2025-26 WNCC Lady Cougar Basketball News
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WNCC women fall in first-round regional contest to LCCC
March 07, 2026The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team saw their season come to an end as Laramie County Community College came into Cougar Palace and advanced to the quarterfinals with a 73-59 win over the Cougar women Saturday afternoon. WNCC finishes the year 20-11 while LCCC moves on in the tournament that will be held March 12-14 in Rock Springs, Wyo. Saturday’s contest saw Laramie County shoot 52 percent from the field and bury five 3-pointers while the Cougars were just 37 percent and made just three treys. The big difference in the contest was LCCC had 31 defensive rebounds and controlled the boards 40-30 over the Cougars. -
WNCC women open regional with first-round game Saturday at home
March 04, 2026The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team finished the regular season at 20-10 and now begins the real season with the first-round of the Region IX tournament happening this weekend. The Cougars, who finished second in the South sub-region with a 10-4 record, will begin the tournament with a first-round home contest on Saturday, March 7 at 1 p.m. against Laramie County Community College. LCCC is the North seventh seed. The winner advances to the 3-day Region IX tournament March 12-14 in Rock Springs, Wyoming. Western Wyoming Community College won the North sub-region because of tiebreakers as Western Wyoming, Northwest College, and Gillette College all had 8-4 sub-region record.
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WNCC captures 20th win by downing NJC
February 28, 2026STERLING, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team captured their 20th win of the season, securing the South Sub-region second seed with a 75-57 win over Northeastern Junior College Saturday afternoon in Sterling, Colorado. The win moves the Cougars to 20-10 overall and 10-4 in the sub-region. WNCC will now host a first-round Region IX tournament game on Saturday at 1 p.m. against Laramie County Community College. The win was also a record-setting performance for Zozefine Sipolina, who made three 3-pointers, breaking the career 3-pointers made record set by Merle Wiehl from 2019. Wiehl had 160 made 3-pointers and Sipolina now has 163 made triples.
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WNCC women fall to North Platte in sub-region game
February 21, 2026NORTH PLATTE – The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team only scored eight fourth-quarter points as North Platte Community College outscored the Cougars 37-24 in the second half to claim a 69-66 South Sub-region win Saturday afternoon. The loss drops the Cougars to 9-4 in the sub-region, two games behind leading Lamar Community College, who is 10-2 after their 56-51 win over Otero College Saturday. WNCC has one more conference game left, and that is next Saturday at Northeastern Junior College. NJC is 5-8 in the conference after beating McCook Community College 71-58 on Saturday.
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WNCC women use big fourth quarter to down McCook
February 18, 2026The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team used a 16-7 run in the fourth quarter to down McCook Community College 68-55 in a South Sub-region contest Wednesday evening at Cougar Palace. The win keeps the Cougars in line to win the South Sub-region as they move to 9-3 in conference and 19-9 overall. Lamar leads the South with a 9-2 conference record. Other conference games on Wednesday saw Southeast beat Otero 72-68, North Platte top Northeastern 65-58, Lamar down Trinidad State 89-63, Central Wyoming top Northwest 78-65, and Eastern Wyoming defeated Casper 59-58. WNCC will wrap up the regular season with two road games when they travel to North Platte Community College on Saturday and then head to Sterling, Colorado, to face Northeastern Junior College on Feb. 28.
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Chesta-Carty nails buzzer-beater for win over Southeast
February 14, 2026LINCOLN -- Valentine’s Day showed some love to the Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team in a South Sub-region contest with Southeast Community College on Saturday. WNCC never led in the fourth quarter until Ella Chesta-Carty nailed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, giving the Cougar women the exciting 83-80 win over the Bobcats. WNCC trailed by four points with 46.1 seconds to play. That was when the Cougars scored four points in 15 seconds off a bucket by Chesta-Carty and then a steal and bucket by Juseana-Rae Delatori to tie the game with 31.4 seconds. The Cougars defense stepped up and got a shot clock violation with 1.8 seconds remaining after a replay review, setting up the final attempt. WNCC coach Ryan Davis called a timeout to set up a play and to move the ball to halfcourt. Veralyn Aviles inbounded the ball to Chesta-Carty, who took the pass, turned toward the basket, and went up for the 3-point shot that swished through the net for the win, sending the Cougar women and men in a mad celebration.
