The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team’s bid for a Region IX title came to an end Friday night, but it wasn’t without one of the gutsiest comebacks of any Cougar team as they fell one-point short to Western Wyoming Community College 66-65.
                Western Wyoming will play for the Region IX championship against Casper College. Casper defeated Gillette College 58-46. And a little history about that match-up, Casper and Western Wyoming played for the championship in 2023 at Cougar Palace with Casper winning. Championship game is slated for 5 p.m. at Cougar Palace.
                But Casper’s opponent wasn’t decided until the final seconds and it was one where Western Wyoming was in firm control and the feisty Cougars battled back, outscoring Western Wyoming 36-22 in the second half.
                It was a game where WNCC first-year coach Ryan Davis said he couldn’t be more proud of this team in how hard they played after losing a starter to an injury early in the game.
                “I was super, super proud of how they fought,” Davis said. “That was one of the gutsiest performance I have ever seen. We did everything we could. Nataly did a great job in the second half just playing and being aggressive. We made adjustments but we just got in too big of a hole.”
                It was a game where both teams shot about the same. It was a contest where Western Wyoming buried 11 3-pointers, six from Sierra Eddie, who leads Region IX in career 3-pointers made with over 200. WNCC made just six triples.
                Then there was free throw shooting where the Cougars made 17-of-28 while the Mustangs made just 9-of-24.
                The other big statistic in favor of the Cougars was rebounding where WNCC won 57-41 with Nataly Dunka and Zozefine Sipolina each getting eight and Laura Montiel collected seven.
                It was a game where WNCC trailed by a lot and they easily could have given up, but there is no giving up in the Lady Cougars dictionary. It is always giving 100 percent and they have found ways to win in a number of games. Friday night, it was just one point short.
                The Cougars fall to 25-6 on the season, but they have a chance to get an at large bid to the national tournament being the 19th-ranked team in the nation. Davis said they will have to wait and see if they get in.
                “I think there is a chance. I think if we would have given up and got blown out by 25, that chance would be over,” he said. “Obviously, if you lose by one, and I am doing the calculations multiple times this week just to get a feel if these teams lose and this is what needs to happen. I still think if we have the right teams win and lose in the other regions, we have a chance. I still think there is a chance and I really do.”
                The Cougars started the game leading 6-0. Western Wyoming then went on a12-2 run to lead 12-8 and led 21-17 after one quarter.
                The second quarter saw both teams trade buckets only to watch the Mustangs lead 31-22. That was when the Cougars went on a 7-0 run to slice the deficit to 31-29 behind seven points from Laura Montiel with 4:53 to play. Here was the difference after that. Western Wyoming closed out the second quarter on a 13-0 run, holding WNCC without a bucket to lead 44-29 at halftime.
                The third quarter was one where Western Wyoming had a 17-point lead with just over two minutes to play in the quarter. WNCC went on a 7-0 run  to close to within 54-44 with a minute to play. Neither team scored in the final minute of that quarter.
                The fourth quarter saw the Cougars get it to single digits as Zozefine Sipolina hit the opening bucket, but the Mustangs went backup by 16 at 62-46. That was when WNCC stepped up the defense and stepped up their offensive game, cutting the Mustang lead to single digits, 62-53 with 2:56 to play on a Montiel bucket. WNCC made it a 5-point game with two minutes to play as Sipolina drove the lane twice and had old-fashioned 3-point plays. Nataly Dunka than hit a field goal with a little over a minute to play to make it 63-60.
                Western Wyoming nailed one of two free throw to go up 64-60. Dunka made a shot to make it 64-62 with 31.5 seconds left. The Mustangs hit two free throws with 10 seconds to play. Sipolina made it a 1-point game as she buried a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left, but that was as close as they could get.
                Dunka led the way with 22 points followed by Sipolina with 20. Montiel had 14 while Kuck had nine.
                The first semi-final was one where Gillette only led twice, at 9-8 in the first quarter and than early in the second quarter at 17-16. After that lead, Casper went on a 9-0 run to lead 25-17 before Gillette buried a 3-pointer. The halftime score was 25-20.
                The third quarter saw Casper outscore Gillette 15-12 and held a 40-32 lead. The fourth quarter saw Gillette gut the deficit to six points at 47-41, but the T-Birds went on a 11-5 run to get the win.
                Casper had two in double digits led by Andi Schissler, who was celebrating her birthday on Friday, with 17 points followed by Adama Badjie Coly with 14.
                Gillette was led by Marija Marinkovic with 12 points.
               
