LAMAR, Colo. – The 19th-ranked Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball teams picked up Region IX South sub-region wins Saturday afternoon in Lamar, Colorado.
The 19th-ranked WNCC women's team received a double-double from Jaleesa Avery and 22 points from Merle Wiehl in recording an 82-59 win over Lamar for their 17th win of the season.
The win moves the Cougars to 6-0 in South play and 17-3 overall.
The WNCC women used big second and third quarters to get the win Saturday. The two squads were knotted at 18 after the first 10 minutes of play. The second quarter saw the Cougars start to pull away, outscoring the Lopes 27-18 to grab a 45-36 halftime lead.
The Cougar women responded in the third quarter by outscoring Lamar 25-12 to lead 70-48 in cruising to the win.
WNCC shot 44 percent for the game compared to 39 percent for the Lopes. WNCC connected on eight 3-pointers to six for Lamar. Karli Seay led the team with three treys followed by two from Melisa Kadic.
Another area that separated the two teams was defense. WNCC finished with 19 steals compared to just six for Lamar. Wiehl and Anastacia Johnson each had four steals, while Avery had three.
The Cougars had five players finish in double digits for the game. Wiehl had 22 points on 11 field goals. Avery had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Kadic finished with 13 points.
Seay and Johnson each finished with 11 points apiece. Seay also dished out a game-high nine assists.
The WNCC women, 17-3, will be back in action Tuesday when they host the Nebraska All-stars at 6:30 p.m. before hosting McCook Community College Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
WNCC (17-3) 18 27 25 12 – 82
Lamar (10-8) 18 18 12 11 – 59
WNCC
Melisa Kadic 13, Merle Wiehl 22, Jaleesa Avery 12, Anastacia Johnson 11, Giovanna Silva 8, Sophie Agorakis 2, Olivia Wiberg 3, Karli Seay 11.