WNCC women’s basketball opens season Wednesday at home with just three returners

Posted: Nov 01, 2016

The Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team will feature a young lineup this season as they have just three players back from a year ago when they open the season at home on Wednesday.

The Cougars first game will be against the Nebraska All-stars at 7 p.m. at Cougar Palace. The All-stars will be comprised of many former WNCC and area basketball players including former WNCC players Ashley Stevens, Jessica Aratani, Ashley Guzman, and Chalsey Grentz, along with Banner County's Brittany and Bethany Cooper, Torrington's Sara Kostur, Scottsbluff and Chadron State player Hattie Guzman, as well as Austin Daley of Buffalo and Rebekah Will of Columbus, Ohio.

The game will be tune-up for this weekend when the Cougars head to the Gillette College tournament where they will face Gillette College, who won the Region IX tournament a year ago.

This year's make-up of the Cougar team will be young, with just three players back from last year's 25-4 record.

Zeynep Canbaz, one of the returning players, said the potential is there for a good season.

"As long as we all keep our focus consistent throughout the season, and buy in to what Coach Harnish is saying, capturing a title will be no problem for us," she said. *I believe in this team."

Canbaz, a 5-foot-8 guard from Istanbul, Turkey, is one of the three returners. The other two are Sladjana Rakovic, a 6-foot forward from Montenegro, and Bree Paulson, a 5-11 forward/guard from Broomfield, Colorado.

All three players were starters a year ago, averaging nearly 10 points a game.

Canbaz said there is plenty of talent on the team with the addition of the freshmen players. Any number of players can score on any given night.

"It's a little bit too early to tell [who will stand out], but I know that we all have things that we contribute to the teams' success," she said. "Everyone tries hard each practice to correct their mistakes and to do their best, so that's all we can ask for as a team."

The newcomers include players from Colorado, Utah, Florida, Brazil, Turkey, and Australia.

Leading the list are two from Cherokee Trail High in Aurora, Colorado in Anastacia Johnson, a 5-7 guard, and Jaleesa Avery, a 6-1 forward/post player.

WNCC also has a pair of sisters from Tampa, Florida. Kristin Gaston is a 5-5 guard from Oldsmar Christian High, while her sister is a 5-8 guard from Countryside High.

Two more come from Utah in Olivia Wiberg of Hyrum, who is a 5-9 guard from Mountain Crest High, while Melisa Kadic is a 5-9 guard from West Valley City and Granger High.

The rest of the team is comprised of international players. They include Sophie Agorakis, a 5-10 forward and 6-0 forward Jocelyn Montecinos, both from Melbourne, Australia; Deniz Dalkiran, a 6-3 center from Istanbul, Turkey; and Giovanna Silva, a 5-10 forward from Brazil.

So far the Cougars have had three scrimmages in October and they have learned a lot about this team and the areas that need work.

"Overall the scrimmages have been a learning experience, but we could use a little work defensively," she said. "I think our strong points are how well we move the ball in transition, and how well we get along with each other off the court. That is something that is so vital to a teams' success."

The outcome of the season will depend on how the freshmen come along. So far, the players are meshing on and off the court.

The Cougars do not have a lot of games the first semester where they will have seven home games. The second semester is the most important part as they will have the percentage of their South Conference games and those are the games the matter as the winner of the Region IX South will have a bye during the first-round of games March 3-4. The winner of the South hosts the Region IX tournament March 9-11.

2016-17 Women's Basketball Schedule

Date Opponent Location Time

11/2 Nebraska All-stars Cougar Palace 7 pm

11/4 Wyoming All-stars Gillette, Wyo. 5:30 pm

11/5 Gillette Gillette, Wyo. 5 pm

11/11 Johnson County Council Bluffs, Iowa 12 pm

11/12 Iowa Western Council Bluffs, Iowa 4 pm

11/17 Yellowstone Christian Cougar Palace 6 pm

11/18 Adams State JV Cougar Palace 7 pm

11/19 Central Wyoming Cougar Palace 2 pm

11/22 Casper Casper, Wyo. 5:30 pm

12/1 Northwest Wyoming Cougar Palace 6 pm