CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Merle Wiehl poured in 26 points and the Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team captured its eighth straight victory with a 78-60 Region IX South sub-region win over Laramie County Community College Saturday afternoon in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
WNCC is now 23-3 on the season and a perfect 11-0 in conference play with three regular season contests left.
Saturday's win saw the Cougars shoot 40 percent for the contest while burying eight 3-pointers.
WNCC held a slim 21-17 lead after the first quarter and used an 11-0 run in the second quarter to open up the contest. LCCC, however, came back on their own to only trail the Cougars 39-34 at intermission.
The second half saw WNCC outscore LCCC 18-14 to build a 57-48 lead at the end of three quarters. WNCC then outscored LCCC 21-12 in the fourth for the win.
WNCC had four players in double figures. Wiehl had 26 points to lead all scorers, including three 3-pointers, five assists, and seven steals.
Also hitting double figures was Karli Seay with 14 points and two treys, while Melisa Kadic tallied 11 points with two 3-pointers.
The Cougars also received eight points from Anastacia Johnson, seven from Giovanna Silva, and six from Olivia Wiberg.
3-point shooting was the difference in the contest with LCCC only connecting on two treys to WNCC's eight. The Golden Eagles, however, stayed in the game because of free throw shooting, making 26 of 35. WNCC was just 8 of 10 from the charity stripe.
The Cougar will cap off the home regular season next weekend when they host Lamar Community College on Friday and then Otero Junior College Saturday afternoon.
WNCC (23-3) 21 18 18 21 – 78
LCCC (14-13) 17 17 14 12 – 60
WNCC
Merle Wiehl 26, Jaleesa Avery 3, Giovanna Silva 7, Karli Seay 14, Anastacia Johnson 8, Melisa Kadic 11, Olivia Wiberg 6, Eva Langton 3.
LCCC
Madison Hamm 6, Courtney Walker 4, Karlie O'Brien 16, Skylar Backstrom 3, Sarah Kruthaupt 17, Darian Hale 10, Caylin Arnold 4.