COOLIDGE, Ariz. – Landon Lockwood had a career night in the second game of a doubleheader against Central Arizona College on Tuesday despite the team falling 14-9.
                WNCC dropped the first game of the doubleheader 3-0 in a pitcher’s dual that saw the three CAC pitchers combine on a no-hitter.
                The second game was one where Lockwood finished with six RBIs with two home runs and two runs scored. One home run was a grand slam.
                Vaughn Wilson led the offensive attack with three hits, including a double with two runs scored.
                WNCC started the second game as Wilson double and then two walks later, loaded the bases. With two outs, Lockwood took the first pitch and sent the ball over left field for a grand slam and the 4-0 lead.
                It was short-lived as Central Arizona came back with four in the bottom of the first on a solo home run to tie the game at 4-4.
                Central Arizona continued scoring runs as they added two in the second, three in the third, two in the fourth and one in the fifth to lead 12-4. WNCC came back with two in the sixth as Catcher Gladysh walked and Lockwood blasted his second home run of the game to make it 12-6.
                WNCC added two more in the seventh all with two outs. Vaughn Wilson earned a walk and scored on Cooper Wilson’s single. Cooper Wilson then scored on a Jin Kobayakawa single to make it 12-8.
                Central Arizona added single runs in the seventh and eighth to make it 14-8. WNCC added one in the ninth as Will Harbison scored on a fielding error, but WNCC left two on the bases when the final out was made.
                The second game saw starter Clayden Brandon got five strong innings in scattering five hits and allowing three runs while striking out six.
                Offensively, Central Arizona had their number as the CAC pitchers allowed six base runners, three via a walk and three by hitting a batter, The three pitchers also struck out 11 Cougar batters. WNCC couldn’t take advantage of the right hit to score any of the runs.
                Central Arizona took the lead with two in the first and that was all they really needed. WNCC did get two on board in the top of the first, but left them stranded on base.
                Central Arizona added an insurance run in the fourth.
                WNCC, 8-9, will be back in action Wednesday with one game against Paradise Valley Community College.
 
Game 1
WNCC                000 000 0 – 0 0 2
C. Arizona        200 100 x – 3 5 0
LP – Clayden Brandon.
 
Game 2
WNCC                400 002 201 – 9 7 6
C. Arizona        4 23 210 11x – 14 15 1
LP – Rocco Harmon.
2B – Vaughn Wilson.
HR – Landon Lockwood 2.
 
Women’s Region IX tournament begins Thursday at WNCC;
19th-ranked WNCC faces EWC in a quarter-final match
 