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Closing win against Southeast
February 14, 2026
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WNCC women never trail in win over Otero
February 05, 2026Celina Donyo and Zozefine Sipolina each had 17 points and the Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team scored 27 first quarter points enroute to a 66-59 win over Otero College Thursday evening at Cougar Palace. The win moves the Cougars to 7-2 in the South sub-region and 17-8 overall. Otero drops to 5-3 in the conference and 6-16 overall. Sipolina said it was a great win, especially playing as they did in the first quarter. “The team played very well together,” the sophomore said. “That start set the tone for the game. That is our standard.”
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WNCC women earn 89-60 win over Trinidad State
February 04, 2026Zozefine Sipolina had 24 points with five 3-pointers as the Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team registered an 89-60 South Sub-region win over Trinidad State College Wednesday at Cougar Palace. The win moves the Cougars into a first-place conference tie with McCook Community College as both teams are 6-2 in conference play. McCook lost to Lamar 52-45 in overtime Wednesday, Other conference scores from Wednesday saw Southeast top North Platte 69-55, Otero beat Northeastern Junior College 76-72, Laramie County topping Casper 78-67, and Central Wyoming defeating Gillette 92-78. WNCC will look for another win Thursday night when Otero comes to Cougar Palace for a 5 p.m. contest. Otero and Lamar are 5-2 in the conference.
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WNCC women come up short against North Platte
February 01, 2026The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team have been battling the injury and illness bug the last couple of games and the result showed as the Cougars shot just 32 percent from the field and 11 percent (2-of-19) from beyond the arc in falling to North Platte Community College 63-60 Sunday afternoon at Cougar Palace in a South Sub-region contest. The win drops the Cougars to 5-2 in the South Sub-region while North Platte goes to 3-4. The last time the Cougars lost to North Platte was in 1984-85 and the two teams didn’t play each other from 2009-10 season until renewing the rivalry in 2021-22 according to former NPCC sports information guru Mike Douty. WNCC will have a couple days to heal up as they will host Trinidad State College and Otero College on Wednesday and Thursday of this week in sub-region contests.
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WNCC women come up short against McCook
January 28, 2026MCCOOK – The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team came up a bucket short against McCook Community College, falling to the Indians 58-56 in a South Sub-region contest Wednesday in McCook. The loss snapped a 5-game winning streak and moved the Cougars to 5-1 in the South sub-region. WNCC and McCook are tied for the lead at 5-1 and Lamar is 4-1 after the Lopes defeated Trinidad State 77-44 Wednesday night. Other sub-region scores Wednesday saw Northeastern Junior College defeat North Platte Community College 65-61. North Platte will be WNCC’s next opponent as the Knights come to Cougar Palace on Sunday, February 1 with a 1 p.m. start. The North sub-region games on Wednesday saw Gillette top Laramie County 89-54, Northwest defeat No. 23 Casper 81-62, and Eastern Wyoming came back to down Western Wyoming 63-59.
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31-point fourth quarter lifts WNCC women over Otero
January 24, 2026LAJUNTA, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball scored 31 fourth-quarter points to come back to down Otero College 85-76 in a South Sub-region contest Saturday afternoon in LaJunta, Colorado. The win keeps the Cougars undefeated in the conference race at 5-0 and moves them to 15-6 overall. WNCC is the only unbeaten team in either the South or North Sub-region. The Cougars look to stay perfect when they travel to McCook Community College on Wednesday. McCook is 4-1 in the conference and 10-10 overall. After that, the Cougars return home for a Sunday, February 1 contest against North Platte Community College in another conference tilt.
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WNCC women stay perfect in conference with win over Trinidad
January 23, 2026TRINIDAD, Colo. – Zozefine Sipolina scored 26 points and the Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball remained unbeaten in the South Sub-region with a 71-64 win over Trinidad State College Friday evening in Trinidad, Colorado. The win moves the Cougars to 14-6 overall and 4-0 in the South conference. WNCC sets a top the South conference with McCook Community College. Lamar Community College, and Otero College all in second with one conference defeat. WNCC will look to stay atop the standings when they travel to Otero on Saturday for an afternoon contest in LaJunta, Colorado.
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WNCC stays perfect in sub-region with win over Southeast
January 17, 2026Charisma Johnson and Ella Chesta-Carty combined for 42 points and the Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team remained perfect in the South Sub-region with an 82-65 win over Southeast Community College on Saturday. The Cougars opened up a tight game with strong second and third quarters to forge to the win. WNCC head coach Ryan Davis said his team played well in the win.
