The Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team is sending three players onto the 4-year level in all in the Midwest after the three signed with their respectful colleges last week.

                Freshman Jayla Owen will be taking her talents to the Division I level as the starting point guard is headed north to the University of North Dakota.

                Bre Fowler, a sophomore from Berthoud, Colorado, will be going to the NCAA Division II level after signing with Rogers State in in Claremore, Oklahoma, while Rashaan Smith is going near Fowler after signing with NAIA Oklahoma Wesleyan University in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

                Owen, who led the Cougars in scoring this year and named an NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American, is excited to be continuing her collegiate playing at North Dakota.

                "I decided to go there because it is a great school, a great team, and a great coaching staff," Owen said. "I know I will accomplish my goals over there and succeed on and off the court."

                Owen, from Quebec, Canada, averaged 12.3 points a game while leading the team in 3-pointers made with 49. She also shot 84.3 percent from the free throw, also leading the team.

                Owen said her dream was to play Division I basketball and she will live that dream and hopefully continue playing after her three years in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

                "It is great as well. It has been a dream of mine to play Division I once again since I was six," she said. "That was my goal. Being able to do that is super exciting and I am grateful."

                Owen said she is prepared for the next level after her one year at WNCC.

                "I have been playing since I was six, so to keep going is a dream of mine," she said. "It (my journey to Division I) is all for Coach Isaac and a shout out to all who are in here that helped prepare me for this moment. I am excited to go out there."

Owen has only been at the college for a year, but she has made plenty of friends, including her host family, who was in attendance of her signing Thursday night. Her host family are Jessica and Shane Brumbaugh with their children Hailey, Torri, and Mason.

                "I have a lot of memories here," Owen, the Psychology major, said. "I had a great family here in Scottsbluff that I shared weekends with and have great memories with. Me and my teammates have experienced a lot with adversity during the season and we grew together. Just being here and being from a big city is different for me and I think every day was a memory for me."

                Bre Fowler finished second on the team in 3-pointers made with 44 treys and she will be taking that talent to Rogers State, which is located just north of Tulsa. Fowler said she is excited to be going on to play after her two years at WNCC.

                "I am going to Rogers State University because, for one, the coaching staff is really cool and I have talked to them for the last month and they just made me feel like home," she said. "My future teammates are cool and took me in when I went on the visit. The atmosphere was really cool when I went there."

                Her time at WNCC saw Fowler shoot 32.8 percent from the 3-point arc and 78 percent from the free throw line. She also had 71 assists and 40 steals. She averaged 10 points a contest this past season and became a leader on the court, starting all 28 games for the Cougars that she played in.

                "It (coming to WNCC) definitely has made me a better player," she said. "Playing against these DI players made me a lot better. It made me grow as a basketball player and also as a person. I am really grateful for that."

                The improvement Fowler has made from her freshman to sophomore year show what hard work can do. She is just thankful for the opportunity to continue playing the sport she loves at the next level as she continues on with her physical therapy studies.

                "It is really awesome for me to continue on to play," Fowler said. "I am really grateful to have this opportunity and just to continue my basketball career and make it as far as I can.

                Fowler said her time at WNCC has been enjoyable and it will be hard to say goodbye, but is ready for the next journey.

                "I just loved being here the past two years and I am excited to see what is next. Thank you to my teammates and to my coaches. I wouldn't done it without you guys," she said. "I will be sad leaving all my teammates, and I definitely will miss my teammates, but I will see them eventually."

                As for Smith, she has spent three years in the states from her home country of New Zealand. She started at Dawson Community College and then transferred to WNCC the last two seasons. Now, Smith, the 6-foot-4 center from Auckland, New Zealand, will continue her playing career at Oklahoma Wesleyan, where the coach coached one of her cousins.

                "I am going to Oklahoma Wesleyan University and it is the first school that I had had an instant connection," Smith said. "The coach coached one of my cousins and coming from a very different culture background, she understood that in our culture, she was willing to work with me. I feel pretty comfortable going there and the campus is beautiful. And it is only 45 minutes away from Tulsa."

                The big thing is Smith and Fowler are going to two different colleges that are about an hour apart. Both schools are located North of Tulsa and have played each other last season.

                "I think it is awesome (that we are that close to each other playing)," she said. "Both me and Bre have been here for two years when we were both freshman and I think we will be taking some trips to see each other. It is always good to have that connection."

                In Smith's two seasons at WNCC, she has really improved. This past season, Smith averaged 7.5 points and 4.7 rebounds a contest. She also shot 46.3 percent from the field and 71.4 percent from the free throw line.

                That dream of playing college basketball continues at the NAIA level as she pursues to become an elementary school teacher.

                "I think it is great and I am excited (to keep playing)," she said. "My dream is to become an elementary teacher so using my sport as a way to get to my dream is awesome."

                The opportunity that Smith got over here from her country down south has been rewarding and something that she is grateful for.

                "I have had a really big journey at this school. I have met a lot of really good friends and it will be hard to leave," Smith said.

                There could be a couple other women's basketball players signing to continue playing later this spring or summer, some to Division I schools.