The Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s basketball teams will put their unbeaten marks on the line when they host Eastern Wyoming College on Tuesday at Cougar Palace.
The women’s game tips off at 5:30 p.m. with the men’s game to follow.
The men’s contest should be a barn-burner as the Cougar men are one of two teams in Region IX with unblemished records. WNCC is 4-0 on the season after claiming two overtime wins last week when they defeated Northwest College 87-81 at Cougar Palace and then toppled Seward County Community College on Saturday 83-76 in Liberal, Kansas. WNCC then wrapped up the weekend with a 107-87 win over Nationwide Academy Prep on Sunday.
The Lancer men are 2-3 on the season and are averaging 86 points a contest. The Lancers went 2-1 over the weekend in a classic in Salt Lake City, Utah. EWC defeated Utah Peaks Prep 109-40 and Real Salt Lake Prep 112-82. The Lancers only defeat came to No. 1 Salt Lake Community College 102-62.
The Lancers have three players averaging in double figures. Tom Mark is averaging 16.4 points a contest followed by Kayden Toldson at 12.6 and Enzo Clouvel Urie at 10.8.
The Cougars have been explosive in the early going, averaging 92 points a contest. WNCC and Western Wyoming Community College are the only Region IX teams that have not lost on the early season. Western Wyoming is 6-0 and ranked 16th in the nation.
WNCC high-octane offense has five guys averaging in double digits. Them Koang, a sophomore from Grand Island, is averaging 17.5 points a contest followed by freshman Biko Johnson at 13.3 points. Returning players Carter Brown of Ogallala and Agwa Nywesh are next at 12 and 11 points a contest, while freshman Rodney Sawyer is also averaging 11 points.
The women’s contest will also be interesting as the Lancers are guided by interim head coach Alicia Hawkins as Tom Andersen took over the men’s program on an interim basis this year.
The Lancer women are 1-4 on the season having beat Snow College on Saturday 69-57 in Salt Lake City. EWC had five players in double figures in the win, led by Rose Revueltas with 18 followed by Janette Hanni with 16, Ana Gascon with 16, Anna Soler with 11, and Libbie Schaefer, a Morrill High graduate, with 10 points.
EWC has three players averaging in double figures. Revueltas is averaging 14.5 points a contest while Soler is averaging 11.8 points a game. Vanesa Marinova is averaging 10 points a contest.
The Cougar women are 3-0 on the season and are averaging 95 points a contest. The Cougars opened the season on November 8 when they defeated Northwest College 83-62 behind 27 points from Ale’Jah Douglas. Douglas signed last week to attend Clemson University next year.
The Cougars then went on the road and had strong defensive performances and big offensive games as they defeated Northwest College 107-54 and then the host Central Wyoming College 95-56.
WNCC, who moved up to No. 12 in this week’s NJCAA Division I women’s basketball poll, had three different players as leading scorers. Over the weekend, Shayane Poirot had 19 points against Northwest. Poirot had five of the team’s nine 3-pointers in the win. Against Central Wyoming, Amani Brown, a sophomore All-American transfer from Vincennes College, finished with 17 points.
WNCC had four players averaging in double figures. Douglas is averaging 19.3 points a contest while Shanti Henry is averaging 12 points a contest. Brown is averaging 11.3 while Poirot is averaging 10 points a contest.
After Tuesday’s contests, both WNCC and EWC will be on the road. The Lancer women will be off until Thanksgiving weekend when they travel to Twin Falls, Idaho, to face Colorado Northwestern and College of Southern Idaho.
The Cougar women will be in Twin Falls, Idaho, this weekend when they face Colorado Northwestern on Friday and College of Southern Idaho on Saturday. The WNCC women will then return home for a November 24 contest against North Platte Community College at 6 p.m.
The EWC and WNCC men will both be in Twin Falls, Idaho, this weekend. The Lancers will play College of Southern Idaho on Friday and then Community Christian College on Saturday. The Cougar men will reverse the teams as they will play Community Christian College on Friday and College of Southern Idaho on Saturday.
