Zozefine 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.
WNCC moves to 16-8 overall on the season as they stopped a 2-game losing skid.
WNCC head coach Ryan Davis thought his team played hard in the contest to get the win, especially in the final 2 ½ quarters.
"I thought we played really hard," he said. "It took us a little bit, and when we got defensive stops, we got really good shots. We started playing inside out instead of just throwing the ball around the perimeter. Our energy went up. One of the biggest things we talked about in pregame was just being the more physical team attacking. T thought for 2 ½ quarters we really did that."
The big thing was the Cougars' shots were falling tonight and that was a big thing. In the previous four games, the Cougars shot under 40 percent and in the two losses, combined for just five 3-pointers. Wednesday night was a totally different story.
The difference in the game was shooting and rebounding. WNCC shot 40 percent from the field and buried 10-of-23 3-pointers. Trinidad was 38 percent from the field but made only 3-of-17 from beyond the arc.
"I did an interview with Chuck (Schwartz, KNEB radio play-by-play announcer), and he said, ' Is it easy as just saying when you hit threes you win the game? I said I don't know if it's that easy. I think it is the kind of threes we're getting. You know, when we just throw it around the perimeter and we don't get paint touches, our threes don't go in. But as soon as we do, the shots go in and we have rhythm. I think that's why we had 10 threes tonight."
The Cougars controlled the boards with a 59-36 rebound advantage. Burton-Hernandez had 14 boards followed by Sipolina with nine.
Wednesday's contest was one where all seven players suited up scored anywhere from eight to 24 points.
Sipolina was one of four players in double figures with her game-high 24 points. Ella Chesta-Carty tallied 17 points with three 3-pointers, while Celina Donyo had 12 points and Charisma Johnson had 11. Juseana-Rae Delatori finished with nine points, while Veralyn Aviles and Aniaya Burton-Hernandez each had eight points.
The first quarter and half was a dogfight. WNCC raced to a 7-2 lead in the first quarter, but saw themselves down 12-9 and later 16-15 before leading 17-16 after one period.
The second quarter saw Trinidad take a 22-21 lead and the two teams were knotted at 26-26 with just under five minutes to play. That was when the Cougars took off, going on a 15-0 run that saw three straight 3-pointers, two from Chesta-Carty and one from Sipolina for a 41-26 lead. WNCC led at halftime 43-28.
WNCC had a strong third period, outscoring the Trojans 27-11 as they held a 70-39 lead after three periods. Trinidad outscored WNCC by two in the fourth period 21-19.
Trinidad 16 12 11 21 – 60
WNCC 17 26 27 19 – 89
TRINIDAD
Aliyah Olawoyin 17, Allie Bishop 9, Bianca Oranias Ramon 8, Gabby O'Hara 8, Alessa Cantoria 4, Nyleen Brown 4, Yasmin Santana Dias 4, Ainna Lopez Cuco 3, Sofia Moran Servian 3.
WNCC
Zosefine Sipolina 24, Celina Donyo 12, Charisma Johnson 11, Juseana-Rae Delatori 9, Veralyn Aviles 8, Aniaya Burton-Hernandez 8.