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WNCC women top Lamar to remain unbeaten in conference play
January 14, 2026The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team put four players in double figures in earning a 79-59 win over Lamar Community College Wednesday evening at Cougar Palace. The big key in the win that pushed the Cougars to 2-0 in the South Sub-Region was a big first quarter and then a second half where the Cougars hit plenty of shots just before the shot clock buzzer went off. WNCC head coach Ryan Davis said his team played well and they hit shots when they needed.
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WNCC women top NJC to open conference play
January 10, 2026Veralyn Aviles scored a season-high 22 points and the Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball had a big first quarter in registering the 82-72 win over Northeastern Junior College Saturday afternoon at Cougar Palace. WNCC, 11-6 over and 1-0 in conference, had to battle against a NJC team that head coach Ryan Davis said is better than their 4-12 record. Aviles, who connected on 14 free throws on the night, said it was a big win in coming back from the loss to Gillette on Wednesday. “It’s definitely a big win. I mean, it’s our first conference game and its our home so it definitely got us a good feeling in starting off with a conference win,” the freshman from Brooklyn New York, said.
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WNCC women fall to Gillette on the road
January 07, 2026GILLETTE, Wyo. – The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team opened 2026 on the road against Gillette College and fell to the Pronghorns 69-54 on Wednesday. The Cougars saw all seven players that saw action get into the scoring column with three in double figures. Celina Donyo and Charisma Johnson each had 14 points while Aniaya Burton-Hernandez tallied 10 points. WNCC drops to 10-6 on the season as they will next be in action Saturday, January 10 when they open South Conference play against Northeastern Junior College at Cougar Palace. Tip-off for the conference showdown is slated for the 1 p.m. with the men’s game to follow.
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WNCC women use strong second half to down Gillette
December 14, 2025Ella Chesta-Carty had a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds as the Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team used a strong second half to down Gillette College Sunday 71-62. WNCC wraps up the first semester with the win and moves the Cougars to 10-5 on the season. WNCC will next be in action in 2026 when they travel to face Gillette College on January 7 before hosting Northeastern Junior College on January 10 to open South Conference play. WNCC didn’t lead in the game until with 34 seconds to play in the third period when Chesta-Carty hit a bucket, which was her 13th straight point.
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WNCC women fall to CSI on Saturday
December 06, 2025GILLETTE, Wyo. – The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team couldn’t make enough shots in falling to No. 12 College of Southern Idaho 71-47 to wrap up the Holiday Inn Express Invitational in Gillette, Wyoming, on Saturday. The Cougars drop to 9-5 on the season will wrap up the first semester play when they host Gillette College Sunday afternoon at Cougar Palace. That contest is slated for a 2 p.m. start. The difference in the game was shooting. WNCC shot just 30 percent from the field and were just 3-of-14 from the 3-point arc. CSI shot 48 percent from the field and were 3-of-13 from beyond the arc.
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WNCC women top CNCC for fifth straight win
December 05, 2025GILLETTE, Wyo. – The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team won their fifth straight contest after topping Colorado Northwestern Community College 76-52 in the second day of the Holiday Inn Express Invite in Gillette, Wyoming, Friday. The win moves the Cougars to 9-4 and they will wrap up the invite when they face No. 12 College of Southern Idaho Saturday at 2 p.m. Other games in the Invite on Friday saw Casper College top Dawson Community College 83-43 and CSI topped Gillette College 74-59.
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WNCC women win fourth straight by downing Dawson
December 04, 2025GILLETTE, Wyo. – The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team got 18 points from Veralyn Aviles and the Cougars captured their fourth straight win with a 67-52 win over Dawson Community College Thursday in the Holiday Inn Express Invitational in Gillette, Wyoming. The Cougars, 8-4, will be back in action Friday in the Classic as they play Colorado Northwestern Community College at 4 p.m. CNCC lost to Gillette College 74-42. The other game of the invite saw College of Southern Idaho 73-64. WNCC will play CSI Saturday afternoon.
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Sipolina scores 24; WNCC women top LCCC in overtime
November 29, 2025CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Zozefine Sipolina finished with 24 points, including a big 3-pointer in overtime as the Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team topped Laramie County Community College 74-70 in overtime to wrap up the LCCC Thanksgiving Classic Saturday. The win was the Cougars' third straight and the third overtime game in five games. WNCC moves to 7-4 on the season and will next be in action this weekend at the 3-day Gillette Classic where they will face Dawson, Colorado Northwestern, and College of Southern Idaho. Saturday’s win was one where there were 18 lead changes. WNCC took the lead for good with 2:29 to play in the fourth quarter and had just the tie to force overtime.
