The 6th-ranked Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team buried 10 3-pointers and used a strong first quarter to earn an impressive 106-65 win over Trinidad State College Saturday afternoon to capture their 20th win of the season and 14th straight win.
WNCC, in getting the win, put three in double figures. Ale'Jah Douglas led the way with 31 points including going 8-of-9 from the free-throw line.
Shanti Henry finished with 22 points including burying six 3-pointers. The six treys is her career-high at WNCC and she becomes only the 11th player in school history to bury six 3-pointers in a game. The record for 3-pointers in a game is nine set by Lyndie Puckett back in 2014.
Aminata Zie also had double-figure scoring as well as rebounds. Zie finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Douglas said they played well for the most part except for a few occasions.
"We had a strong start but let up towards the end of the first quarter," Douglas said. "It's really important to paly hard in the first quarter to gain momentum early and not have to play catch up throughout the whole game and go shot for shot with the other team."
Douglas said the key for the big win, where they scored 58 second-half points, was making the adjustments.
"The key for the big win was for us to make the adjustments that needed to be made from the first half," the future Clemson guard said. "They were too comfortable defensively and we were out of position. Once we tightened that up, we were able to extend the lead."
WNCC played well for most of the first quarter. With the score at 5-4, WNCC went on a 12-0 to lead 17-4 behind 3-pointers by Douglas and Henry and back-to-back buckets by Zie. WNCC led 24-10 late and then allowed Trinidad to get back into the contest with a 9-0 run to slice the lead to 24-19. Ashley Panem put some momentum going into the second quarter as she hit a 3-pointer to end the first 10 minutes with the 27-19 lead.
The second quarter saw Henry bury two more treys and Douglas get back-to-back hoops for a 34-22 lead. WNCC led 39-24 on two Yara Garcia free throws and that was when the Trojans put together a mini 10-0 run to cut the Cougar lead to 39-34 with 3:35 to play in the first half.
Zie stopped the run with a bucket and then Henry buried her fifth trey of the half for a 44-34 lead. WNCC led 48-36 at halftime.
The third quarter saw the Cougars open a 20-point lead after three at 74-54 and they did it trading buckets with Trinidad. Henry closed out the third by hitting her sixth 3-pointer of the game.
The fourth quarter was all WNCC as they outscored Trinidad 32-11. WNCC went on a 16-0 run to open a 76-55 game to make it 92-55. The Cougars hit the century mark for the first time on two Genet Mebratu free throws for the 106-65 win.
WNCC shot 42 percent for the game and 29 percent from beyond the arc (10-of-35). Trinidad shot 40 percent from the field and made just four 3-pointers.
WNCC won the rebound battle 48-37. After Zie's 12 rebounds, Douglas and Cook each had four.
WNCC, 20-1, will be back in action Friday when they travel to face McCook Community College in a South Sub-region contest.
Douglas said they might have won their 20th game this year, but they must keep playing hard and improving the rest of the season.
"Our team is playing pretty well but the biggest thing is having discipline and staying humble," she said. "It means a lot (to win 20 games) but we cannot get comfortable. We have more business to handle."
Trinidad 19 17 18 11 – 65
WNCC (20-1) 27 21 26 32 – 106
TRINIDAD
Julia Paoletta 1, Jasmine Kie 5, Ana Montero Sanz 4, Ylenia Exposito Perez 20, Rhepsey Wyman 4, Victoria Hickman 5, Sonya Dozier 2, Vega Lopez 16, Evette Lansing 8.
WNCC
Ale'Jah Douglas 31, Yara Garcia 3, Amani Brown 9, Aminata Zie 14, Shanti Henry 22, Ashley Panem 9, Shayane Poirot 3, Isabelle Cook 8, Genet Mebratu 7.