Game 1
Casper 58, Gillette 46
Gillette -- 11 9 12 14 -- 46
Casper -- 16 9 15 18 -- 58
GILLETTE
Marija Marinkovic 12, Jada Johnson 3, Arna Bright 9, Rochelle Afo-Manuma 6, Danae Asiata 8, Abbie Nickell 3, Dasani Nesbit 4, Andrea Martin 1.
CASPER
Andi Schissler 17, Saioa San Francisco 4, Hassana Arnadu 4, Arantxa Concepcion 6,  Adama Badjie Coly 14, Luna Ueda 6, Csenge Szomszed 7.
 
Game 2
Western Wyoming 66, WNCC 65
WWCC -- 21 23 10 12 -- 66
WNCC -- 17 12 15 21 -- 65
WESTERN WYOMING
Ana-Isabel Anderson 11, Kaylee Hess 10, Aliyah Bantolina 2, Sierra Eddie 25, Kayla Thornton 3, Austyn Feller 12, Zipaya Somsen 3
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Helena Kuck 9, Laura Montiel 14, Zozefine Sipolina 20, Nataly Dunka 22.
 
WNCC men fall to Gillette in semifinals
 
                GILLETTE, Wyo. – The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team battled Gillette College in the semifinals of the Region IX tournament on Friday, but ended up on the short end, falling 87-71.
                The loss ends the Cougars season at 14-17 where the team ended up as one of the highest-scoring teams in Cougar history.
                Gillette advances to the championship game Saturday at 3 p.m. when they face Trinidad State College. The Trojans topped Casper in a similar score, beating the T-Birds 86-77.
                Friday’s showdown was one where shooting was the difference. WNCC shot just 38 percent from the field compared to 53 percent for the Pronghorns. WNCC won the battle from behind the arc, nailing nine triples compared to seven for Gillette.
                The disparity came at the free throw line. WNCC was whistled for 20 fouls while Gillette had 13. That meant that the Cougars only made 4-of-6 from the charity stripe for 67 percent. Gillette was 20-of-27 from the stripe at 74 percent.
                The first half was the difference as the Cougars couldn’t buy a bucket as they trailed at intermission 38-26. The second half was a different story as the two teams were neck-in-neck in scoring. Gillette won the battle 49-45.
                WNCC had three players finish with double digits, led by sophomore Elijah Hollins with 20 followed by sophomore Elijah Burney with 18. Kellon Harris chipped in 10.
                Hollins had four 3-pointers while Burney and Toms Linis each had two. The other triple came from freshman Isaiah St. Preux.
                Gillette won the rebound battle 48-31. Linis led the Cougars with six boards while Mathiang Maker had five rebounds.
                WNCC loses just three sophomores next year in Hollins, Burney, and Maker as they hope to make a title run under this year’s first-year head coach Roybell Baez.
 
WNCC                26 45 – 71
Gillette                38 49 – 71
WNCC
Kellon Harris 10, Elijah Hollins 20, Mathiang Maker 6, Elijah Burney 18, Toms Linis 6, Isaiah St. Preux 7, Dorin Nguema 4.
GILLETTE
Dane Christensen 24, Andrew Fuquay 21, Caleb Hollenbeck 14, Jefferson Neary 9, Dorell Thomas 6, Sayed Sayed 4, Malique Moss 5, Javonne Nesbit 4.