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WNCC women notch third straight win Friday
November 28, 2025CHEYENNE, Wyo. – The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team put four players in double figures enroute to their third straight win downing Central Wyoming College 70-66 in the Thanksgiving Classic in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on Friday. WNCC will wrap up the Thanksgiving Classic when they take on the host Laramie County Community College Saturday at 3 p.m. LCCC fell to No. 15 New Mexico Junior College 76-69. Friday’s contest saw the Cougars shoot 40 percent from the field and 40 percent from the 3-point arc. The Cougars were also 70 percent from the free throw line.
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WNCC women earn 75-59 win over EWC Tuesday night
November 25, 2025The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team lead from start to finish in putting four players in double figures in the 75-59 win over Eastern Wyoming College Tuesday night at Cougar Palace. The win pushed the Cougars to 5-4 on the season but, more importantly, stopped a 2-game losing skid. The win was a complete team effort with everyone contributing in some fashion. WNCC head coach Ryan Davis said the way the team played Tuesday showed a lot of character.
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WNCC women fall to Miles in overtime Monday night
November 24, 2025The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team dropped their second straight overtime contest as Miles Community College led for over three quarters of the contest in earning the 79-74 overtime win at Cougar Palace. It was the Cougars second straight overtime loss after falling to Casper last week. WNCC will try to get things back on the winning track when they host Eastern Wyoming College on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. After that, the Cougars will have a weekend trip to Cheyenne, Wyoming, on Friday and Saturday to face Central Wyoming College and Laramie County Community College.
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WNCC falls to Casper in overtime
November 18, 2025CASPER, Wyo. – The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team led for much of the final three quarters, but it was a Casper College 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left in overtime that gave the 22nd-ranked T-Birds the 69-65 overtime win in Casper, Wyoming, Tuesday evening. It was only the second time since the 1988-89 season that Casper and WNCC played an overtime contest. The last time before Tuesday overtime contest game in the 1992-93 season when Casper won 60-59 in the extra period. That same year, WNCC came back and defeated the T-Birds to win their first Region IX championship. In the history between these two schools, there have been very little run-away contests and Tuesday night was definitely one of them.
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WNCC women win third straight, topping CSU Club 82-39
November 13, 2025The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team put four in double figures as the Cougars won their third straight with an 82-39 win over the Colorado State University Club team Thursday evening at Cougar Palace. WNCC, 4-2 on the year, will be off until next Tuesday when they travel to face Casper College. The Cougars shot 55 percent from the field and buried four treys on the night. Colorado State shot 30 percent from the field and made five 3-pointers.
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WNCC women win second straight with 77-52 win over EWC
November 11, 2025TORRINGTON, Wyo. – The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team only trailed twice in the contest while putting three in double figures to earn a 77-52 win over Eastern Wyoming College Tuesday in Torrington, Wyoming. The Cougars were led in scoring by Ella Chesta-Carty with 15 points followed by Brynn Sybrant with 13 and Dunja Stojanovic with 12 points. Stojanovic said the defense played well in helping the Cougars to their second straight win, and that defensive intensity led to offensive points. “When we were defending, we had each other’s back. We communicated well and fought for every rebound,” Stojanovic said. “We decided to step up and open the game hard. We attacked them and played composed until the end. We shared the ball and the bench was active which brought so much energy for people on the court.”
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WNCC women put four in double figures in win over LCCC
November 09, 2025The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team put four players in double figures and held Laramie County Community College to just 11 points in the second and third quarter in registering a 71-55 win Sunday afternoon at Cougar Palace. Brynn Sybrant, who finished the contest with 15 points including seven straight to close the third period, said it was a big win for the team as they played well. “I thought we played very well. We definitely had more ball movement and that just came with us getting used to playing with each other,” Sybrant, the Casper Natrona graduate, said. “I think the win was definitely important just in the fact to prove that we know what we have and use it to our advantage to actually go out there and perform for the people and just prove to ourselves that we can compete with anyone.”
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WNCC women’s basketball comes up short against Casper
November 04, 2025The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team outscored Casper College 30-22 in the middle quarters, but Casper hit clutch free throws to earn the 53-47 win Tuesday night at Cougar Palace. Cougar head coach Ryan Davis said he liked how his team played, especially in that third quarter. “So when we went into the locker room after the Colorado Northwestern and Salt Lake game last weekend, we have keys written up on the board and I went in there and told them (last weekend) we didn’t do any of these,” he said. “Tonight, we had three things and they’re pretty simple: rebound it, play together, be physical, and move the ball. I think three out of the four things we did. So that doesn’t reflect on the stat sheet in a lot of ways.”
