Four players scored in double figures to power the Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team to an 83-76 win over Casper College on Monday night at Cougar Palace in Scottsbluff.
Sladjana Rakovic led the Cougars with 18 points. She was followed by Jalessa Avery with 16 points, Bree Paulson with 15, and Zeynep Canbaz witih 14.
The win was WNCC's third straight and improved the Cougars to 15-4 overall on the season. WNCC, 5-1 in sub-region play, will travel to Laramie County Community College on Saturday for a sub-region contest.
Avery, who scored eight of her 16 points in the third quarter, said they played well after a slow start.
"As a team, I thought we shot the ball well," Avery said. "We're always looking for the next open person. I think that's a good thing about our team that we aren't selfish. Overall it was a good team win."
After a slow start that resulted in the Cougars trailing by nine early in the first quarter at 11-2, WNCC quickly began finding its shooting range to pull back within 17-15 at the end of the opening period. The Cougars continued charging in the second as they outscored the Thunderbirds 24-16 to build a 39-33 lead at halftime.
A big key in the second quarter was the team's shooting, where they buried six 3-pointers. Melisa Kadic had back-to-back bombs to push the lead to 39-27.
Casper stayed tough in the second half pulling in front 53-50 after going on a 10-0 run. The Cougars came back to knot the score at 54 at the end of the third period.
WNCC flexed its muscles in crunch time by outscoring Casper 29-22 in the final quarter. With the score tied at 70-70, WNCC picked up the defense and went on a 9-0 run to lead 79-70 and never lookd back after that.
WNCC shot 42 percent from the field including nailing 11 of 25 3-pointers. The Cougars buried seven treys in the first half. Paulson led the Cougars' threat from the outside by sinking five 3-pointers. Canbaz and Melisa Kadic added a pair of treys each.
Rakovic, a University of Wyoming recruit, finished the game shooting 7 of 15 from the field overall. She converted all four of her free throws. Rakovic also led WNCC on the glass with eight rebounds. She handed out four assists as well.
Casper 17 16 21 22 — 76
WNCC (15-4) 15 24 15 29 — 83
CASPER
Kayla Evans 3, Caroline Rivera 2, Bruna Vila Artigues 4, Paula Orenes-Sanchez 21, Ruth Nwokora 13, Natalia Panufnik 5, Ashlie Larson 3, Marina Fernandez 16, Emily Robertson 9.
WNCC
Melisa Kadic 8, Sladjana Rakovic 18, Jalessa Avery 16, Kellie Gaston 5, Zeynep Canbaz 14, Bree Paulson 15, Anastacia Johnson 5, Giovanna Silva 2.