The Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team put five players in double figures in a 93-59 win over Northwest College Thursday evening at Cougar Palace.

                Anastacia Johnson paced the Cougar attack with 18 points as the Cougars captured their eighth win of the season.

                Johnson, a freshman from Aurora, Colorado, said WNCC played well offensively, especially since they just learned a new offense on Wednesday.

                "We played very well as a team. We kept the intensity up and executed our offense even though we learned it yesterday [Wednesday]," she said. "Defensively we executed as a team. We got some good defensive rebounds and that is what stopped them from getting second chances."

                WNCC had a plethora of scorers on the night as the team shot 48 percent for the game. The Cougars were 7 of 15 from beyond the arc, led by Bree Paulson's three treys and Melisa Kadic's two.

                After Johnson's 18 points, Paulson and Kadic poured in 14 points each. Jaleesa Avery finished with 13 followed by 12 from Sladjana Rakovic.

                Johnson said that shooting has really picked up for the Cougars.

                "We have been practicing a lot on our game shots and how to come off screens to take shots," she said. "Our shooting has improved since the beginning of the season."

                WNCC led from start to finish, jumping out to an 8-2 lead and pushed it to double-digits, 18-8. The Cougars led 26-13 after one period.

                The second quarter saw the Cougar defense become solid, holding Northwest to without a field goal for nearly six minutes. In a three-minute span, WNCC outscored the Trappers 12-0 to lead 51-24. WNCC led 53-32 at intermission.

                The third period saw WNCC on another 9-0 run to open up the contest, leading 68-42 before leading 75-46 after three periods.

                The win was definitely a team effort. All the Cougars that saw action scored and contributed in many ways.

                WNCC finished with 24 assists and 16 steals. Canbaz dished out nine assists while Rakovic and Paulson each had four. Canbaz also generated four steals, while Johnson added three.

                Defensively, the Cougars were pretty solid, despite allowing 59 points. Northwest shot 36 percent for the game and were 5 of 17 from the 3-point arc. WNCC also had four blocked shots.

                WNCC also forced 19 turnovers to just themselves committing nine.

                WNCC, 8-2, will go on the road for games this weekend in Riverton, Wyoming. WNCC will face Central Wyoming Friday night before taking on Western Wyoming Community College Saturday.

                "We just have to keep the intensity and keep executing our plays," Johnson said. "We also have to know what we are doing, knowing that we are on the same page. We have to just stay communicating and stay positive like we normally do."

Northwest          13 19 14 15 – 59

WNCC (8-2)        26 27 22 18 – 93

NORTHWEST

Jessie Lessard 2, Domenica Gomes 6, Mattie Creager 2, Lauren Hinckley 5, Jessica Lohrenz 2, Maddy Johnson 3, Charri McArthur 2, Kira Marlow 22, Dallas Petties 6, Dani McManamen 1, Julynne Silva 8.

WNCC

Melisa Kadic 14, Sladjana Rakovic 12, Jaleesa Avery 13, Olivia Wiberg 7, Kellie Gaston 2, Zeynep Canbaz 5, Bree Paulson 14, Anastacia Johnson 18, Deniz Dalkiran 2, Jocelyn Montecinos 2, Giovanna Silva 4.