The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team have put together a stellar season as the Cougars, under first-year WNCC head coach Ryan Davis enters this weekend’s Region IX tournament with a 24-5 record and a 19th-ranking in the NJCAA.
                The Cougars won the South Sub-region with an unblemished record of 10-0 which gave them the right to host the Region IX tournament that begins Thursday, March 13 at Cougar Palace. The championship game is slated for Saturday, March 15 at 5 p.m.
                Davis said he couldn’t be prouder of this team in their accomplishments this season and believes they have a good chance to accomplish their goal of winning regionals or making the national tournament.
                “I cannot say enough about this group this year. With only 10 players, I think a lot of people outside our program were looking to next year to see success, but it is a testament to our players’ toughness and perseverance that we are in the position we are in now,” Davis said. “They have not wavered at all in their buy in and I think we have gotten stronger as a unit as the year has gone on. No matter what happens in the tournament, I will remember this team forever, it has been a really special year.”
                The team’s goal is still alive and this team has played tough all year to win 24 games with just five losses. WNCC went 12-2 during the second semester.
                “Making the national tournament is the end goal every year, of course,” he said. “It would mean that all our hard work has paid off. We expect to get into the tournament, but we know we have to earn that this coming week.”
                The road to the national tournament will not be an easy one as the eight teams that are coming to Cougar Palace on March 13 all have the same goal. Four of the teams had to win first-round games to advance while WNCC and the three other teams all received a first-round bye.
                “I think the eight remaining teams bring toughness and talent,” Davis said. Winning games in the post season takes persistence and toughness no matter who you are playing. All the teams left have talented players and all have players that will be on their respective All-Region teams.”
                WNCC opens the tournament against Highway 26 rival Eastern Wyoming College at 7 p.m. on Thursday. EWC earned a trip to the tournament after the Lancers had to defeat Northwest College on the road in a playoff game 63-56 in double overtime.
                The other quarterfinal games will have South 2 seed McCook Community College taking on North 3 Gillette College at 12:30 p.m. followed by North 1 Casper College facing North 5 Northeastern Junior College at 2:30 p.m. The 5 p.m. contest has North 2 Western Wyoming Community College facing South 3 Trinidad State College followed by South 1 WNCC facing North 4 EWC in Thursday’s nightcap.
                The four winners on Thursday will face each other in the semifinals on March 14 at 5 and 7 p.m. with the Region IX title game taking place on Saturday at 5 p.m.
                Four teams had to advance with playoff games the week before. While EWC defeated Northwest in double overtime, Trinidad State needed double overtime to down Otero in an offensive shootout 130-122.
                The other two first-round games saw NJC top Lamar 71-55 and then Gillette defeated Laramie County 64-49.
                Davis said to win the regional tournament, it will take defense, and that is something that the Cougars have done all season in playing tough D.
                “Two things come to mind in order to win the tournament,” he said. “The first is we have to defend. Great teams don’t just show up and try to outscore whoever they are playing. The second thing is rebound at a high level. I think if we come into Thursday with a focus on those two areas as will be in a good place.”
                WNCC faces a familiar foe in EWC. The two teams faced each other twice this season, both games in November. WNCC defeated EWC 76-62 back on November 12 at Torrington and then topped the Lancers 86-60 at Cougar Palace on November 16.
                That was three months ago. Davis knows that both teams are totally different entering the regional tournament.
                “We should know a lot about Eastern Wyoming. We played them two times during the regular season, once in Torrington and once at home,” he said. “I am sure they have changed since then as we have, but it is good going up against a team we have some familiarity with.”
                WNCC finished the season with six players averaging in double figures, led by freshman Zozefine Sipolina at 15.1 points a contest followed by Adelina Urtane at 13.2 points. Nataly Dunka is averaging 11.7 while Helena Kuck is at 10.6 points. Lidia Hernandez and Laura Montiel are averaging 10 points a game.
                WNCC has a varied offense where they can go inside, but they also can shoot the 3-pointer. WNCC has buried 264 triples on the year while holding their opponents to just 132 3-pointers. Sipolina has buried 88 3-pointers this season followed by 79 from Kuck, 28 from Urtane, 19 from 6-foot-2 post player Dunka, and 18 from Montiel.
                The Cougars come into the contest averaging 74 points a game while allowing 56.6 points by their opponents. WNCC has allowed 11 straight games of holding their opponents to under 70 points and have held their opponents to under 60 points in the last four games.
                The Lancers can also play defense as they are averaging 72.7 points a game while giving up 67.6 points. EWC is 15-16 entering Thursday’s game.
                The Lancers have four players that are averaging double digits, led by Yaiza Paredes at 12.4 points a game followed by Nikolina Vukcevic at 12.1. Aliya Tripp is next at 11.6 points and Luna Moreno is averaging 10 points.
                The Lancers are the same type of team as the Cougars as they have made 234 3-pointers on the season, led by six players that have made 30-40 triples this season. EWC has given up 204 3-pointers this season.
                Davis said the key for the Cougars to keep advancing is playing defense and staying under control.
                “As I said in our keys to winning the tournament, defense is the most important aspect of our play,” he said. “When we defend we become a much better team on offense and I think we become a really confident group.”
                The one thing in WNCC’s favor is they get to sleep in their own bed and play in front of the home crowd, even though it is Spring Break this week at the college and very few students are on campus. Still, that home court advantage is huge in a tournament like this.
                “(Playing at home) means we do not have to travel, which we did a lot this year, so that is great. I think there is an advantage to not having to get on a bus and go hours away to play,” Davis said. “There is a lot of familiarity you lose when you have to go on the road, so that should help. People should come out to see us play because we haven’t had as many home games as a normal season, so it is another chance to see their home team. Also, good home crowds help so much for the host of the Region IX Tournament, I think there is a big advantage we can gain if people come out. Lastly, we are the highest nationally ranked team in our region at #19 in the country, so hopefully we can put on a good show.”
                WNCC, if they play together, can’t be ruled out as they try to get back to the national tournament like they did in 2022 when they finished in the Final Four. The favorite, though, has to be Casper, who is vying for their fourth straight Region IX title, something that only one other team has accomplished in the history of the tournament and that was WNCC when they won the title back in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006.
                Casper has won four of the last five regional titles, having lost to Otero in the 2021 season during the COVID pandemic season. Casper finished the North sub-region with an 11-1 record and at 24-6 overall. Casper is ranked 21st in the final NJCAA national poll.
                All the second seeded teams are also teams to watch. Western Wyoming, who is on WNCC’s side of a semi-final match-up, comes into the contest at 22-8 having went 9-3 in the North sub-region. McCook, who finished second in the South Sub-region at 8-2, comes in with a 19-11 record. McCook is on the same side of Casper.
                The winner of the Region IX tournament will qualify for the NJCAA national tournament March 25 through April 1 at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper, Wyoming.
                What Davis likes about this team is they are resilient in how they play as they always find ways to win games with their play on the court.
                “I would say the word for this team is resilient,” Davis said. “There have been so many things that have come up that would make a lot of teams fold up the tent and go home, but we never did. We have come together and are a confident bunch now.
                “Our strength is that we operate as one unit. I think when we play that way, we are really hard to beat. There is love for one another and knowledge that we all have each other’s best interests in mind and the strength of a team starts with those fundamental areas. We shoot the ball really well and have been a pretty-balanced scoring team too.”
                Ticket prices for the Region IX tournament are $20 for a 3-day pass. Individual day tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for students.
 
