The Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team will be opening the season in November with some lofty expectations after the NJCAA women's basketball pre-season poll was released Monday afternoon.
WNCC, who went 2-1 at the national tournament in April, is ranked 14th in the pre-season poll entering the season. The Cougars open the season Monday, November 8 at home against Northwest College.
Ale'Jah Douglas, one of two NJCAA all-Americans on the team this season, said being ranked right now is nice, but it is not their main concern right now.
"Being ranked in the pre-season means a lot but it is not our main focus right now," the NJCAA honorable mention all-American said. "We know there's still a lot of work that needs to be done if we want to maintain that and move up in the rankings when the season comes around."
WNCC opened official practice Oct. 1 and has already competed in a pair of jamborees. The first was Oct. 2 in Windsor, Colorado, and the second was this past weekend in Lawrence, Kansas.
Douglas said this weekend, the Cougars competed and showed progress.
"The team competed hard this weekend and made some good runs throughout each game," the Omaha native said. "After scrimmaging and seeing where the team is at, I believe we are ready for the season we just need to make some adjustments and tighten up on some things."
This past weekend, the Cougars faced three teams that are also ranked. The Cougars played No. 13 Wabash Valley and each won a half of play. They also played No. 20 Moberly Area Community College and the two ranked teams each won a half. The third game saw the Cougars face NJCAA Division II No. 5-ranked Labette Community College and dropped both halves.
The NJCAA Division I pre-season rankings are interesting as the other Region IX team Casper College is ranked 10th in the polls. Also, Jones College, who was number one last year and undefeated entering the national tournament ended up losing to WNCC 63-60 at the national tournament. Jones College is pre-season ranked fourth. Another team the Cougars played at nationals, Three Rivers Community College in Missouri, is eighth in the polls.
The top 10 include Northwest Florida State College at number one followed by Tyler Junior College, Chipola College, Jones College, New Mexico Junior College, Shelton State Community College, South Plains College, Three Rivers, South Georgia Technical College, and Casper.
Also in front of the Cougars is Trinity Valley Community College at number 11, Georgia Highlands College at 12, and Wabash Valley College at 13. WNCC will also play No. 23 College of Southern Idaho on November 19 in Twin Falls, Idaho.
Douglas said the competition makes them better and there is plenty of talent on this team.
"There is a lot of talent on this team from every position," she said. "We just have to get used to playing with each other to build the chemistry needed in order for us to win."
The Cougars have plenty of experience back from a year ago where the Cougars went 17-6 a year ago. WNCC lost in the semifinals of the regional tournament to Casper, but earned one of three at-large bids to the national tournament where they won their first two games against Iowa Western Community College and Jones, before falling to Three Rivers.
Returners back from last year's team include Douglas, Yara Garcia of Scottsbluff; Martrice Brooks of Springfield, Illinois; Shanti Henry of Wichita, Kansas; Ashley Panem of Broomfield, Colorado; Isabelle Cook of New Plymouth, New Zealand; and Payton Fields of El Paso, Texas.
The Cougars are also bolstered with the addition of Amani Brown, a 5-foot-7 point guard from Terre Haute, Indiana. Brown played last year at Vincinnes University a year ago where she earned NJCAA honorable mention all-American honors.
The newcomers on the team include 6-2 Aminata Zie of Paris; 5-8 Breanna Fowler of Berthoud, Colorado; 5-8 Shayane Poirot-Allard of Cavalaire-sur-Mer, France; 5-6 Genet Mebratu of Toronto, Canada; 6-2 Mia Jaye Sarkodee-Adoo of London, England; and 6-4 Rashaan Smith of Auckland, New Zealand.
Douglas said practices are going good as they prepare for the season opener in November.
"Practices are going good just been making adjustments so everyone remains on the same page when it comes to the playing style," she said, "while, at the same time, competing to have as many game-like situations as possible."
WNCC will have a home scrimmage on Sunday when they host Metro State College out of Colorado in the afternoon.