The Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team had a remarkable year a year ago finishing in the Final Four of the NJCAA national tournament and with the focus and work ethic put in by this year's players and coaches, this season could be just as stellar.
The Cougars finished last season at 30-3 and graduated a slew of players onto the four-year level and will open the season Friday and Saturday at the Hilex Poly/Physician's Immediate Care Tourney in Twin Falls, Idaho.
The Cougars open the season Friday at 1 p.m. against Yavapai College and then play the College of Southern Idaho Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. Yavapai is a first-year team that last had a women's basketball team back in the 2010-11 season, while CSI finished last season at 30-3 falling in the first round of the national tournament to Trinity Valley. CSI defeated the Cougars in a high-scoring affair last year 95-89 at Twin Falls.
Interim head coach Isaac Lu, who was an assistant the past two years under former head coach Chad Gibney, said this team is ready to get going.
"I think our team is really excited to be able to go up to Twin Falls and play one of the top teams in the country," Lu said. "We are just taking it day-by-day this week, making sure we are preparing not only ourselves but preparing each other to be the best that we can be when it comes game time."
The Cougars have been working hard during the pre-season and the last month of official practice with plenty of scrimmages to get ready for the team. Lu said he likes the make-up of this year's team.
"We have a lot of really good players on this team. We got forwards that can really shoot the ball, score inside, and make plays," Lu said. "We have point guards that can throw the ball and contribute and share it well and we have wings that can shoot the ball. We have overall players that can do a lot of different things with the basketball in their hands. I feel really confident of putting players into the game and giving them full conscious to go and be basketball players and make plays."
The Cougars return five players that were a part of last year's Final Four team. Those five will be key contributors this season and have looked strong so far in the pre-season.
The five returners are Scottsbluff graduate 5-foot-8 Yara Garcia; 6-2 Mia Jaye Sarkodee-Adoo from London, England; 5-8 Bre Fowler from Berthoud, Colorado; 5-8 Martrice Brooks from Springfield, Illinois; and 6-4 Rashaan Smith from Auckland, New Zealand.
The Cougars also have two transfers Shiho Isono, a 5-6 guard from Fukuoko, Japan, that played at Tacoma Community College, and Imani Harris, 5-6 from Bronx, New York, who played at Sienna College.
While these seven will be key returners, the freshmen are just as talented. Leading the list is 5-6 Jayla Owen from Dorval, Quebec; 6-0 Emmie Persson-Bandh of Koping, Sweden; 5-7 Jamie Caron of Rifle, Colorado; 6-0 Gal-La Font of Barcelona, Spain; 5-11 Mackenzie Joseph of Vinton, Louisiana; 6-4 Ola Duda of Porazyn, Poland; 6-0 Faith Walker of Grand Rapids, Michigan; and 5-6 Natalie Barry of Crawford.
Of the freshmen, there are several that are standing out so far, but all of them are capable of doing big things in the games.
Lu said he likes what the freshmen have to offer along with the sophomores.
"Ola Duda from Poland has done a really nice job at our five spot. She is a really good team defender. She is big, she is skilled, and she can shoot the ball a little bit. I am excited to see how she grows this season. We also have Jayla Owen on the team from Canada. She is going to do a really nice job for us as a combo guard and someone that can score the ball and get down hill and make plays for not only herself but her teammates. We have Mackenzie Joseph from Louisiana who can shoot the ball and brings a toughness to the team, and then we have Emmie Bandh from Sweden, who can really shoot the ball. I am excited to see how all our freshmen grow throughout the season. They really have developed a bunch from when they first got to campus. I think they all have potential to be really good players."
While there are plenty of talented freshmen, Lu said the sophomores are key. The returners saw action in different roles a year ago. Brooks averaged 10.1 points a game a year ago followed by Smith at 5.2, Garcia at 3.4, Sarkodee-Adoo at 2.7, and Fowler at 2.5.
Lu said it also helps that there are players that know what it takes to win that were a part of last year's strong run into the national tournament.
"It is always valuable to have experience on your team just because we also have a pretty big group of freshmen as well," he said. "The returners have done a tremendous job of guiding the way and showing the new players of how we want things done here with the culture and expectations that we have in order to be successful at the level that we are successful at."
After this weekend, the Cougars will be back at home for a pair of games when they host Western Wyoming Community College on Friday, Nov. 11 and then Laramie County Community College on Tuesday, Nov 15, they will then head to the Casper GW Mechanical Tip-off Classic November 18-19 when they face Casper College and Salt Lake Community College. Salt Lake finished 21-9 a year ago while Casper won the Region IX tournament and competed at nationals as the automatic qualifier, falling in the first round to Hutchinson Community College. Casper was 28-5 a year ago.
Lu said the team is excited to be at home next week to showcase what this team is all about.
"They are excited. We have a new gym floor here. We are coming off a really nice season last year so we are looking forward to opening at home and trying to defend the Palace," Lu said.
Basketball season tickets can be purchased at the WNCC athletic office located in the Williams Building on the WNCC campus.