Western Nebraska Community College’s Laura Montiel, the Cougars’ all-time career steal leader, is heading to the NCAA Division II level to continue her playing days after signing with Wingate University on Friday.
                Montiel finished her 2-year career with 223 total steals, which breaks the record set in 1987-89 from former Gering graduate Dawn Carlson, who tallied 220 steals.
                Montiel took her time to find the right place to transfer to and she found it. Wingate is a Division II basketball program in Wingate, North Carolina. Wingate finished last season at 19-11 before falling in the conference tournament to Coker, who went to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division II tourney.
                “I choose Wingate because after the visit, I saw that it was a really nice place where I could feel comfortable inside and outside the court,” Montiel said. “My goal for next year was to find a place where I’m going to be my best and also where I can be happy. I think Wingate is a perfect place where I can be happy and playing in college. I think it’s going to be a challenge because the girls are so physical. It will be different, but I am excited to see what’s going to happen next.”
                Montiel has a strong two years at WNCC and her sophomore season brought out the best in the guard that earned a spot on the Region IX All-Defensive team. Montiel played in 31 games this past season for a Cougar team that went 25-6. She pulled down 136 rebounds, dished off 95 assists, and had 102 steals.
                While she was a wiz at defense and picking the pocket of the player that she guarded for steals, she also became a good shooter, something that she wasn’t when she came to WNCC two years ago. Montiel finished with 558 career points, 316 of which came a year ago. She shot 50.4 percent from the field and made 32 career 3-pointers in her two years.
                Montiel said she has improved a great deal from when she came over to WNCC from Granada, Spain.
                “I would say I have improved a lot especially in my shooting because when I came here, I didn’t shoot at all,” she 5-foot-7 guard said. “I used to shoot back home one or two threes per season and since I came here I learned how to shoot way better because of the people that were around me. I also think I learned a lot about the communication these past couple of years. I have improved in different ways.”
                Her play on the court was one that was all-out with her aggressive style. She holds the career steal record with 223 and she also pulled down 224 career rebounds and also had 137 career fouls, only fouling out in three games in her career of 63 games.
                Montiel said breaking that record that was set in 1989 is special and something that wasn’t easy. She accomplished that record in a game against Eastern Wyoming College on March 13 when she tallied six steals in that Region IX tournament win.
                “I am really proud of that, you know, because it wasn’t easy,” she said. “Last year I had more freedom because I was a freshman, but this year I would say that I had more responsibility to be careful with my faults and all that. I am glad that coach this year let me continue my progress in steals in a better way.”
                Montiel will take several memories with her to Wingate when she heads their next year, but she will always remember Scottsbluff as a second home.
                “This year one of the memories that I always have is doing meditation before the games,” she said. “That was something I never did before and it was really nice to see how everyone was on the same page. Also, all the journeys like every practice with this team has been so special.”
                Montiel offers advise to all the players coming in next year and her advice is simple to become successful on and off the court like she has become.
                “I would say that you don’t be afraid of having mistakes because everything is new for everyone who comes here and everyone that comes here is in the same level so you have to earn your spot,” she said. “I would say don’t be afraid of having mistakes because when you have mistakes, then you’re going to get better.”          
                Montiel said when she came here she didn’t realize how special this place would become. Now, she said it will be hard to leave here to move on to her next college.
                “At the end of the day, what is the thing that sticks with you is the people around,” Montiel said and then had to take a moment to collect her thoughts after she was overcome with about a minute or two of emotion. “When I came here, I didn’t know it was going to be that special, and I was planning on just coming for a year and not it has been two years and it was like one of the best experiences of my life.”