The Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team knows about pressure and being the team to beat.
Things won't change this season either as the Cougar women will be vying for their fourth straight Region IX title.
The Cougars, who enter the season ranked 25th in the NJCAA pre-season polls, will begin that quest for a fourth straight trip to the national tournament Thursday through Saturday at the Colby Classic.
WNCC sophomore Brooke Zimmerman, of Aurora, Colorado, said the team is ready.
"I think we are ready to go. We have been working really hard in practice," she said. "We had a couple meetings where we realize what we want to do as a team, who will step up, and what we need to do altogether. We have been working really hard on defense because we think we have our offense pretty sound now. That is what Coach [Dave Harnish] has been talking about so I think we are ready to go."
The Cougars will open the season Thursday against Hesston College at 1 p.m. WNCC will then face Colby on Friday at 5 p.m. and then Tabor College junior varsity on Saturday.
Zimmerman said that after three weeks of scrimmages, the young Cougars have really found themselves on the court as they aim to achieve several goals this year.
"The goals are definitely get a four-peat for regionals," she said. "But, obviously, we just have so much young talent which the goal is to get them ready for next year when we won't be here. They are going to be a great team next year."
It is those scrimmages – a home scrimmage against Dawson and two roads scrimmages against South Dakota Tech and Black Hills State – that has molded the team. The two South Dakota scrimmages against four-year institutions have been positive in the team's climb on getting better.
"The first scrimmage we learned that it won't always be that easy," Zimmerman said. "Then we went and played two four-year teams from South Dakota and we learned that teams will be smarter and some more athletic, stronger, bigger. We learned that we have to do the little things to help us progress."
WNCC enters as the favorite, but they also enter as a pretty young team. The Cougars return just three players back from last year's Region IX championship team that went 31-3. Those three played a part in the 31-win campaign a year ago.
The returners include 5-foot-9 Kalli Feddersen of Rawlins, Wyoming, 5-7 Hannah Sparks of Aurora, Colorado, and Zimmerman.
The Cougars also welcome sophomore transfer Luize Skrastina, a 6-0 forward from Riga, Lativa. Skrastina was a starter last year at Cloud County Community College where she averaged 11 points and nine rebounds a game.
Zimmerman said the sophomores' role is to help the freshmen get better.
"I think we get along well on and off the court," she said. "They [the freshmen] are young talent and they are smart on the court, too. They understand the system pretty well and they pick things up really fast."
The Cougars welcome nine freshmen to the team, including four 5-10 or taller. This group is led by 6-0 Sladjana Rakovic of Bijelo, Polje, Montenegro, 6-2 Myram Garcia of Madrid, Spain, 5-11 Bree Paulson of Broomfield, Colorado, and 5-10 Kylie Hager of Parker, Colorado.
The Cougars also have plenty of depth in the back court, including a duo from Turkey in 5-5 Ozge Yarga of Ankara and 5-8 Zeynap Canbaz of Istanbul.
Other freshmen include 5-7 Oleida DeLeon of Coahuila, Mexico, 5-7 Rylee Ward of Longmont, Colorado, and 5-9 Mikayla Gonzales of Castle Rock, Colorado.
Zimmerman it is starting to show the depth and talent on this year's team. One big advantage with this year's team is the team's focus on fundamentals and being mentally tough.
"Coach Harnish is really big on mental strength," Zimmerman said. "That is big not only for our team, but any team to be mentally tough. It is a matter of getting to the gym and working on your weaknesses, and coming together and working on inbound plays, our offenses, our defenses. Working together is what will bring us to a four-peat."
After this weekend, the Cougars will go to the Air Force Prep Classic and face Sheridan College and Salt Lake Community College. WNCC will then return home for five straight contests, including a 3-day tournament Nov. 19-21.
The women's game will also take on a different feel this year with new rules that were implemented, including four 10-minute quarters, five fouls each quarter, and a 10-second backcourt count that doesn't reset if the offensive team calls a timeout. Zimmerman said the new rules should make for a fun season.
"I think playing quarters will be fun," she said. "The freshmen are used to playing quarters coming out of high school, but us sophomores are used to playing 20 minute halves, so going to pay four 10-minute quarters will be interesting. Then, the five foul count will help the game go faster."