun to watch her teammates make designs on his head while doing the shaving.

            “It was fun,” she said. “It was funny to look at his hair after a few people had gone because his hair was spotty.”

            Emily Hoehn, a sophomore from Kearney, even thinks he should switch media to become a television announcer so everyone can see his “new look.”

            “I never shaved a head before and now I think I should go pro,” she said. “Radio looks so good that I think I he should switch to the television.”

            After the players got the hair off, then one of the Spa’s professionals finished it off with the fine tuning. The players said he looks different.

            “I think he looks even better than before,” Stock said. It’s a good think he works with radio or his girlfriend would probably have to deal with a lot more competition now.”

            Schmidt said that Radio and WNCC athletic trainer Doug Jones, who is also bald, can take pride in both having their heads shaven.

            “One word about his new look, awesome,” Schmidt said. “He can rock the bald guy look, just like Doug.”

            Williams said he is starting to like the look, even though his radio headset feels different on top of his head.

            “It’s a different look, but now, for sure, I need a little tan on the top of my head,” he said. “I might keep it like this for the future. Depending what mom thinks at Christmas.”

WNCC women take 12-0 record into this weekend's Lady Cougar Holiday Classic

                The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team hasn’t enjoyed this type of early success in the past couple years by having an unblemished mark in December.

The Cougar women, who boast an eye-popping 12-0 mark, will look to finish the first semester unbeaten when they host the Lady Cougar Holiday Classic this weekend. WNCC will face Colby Community College on Thursday and then Trinidad State Junior College on Friday. The tournament runs through Saturday.

The big reason this team is sitting on top of the Region IX standings with that lofty record is because of their defense. The Cougars are the top defensive team in the region so far, giving up just 47.8 points a game. Otero is second allowing 48.6 points followed by Northeastern Junior College at 53.1 and Lamar Community College at 54.5.

“This team, for some reason, enjoys playing defense,” WNCC coach Dave Harnish said. “They enjoy that and they work together in helping each other out on defense. We actually control the game very well on the defensive end and we also rebound very well. There are a couple nights we haven’t, but we have always been steady defensively. That saved us in two or three games that we would have lost if we didn’t defend well.”
                The last time the Cougars were unbeaten after one semester was just a few years ago, in 2006-07 when they ran to an 18-0 start. The Cougars also had a huge winning streak in 2004-05 when the squad ran off 25 straight wins, resulting in the squad being ranked No. 1 during the regular season in February.

The Cougar women also went undefeated back in 1994-95 when they started the season 14-0. Another strong start to the season was in the 2005-06 season when the team ran off to a 13-0 start before being upended by Colby Community College 71-70 in this same Holiday Classic that they will host this year.

That is why Harnish is approaching this weekend’s games with caution, especially when the players have vision of finals and going home for Christmas in their heads.

“We can’t overlook anybody. These are two teams that we have beaten but with finals week and everything else going on, we just can’t overlook anyone,” he said. “I think this is always a tough week for us because it is Finals Week starting on Thursday and the kids know it is their last two games before they have three weeks off and they are looking to go back home.”

“It is trying to keep them focused and keep them in the mindset of where they need to be. This weekend is important to play well and keep on riding and doing the things that we have done to be successful to win games. As long as we do that, we will be fine this week playing at home. But, if we lose that edge, I think anybody can beat you.”

Harnish, however, said that he would have been more disappointed if this team wasn’t unbeaten at this stretch of the season since they really haven’t played a top 20 team.

“I thought last year we were challenged a little better early on by playing Seward and Midland. We lost those games, but played very good teams,” he said. “This year we haven’t played a top 20 team, but we have won the games that we were supposed to win.

Harnish said during this 12-game winning streak, they had some close games, some blow outs, but each win brought out character for his squad.

“We have had to learn to play in tight games this year. We have won a game by one point, we have won a game by four points, and we won this weekend by seven. So, we have been challenged and somehow we have fought through. We have been able to make the right shots and do the right things in the close games. From that standpoint we have gotten better and tougher. I think in those games we had good leads. We had 10 to 14 points leads and let them slip away, and then we found a way to win at the end. Somehow we found a way to be 12-0 and we are certainly excited about it. In a sense, if you look at the schedule, I would be disappointed if we weren’t 12-0. Is it where I expected us to be? Yes, I was hoping we could be 12 or 14-0 and be undefeated. I thought we could do it and it is nice that we are.”

Both Cougar games will start at 7 p.m. After this weekend’s series of games, the Cougars will be off until Jan. 11, 2011, when they host Eastern Wyoming College in a men’s, women’s doubleheader.

NOTES: Friday night’s contest will be Kids Club Pizza Night. All registered Kid’s Club members can show their Kid’s Club Pass for a free slice of pizza in the concession stand. Also, Santa Cougar, the twin of Cougar mascot Buddy the Cougar, will make a special trip to Scottsbluff so the kids can have their picture taken with Santa Cougar before and during halftime of the women’s game.

