CHEYENNE, Wyo. – The 10th-ranked Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team captured their 12th win of the season by putting five in double figures and rolling to a 96-52 win over Laramie County Community College in the second day of the Crossover Tournament in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Friday evening.
The win also moved head coach Chad Gibney into a tie for second on the all-time WNCC coaching win chart. Gibney came into his fifth season with a record of 120-19. Gibney is now 132-20 and the 132 wins ties Harvey Schmidt, who coached the Cougars from 1978-1988.
The win was made possible by a balanced scoring attack where the five players that hit double digits scored between 11 and 14 points. Ale'Jah Douglas and Shanti Henry each had 14 points. Henry buried four 3-pointers in the game while Douglas had one.
Amani Brown and Martrice Brooks each finished with 12 points, while Shayane Poiret tallied 11 points.
A big reason for the win was their shooting, especially from beyond the arc where the Cougars had 11 3-pointers to just two for the Golden Eagles. Henry buried four while Poirot had three and Brown with two.
Free throw shooting was also key as WNCC was 21-of-25 while LCCC was 16-of-20.
The beginning of the game was tight as WNCC had a slim 10-6 lead and led 13-9. That was when they turned up the heat as Poirot had two 3-pointers and Henry had one to push the lead to 24-14 after one quarter.
WNCC kept excelling on offense and defense as they score the first 11 points of the second quarter to lead 39-14. LCCC stopped the streak with two free throws with just under six minutes to play. WNCC led 47-23 at halftime.
The third quarter saw both teams trade buckets early. Leading 54-31, WNCC went on a 18-2 run to lead 70-33. WNCC led 75-38 after three.
WNCC doubled up the Golden Eagles at 80-40 and then 84-42 as they cruised to the 96-52 win.
WNCC, 12-1, will be back in action Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. as they face Central Wyoming College in Cheyenne. WNCC will then wrap up the first semester with a home contest on Tuesday when they host LCCC in a women's and men's doubleheader beginning at 6 p.m.
WNCC (12-1) 28 19 28 21 – 96
LCCC 14 9 15 14 --- 52
WNCC
Ale'Jah Douglas 14, Yara Garcia 6, Amani Brown 12, Aminata Zie 8, Breanna Fowler 3, Martrice Brooks 12, Shanti Henry 14, Ashley Panem 2, Payton Fields 4, Shayane Poirot 11, Isabelle Cook 6, Genet Merbratu 2, Rashaan 2.
LCCC
Riley Van Tassell 10, Ariadna Bleda 2, Kian Omer-Jones 5, Nikola Kuzmanovic 3, Halle Hester 5, Samantha Hester 6, Monique Marceltic-Vaotangi 19, Ximena Gutierrez 2.