Region IX Tournament Pairings
Thursday, March 13
12:30 p.m. – McCook vs. Gillette
2:30 p.m. – Casper vs. NJC
5 p.m. – Western Wyoming vs. Trinidad
7 p.m. – WNCC vs. EWC
Friday, March 14
5 p.m. – Casper/NJC winner vs. McCook/Gillette winner
7 p.m. – W. Wyoming/Trinidad winner vs. WNCC/EWC winner
Saturday, March 15
5 p.m. – Championship game
 
WNCC men ready for quarterfinal round of regional tourney in Gillette
 
WNCC men’s basketball team will be entering the Region IX tournament in Gillette, Wyoming, as one of the teams that could be described as a team to watch.
                WNCC enters the tournament after downing McCook Community College in a first-round playoff game at Cougar Palace 107-73 in a game that first-year WNCC head coach described as a complete team effort from the opening tip-off to the final buzzer.
                The Cougar men will be one of eight teams at the men’s Region IX tournament with hopes of earning the regional title and advancing to the national tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas.
                The Cougars will open the quarterfinal action with a game against Northwest College at 5 p.m. Northwest earned a 62-53 win over Central Wyoming College in the first-round.
                In other first-round games on March 8 from the South, Otero College upended North Platte Community College 78-72 while Lamar Community College topped Northeastern Junior College 87-78.
                The other North first-round games saw Casper College defeat Eastern Wyoming College 98-76 and Laramie County Community College top Western Wyoming Community College 86-81.
                Thursday’s quarterfinal schedule will have Casper taking on Lamar at 1 p.m., Trinidad State facing Laramie County at 3 p.m., WNCC meeting Northwest College at 5 p.m. and Gillette taking on Otero at 7 p.m.
                The semifinals are slated for Friday, March 14 at 5 and 7 p.m. with the championship slated for 3 p.m. on March 15.
                It will be the first meeting of the year between WNCC and Northwest. WNCC enters with a 13-16 record while Northwest is 19-11. The two teams did meet a year ago in the Region IX tournament quarterfinals
                WNCC is one of the highest scoring teams in Region IX, averaging 91.1 points a contest. At the same time, they are also giving up 93.1 points a contest.
                In the playoff win over McCook on March 8, the Cougars played totally different and head coach Roybell Baez said it was one of the most complete games his team has played all year.
                “It was the first time all year that we had a complete game,” Baez said. “At halftime, they had 41 points, and I said, ‘Hey, fellas, if you guys are really serious about winning the tournament, you don’t allow them to score 30 points in the second half. They had 33 and we had some guys in there late in the game, but I thought defensively in the second half, that was the best defense we have played all year.”
                The 73 points that the Cougars allowed in the McCook game is only the sixth time the Cougars have held a team to under 75 points. In those six games, the Cougars are 6-1.
                Offensively, the Cougars have scored 100-plus points in three straight games and have hit the century mark WNCC is 6-4. That also means when an opponent scores 100 points, which it has happened in 11 games and WNCC is just 2-9 when their opponent scores in the triple digits on the scoreboard.
                While WNCC scores a lot and allows a lot, Northwest is just opposite.
                The Trappers average 82.9 points a contest and are allowing just 76.4 points a game. Northwest has scored over 100 points just twice when they beat Laramie County on January 24 106-95 and then Northwest Alumni 113-78 on December 14.
                  Northwest is 4-4 since February 1 and have scored 90 points just once during that time. That game was against EWC when the Trappers won 90-79 on February 7.
                Northwest has four players averaging in double figures. Collin Hayes leads the team at 16.3 points a contest followed by Drew Larson at 15.2 points, Tesloch Thong at 12.4 and Preston Condie at 10.6.
                The Trappers have made just 221 3-pointers this season while giving up 284 triples.
                WNCC is opposite from Northwest as the Cougars have buried 306 3-pointers this season while only allowing 226 treys. Elijah Hollins leads with 90 threes followed by Kellon Harris with 51 and then Reece Randolph with 40.
                WNCC has four players averaging in double digits. Hollins is scoring at 17.9 points a clip followed by Mathiang Maker at 17.6. Harris is averaging 14.5 while Elijah Burney is scoring at 10.3 points.
                Hollins has scored double digits in the last 20 games. During that stretch, he had a 27-point game against Otero on February 15. His high game for the year is 31 points in a 102-91 defeat to Gillette College on November 18.
                Maker has had five double-doubles during the second semester.
                Harris has scored in double digits eight games and two of those eight games the Scottsbluff graduate had a double-double with a 23-point, 11-rebound game against McCook on February 21 and then a 25-point, 11-rebound game against Lamar on February 28.
                Harris has netted double figures in 21 of the team’s 29 games.
                The winner of the WNCC and Northwest game will face the winner of the Gillette and Otero game on Friday at 7 p.m. WNCC is 0-2 against Otero, falling to the Rattlers on the road on February 15 83-72 and also losing to Otero 112-105 at Cougar Palace.
                WNCC is 0-2 against Gillette, falling 102-91 at Cougar Palace and then losing 112-83 at Gillette.
                WNCC last won the Region IX tournament in 2018 when they defeated Otero in the championship game 86-78 in LaJunta, Colorado.
                Last year, WNCC captured the South Sub-region and hosted the regional tournament and made it to the championship game. The Cougars opened the tournament a year ago with a quarterfinal win over Northwest 84-72 followed by an 82-78 win over Casper College before falling to Trinidad State 81-56 in the title contest.
 
