TWIN FALLS, Idaho – The Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team put four players in double figures and opened the season with an impressive 74-46 win over Yavapai College Friday in the first day of the CSI Classic in Twin Falls, Idaho.
WNCC interim head coach Isaac Lu was pleased with how the team opened and showed a lot of potential.
"I thought we played pretty well overall," Lu said. "We had some nerves in the first quarter to start the game, but once we got going and got in the flow, we shot the ball really well, knocking down shots. We came out with a victory and it was great to see that. We still are working on things defensively but I am confident that we will make the progress that we need to become the team that we want to become."
The Cougars showed a lot of offensive potential on the day, putting four in double figures led by Jayla Owen and Ola Duda each with 14 points followed by 13 from Mia Jaye Sarkodee-Adoo and 10 from Yara Garcia.
"We have a lot of weapons offensively," Lu said. "I thought a lot of our players had nice games. We had 15 assists today so that is a great sign. As long as we continue to play together, play unselfishly, we will consistently take good shots every time down the court."
The defense also was big in the win as The Cougars never trailed in the contest. Lu was pleased with the defensive effort where the Cougars pulled down 60 rebounds led by Sarkodee-Adoo with 10 and Mackenzie Joseph with eight and Rashaan Smith with seven.
WNCC also had nine blocked shots with Smith collecting three and Faith Walker getting two.
"We gave up that run there in the first quarter and then after the first quarter we cranked it up defensively making sure we knew where shooters were and kept them out of the paint," Lu said. "We did a great job of defending without fouling as well."
WNCC jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter behind an old-fashioned play from Smith and the later a 3-pointer by Owen. Yavapai came back on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 10-9, but WNCC got five points from Sarkodee-Adoo to help the Cougars to a 16-14 lead after the opening 10 minutes.
Yavapai hit the opening bucket of the second quarter to forge the only tie of the game. After that, the Cougars went on an 8-0 run to lead 24-16 behind four points each from Garcia and Duda. WNCC pushed the lead to 29-17 after an awkward lay-up by Garcia and then a trey by Sarkodee-Adoo. WNCC led 41-25 at half. WNCC outscored Yavapai 25-11 in the second frame.
The Cougars outscored Yavapai 24-10 in the third quarter and played strong defensively. WNCC scored the first eight points for a 49-25 lead and held Yavapai scoreless for the first four minutes. Leading 51-30, the Cougars went on another 8-0 run behind four different players getting a bucket. The Cougars led 65-35 after three quarters.
The fourth quarter saw Owen open the 10-minute quarter with a steal and bucket. Yavapai answered with a 3-pointer three minutes later. WNCC didn't score again until with 3:35 to play on a Duda bucket followed by Owen nailing two free throws. With 30 seconds left, Natalie Barry finished off the Cougar scoring with a 3-pointer as the shot clock was winding down.
WNCC shot 33 percent from the field and 21 percent from beyond the arc. Yavapai shot just 24 percent from the field. WNCC buried seven treys, led by Sarkodee-Adoo with three and Owen with two.
WNCC was also sharp from the free throw line, going 15-of-16 from the charity stripe.
WNCC will look for another win Saturday afternoon when they face the College of Southern Idaho at 3 p.m.
Yavapai (0-2) 14 11 10 11 – 46
WNCC (1-0) 16 25 24 9 – 74
YAVAPAI
Tera Smith 9, Kishyah Anderson 5, Brooklyn Wiltbank 3, Keyla Cervantes 16, Tanniya Uehida 3, Jaiden Renne 2, Wynter Huskie 5, Saydee Allred 3.
WNCC
Shiho Isono 5, Jayla Owen 14, Mia Jaye Sarkodee-Adoo 13, Bree Fowler 4, Rashaan Smith 8, Yara Garcia 10, Mackenzie Joseph 3, Ola Duda 14, Natalie Barry 3.