Women’s Region IX Standings

WNCC                                   12-0

NE Colorado                       8-0

Western Wyoming          10-2

Gillette College                9-2

Miles C.C.                            8-2

Otero J.C.                            8-2

Central Wyoming            7-2

McCook C.C.                       9-4

Northeast Nebraska       9-4

Eastern Wyoming            6-4

Sheridan                              7-5

Casper                                  5-4

Southeast Nebraska       7-6

North Platte                       4-4

Lamar C.C.                           5-6

Little Big Horn                   4-6

Northwest Wyoming     3-7

Dawson C.C.                       3-6

Trinidad State                   3-8

For updated standings, schedules, results and stats, visit the Region IX webpage at regionixathletics.com

WNCC men fall to Central Wyoming

               RIVERTON, Wyo. -- The Western Nebraska Community College men's basketball team received a 27-point, 10-rebound performance from Justin Omogun, but it wasn't enough as the Cougars fell to Central Wyoming College 76-67 Saturday at Riverton, Wyo.

               The loss was the Cougars fifth straight and it was also the last game of the semester for the Cougar men.

               The Cougars had trouble scoring in the first half, trailing the Rustlers 34-24 at intermission despite shooting 48 percent from the field. In the second half, the Cougar men hit on 44 percent of their shots, but it was free throw shooting that was the difference in the game. WNCC was 15 of 28 from the charity stripe, while the Rustlers were a tad better at 23 of 33.

               The Cougars had three players finish in double figures, led by Omogun with his 27 points. Omogun led all scorers in the contest as the post player made 12 of 15 from the field. Also notching double figure scoring for the Cougars was Justin Standley with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Aamir Kalliehan had 11 points.

               Central Wyoming pas paced by Everett Robinson with 24 points followed by Bojan Mihajlovic with 20 points.

               WNCC, 8-6, will return to action on Jan. 11 when they host Eastern Wyoming College. That night, the Cougar softball team will also hold an all-you-can-eat chili feed in the Cougar Den. Tickets for the chili feed are $5 and can be purchased from any Cougar softball player.

WNCC (8-6)                        24 43 -- 67

Central Wyo. (7-2)            34 42 -- 76

WESTERN NEBRASKA

Preston Eaton 2, Hauns Brereton 6, Aaron Turner 2, Justin Standley 13, Stephen Shephard 4, Aamir Kellieehan 11, Marko Kovacevic 2, Justin Omogun 27.

CENTRAL WYOMING

Jonathan Mesghna 6, Everett Robinson 24, Lionel Loris 6, Cameron Cusworth 8, Bojan Mihajlovic 20, Cody Emrick 6, Malcolm Colbert 3, Holden Jasper 3.

WNCC women remain unbeaten at 12-0 with win against Central Wyoming

               RIVERTON, Wyo. -- The Western Nebraska Community College had one of their best games of the year both offensively and defensively in stopping Central Wyoming College 73-51 Saturday at Riverton, Wyo.

               The win was the Cougars'  12th straight win and it was a 10-0 run to end the first half that sparked the Cougars to remain unbeaten on the season.

               "We got down early and the score was tied with about five minutes left in the first half, and then we went on a 10-0 run to finish the half," WNCC coach Dave Harnish said. "Going up 10 at halftime and playing on their home court was key for us. We then came out the first five minutes of the second half and got up by 16 or 18 points, which I thought was important. We then kept that 20 point lead the rest of the second half. This was a good win on their home court. They are a good team."

               What really impressed Harnish the most is how the team came back from a horrible shooting night on Friday in a win against Colorado Northwestern Community College when they shot around 33 percent and made just one shot outside the paint area.

               Against Central Wyoming, the team shot 50 percent from the field and had one 3-pointer.

               The other thing that impressed Harnish was his team's defensive mentality, where they built a double digit lead at halftime and kept the lead in double digits through the final 20 minutes.

               "We play great defense, but we have to get better offensively and shoot the ball better," he said. "Tonight, we did that tonight. There is no question we are excited to be 12-0 and we have two games at home to finish the semester and try to be 14-0. We certainly have to be pretty excited about that. We want to go back home and finish out the year undefeated."

               WNCC ran out to a 30-20 lead at intermission and kept excelling offensively and defensively by out-scoring a good Central Wyoming Rustlers team 43-31 in the second half.

               The Cougars had three players finish in double figures, led by Carolina Alves with 17 points. Samantha Sanders also popped in 15 points, while Thais Pinto finished with 10 points.

               The Cougars also out-rebounded the Rustlers 45-33. ChaCha Ofoegbu led the team with seven boards.

               Harnish said the players are excited to be 12-0 on the season.

               "It is encouraging and it was a good win," he said. "The kids are excited about it. it was a good win on somebody's home court. we played we."

               WNCC, 12-0, will be back in action this weekend when they host the Lady Cougar Holiday Classic Thursday through Saturday. WNCC will face Colby Community College on Thursday and then take on Trinidad State Junior College on Friday. Saturday's single game will have Trinidad facing Colby.

WNCC (12-0)                     30 43 -- 73

Central Wyo.                     20 31 -- 51

WESTERN NEBRASKA

Samantha Sanders 15, Shelby Campbell 8, Tiffany Moorer 4, ChaCha Ofoegbu 7, Carolina Alves 17, Brittany Macey 2, Darachia Johnson 3, Leona Garrett 7, Thais Pinto 10.