WNCC men, women capture wins in basketball games

The No. 15-ranked Cougars put four players in double figures, including a 22-point effort from freshman Yuki Morimoto. Also collecting double figure scoring were 6-foot-7 Thais Pinto with 16 points, Bayard's Amber Kistler with 16 and Scottsbluff's Madison Keller with 10.

The Cougars shot 49 percent from the field, including blistering the net from beyond the 3-point arc for 46 percent. Kistler, Morimoto and Hemingford's Shelby Campbell all had two 3-pointers, while Keller netted a trey.WNCC assistant coach Jennifer Pedersen said that although it was nice to pick up the win, the Cougars need to focus on playing tougher defense.

"The one thing we learned tonight was we need to do a better job defensively and on the boards. We out-rebounded them tonight, but our rebounding effort wasn't very strong. I think we gave up 70 points tonight when we really shouldn't have given up that many points,'' Pedersen said.

She added, ``But for the first game of the year, we came out and executed offensively very well throughout the night. We just need to work on defense a little bit more this week."

WNCC started slowly, leading 16-13 just seven minutes into the game before pushing it to 26-17 at the 9:16 mark. The offense continued opening up as the Cougars led 46-34 at halftime. WNCC led by as much as 22 points in the second half.

Pedersen said the reason the Cougars played well offensively was their height advantage.

"They zoned us all night so we were able to run a high-low offense because we were a lot taller than them," she said.

WNCC will be back in action next week when it travels to Air Force Prep Thursday. The Cougars' first contest will be against Northwest (Wyo.) College.

"We need to get a lot better defensively and a lot better on the boards," said Pedersen.

WNCC (1-0) 46 40 86

Colby C.C. 34 34 68

WNCC

Shelby Campbell 6, Yuki Morimoto 22, Khayla Gladney 2, Amber Kistler 13, Kelli Culver 6, Thais Pinto 16, Madison Keller 10, Tayler Puttergill 3, Michelle Glaze 2, Carolina Alves 6.

PRICE, Utah - The Western Nebraska Community College men's basketball gained some revenge on the College of Eastern Utah on Saturday night.

The Cougars, who lost to CEU on Tuesday 77-61, registered an impressive 86-77 win over the Golden Eagles on Saturday.

Four WNCC players scored in double figures as the team shot 50 percent from the 3-point line (7-of-13).

Francisco Cruz paced the Cougars with 29 points, including nailing two 3-pointers. Scott Bamforth, who was held scoreless on Tuesday, erupted for 18 points with three 3-pointers. Brylle Kamen finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and two 3-pointers, while Geddes Robinson had 16 points and six rebounds.

WNCC coach Russ Beck said this was a good win for his squad, which made some adjustments after Tuesday's loss.

``It was good that the boys were able to come back and get the win. We made some adjustments,'' Beck said. ``We also out-rebounded them 29-23, holding them to eight offensive rebounds. They are a good team, and we are on the right track.''

Beck also lauded his team's 77 percent free-throw shooting.

WNCC, 1-1, will next be in action Thursday through Saturday at the Air Force Prep Tournament in Colorado Springs, Colo.

WNCC (1-1)

43 43 - 86

CEU (1-1)

35 42 - 77