SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. - 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 (Scwartz, 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.

WNCC men fall to Trinidad on a buzz-beating shot 74-72

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team lost another heartbreaker as the Trinidad State College’s TaRea Fulcher hit a bucket just has the clock registered zero to give the Trojans a 74-72 South Sub-region win Wednesday evening at Cougar Palace.
WNCC falls to 2-6 in the conference while Trinidad State goes to 3-4. WNCC will have little time to rest as they host Otero College Thursday night at 7 p.m. Otero is 2-5 in the conference after they lost to Northeastern Junior College Wednesday night 76-65.
Other conference games on Wednesday saw Southeast top North Platte 77-74, McCook defeat Lamar 101-90, Casper defeated Laramie County 85-83, and Gillette defeated Central Wyoming in double overtime 74-73.
Wednesday’s contest with Trinidad State resembled a chess match as the two teams each made moves to take the lead all through the game. There were 16 ties in the contest and 15 lead changes.
WNCC’s largest lead was seven points early in the first half at 20-13 while Trinidad’s largest lead was four points at 13-9.
WNCC had the 20-13 lead in the first and led 26-19 late in the first. That was when Trinidad made a run, going on an 8-3 run to trail WNCC 29-27 at halftime.
The second half was back and forth as both teams were not going to give an inch as the final 20 minutes saw five ties and 11 lead changes. WNCC had 4-point leads early and then had a 63-59 lead with just over five minutes to play. Trinidad scored six straight to take a 65-63 lead. WNCC retook the lead at 68-65 on a Noah Jones old-fashioned 3-point play with three minutes to play.
Trinidad resumed the lead with 1:22 left on the clock at 69-68. Kellon Harris hit two free throws with 1:03 left for the Cougars 70-68 lead. WNCC then forced a big turnover with 41.5 seconds to play and Viktor Lukic-Gavric made two free throws with 23.6 left for a 72-69 lead. Trinidad tied the game at 72 when Fulcher hit a 3-pointer with 14.7 seconds left. WNCC came down for a chance to win the game, but turned the ball over with 2.4 seconds to play. Trinidad set up for the final play and threw the ball to half court and Fulcher drove to just within the 3-point arc and buried a jumper just as the shot clock went off for the game winner.
WNCC shot 36 percent for the field and made 6-of-31 3-pointers. Trinidad shot 40 percent from the field and made 8-of-24 triples. Free throw shooting was pretty even as WNCC was 18-of-22 from the line while Trinidad was 20-of-25.
WNCC had three players in double figures, led by Harris with 16 points followed by Xavier Kirkpatrick with 12 and Lukic-Gavric with 11.

Trinidad 27 47 – 74
WNCC 29 43 – 72
TRINIDAD
Demorae Pritchett 15, Dylan Omweno 15, TaRea Fulcher 12, Maurice Thomas 10, Kenny Black-Knox 9, Donavahan Cain 4, Damarius Taylor 3, Woul Chak 2, Logan Montgomery 2, Sean Spencer 2.
WNCC
Kellon Harris 16, Xavier Kirkpatrick 12, Viktor Lukic-Gavric 11, Noah Jones 7, Amare Jackson 7, Dorin Nguema 6, Toms Linis 4, Witold Czerenkiewicz 4, Isaiah St. Preux 3, Melchi Egbeyemi 2.