Men’s Region IX Tournament
in Gillette, Wyoming
Thursday, March 13
1 p.m. -- Casper vs. Lamar
3 p.m. -- Trinidad vs. LCCC
5 p.m. -- WNCC vs. Northwest
7 p.m. -- Gillette vs. Otero
Friday, March 14
5 p.m. -- Casper/Lamar vs. Trinidad/LCCC
7 p.m. -- WNCC/Northwest vs. Gillette/Otero
Saturday, March 15
3 p.m. -- Championship game
 
WNCC softball falls twice to Yavapai on Tuesday
 
                PRESCOTT, Ariz. – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team wrapped up their Arizona trip dropping a pair of games to Yavapai College on Tuesday.
                The first game saw WNCC manage just two hits as Yavapai earned the 9-1 win.
                The second game saw WNCC limited to just two hits as Yavapai scored in all four innings for the 11-0 win.
                WNCC will return home for four games on Saturday and Sunday when Lamar Community College comes to Volunteer Field for conference contests. Saturday’s action begins at 12 noon while Sunday, first pitch is slated for 11 a.m.
                In game one, the Cougars fell behind early as Yavapai scored nine runs in the first three innings for a 9-0 lead. After that, WNCC held their own with Yavapai, holding the team to no runs.
                WNCC managed just two hits and scored one run. The run came in the fifth when Vivi-Anne Amparan singled with one out and scored on a wild pitch.
                WNCC also had a prime opportunity to score in the third when Tina Horton and JoLee Huffaker each reached on an error, but WNCC couldn’t get the hit to score the runs.
                Game two saw WNCC manage just two hits off the bats of Viktoria Sarkanyova and Kay’Leigh Blair.
                After Yavapai scored three in the first, WNCC mounted a 2-out comeback in the second when Sarkanyova singled and then Alyssa Albaugh earned a walk, but that was all they could manage in the frame.
                The other hit came in the fifth when Blair singled and then Horton earned a walk, but the runners were left stranded.
               
Game 1
WNCC                000 01 – 1 2 4
Yavapai              342 0x – 9 11 3
LP – Kayli Cooper.
 
Game 2
WNCC                000 00 – 0 2 3
Yavapai              331 4x – 11 10 0
LP – Kallie Stocking.