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COLORADO CHRISTIAN DOWNS EAGLE BASKETBALL TEAMS

CHADRON – Colorado Christian scored 57 points in the second half and outscored the Eagles 32-15 during the final 12 minutes of the game en route to its 91-64 win over Chadron State College Saturday. Four players scored in double figures for the Cougars, led by Gillian Foster’s 16-point output. Taylor Torres added 14 points and BJ Moyes and Brittany Hernandez each scored 13 as Colorado Christian improved to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Four players also finished in double digits for Chadron State (1-6, 1-3 RMAC). Sadie Waugh scored a season-high 14 points to pace the Eagles, while Kattie Ranta and Kate Simonton each added 12 more. Also for Chadron State, Hattie Guzman scored 11 and Dallas Shaw sank two 3-pointers to finish with six. The Eagles shot well for the game, hitting 22 of 52 from the field, but the Cougars forced Chadron State to commit 29 turnovers that resulted in 35 points. The Cougars did much of their scoring damage in the painted area, outscoring CSC 50-18. Chadron State will play at Regis and Metro State next Saturday and Sunday.
Alex Helmbrecht, Sports Information Director

LAKEWOOD, Colo. – Colorado Christian’s Mike Brown scored 20 points and Kyle Weaver added 18 more as the Cougars turned back Chadron State 79-65 during their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game Saturday. The game started out well for the Eagles, now 0-8, as they opened the contest up on an 11-4 scoring run. However, the Cougars chipped away and went on a 16-0 scoring run during a five minute stretch to take control. In the second half, the Eagles cut the lead to five points on a couple occasions but the Cougars went on another run and led by as many as 20 points to improve to 6-6 overall and 1-3 in the conference. The Cougars’ offense clicked throughout the game. They made 32 of 70 shots, including 18 assists, scored 40 points in the paint and 10 more on fast breaks. The Eagles made 19 of 49 shots and were 22 of 33 from the foul line. Zac Bargen led Chadron State with 23 points and six rebounds. Kyle Vinich poured in 10 points and Grant Stone had 10 points and six boards. The Eagles will play at Regis and Metro State Saturday and Sunday.

HUSKER VOLLEYBALL SEASON COMES TO A CLOSE

Omaha – The fifth-seeded Oregon Ducks advanced to the first NCAA Semifinals in school history, rallying from a slow start to post a 3-1 victory over the fourth-seeded Nebraska volleyball team in front of 9,382 fans at the CenturyLink Center. The Huskers dominated the first set of the regional final in a 25-15 victory, but the Ducks won the next three sets, 25-22, 25-18 and 25-17.

With the win, Oregon (29-4) advanced to face No. 1 Penn State on Thursday at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. The match will start at either 6 or 8 p.m. (Central) and will be televised live on ESPN2.

Nebraska fell just short of its 12th NCAA Semifinal appearance, finishing its season with a 26-7 record.

Oregon, which leads the nation in kills, hit above .300 in three of the four sets, finishing with a .289 mark. Pac-12 Player of the Year and NCAA Regional Most Outstanding Player Alaina Bergsma led the way with an impressive performance.

All-Tournament Team Alaina Bergsma, Oregon (MOP) Ariana Williams, Oregon Lauren Plum, Oregon Gina Mancuso, Nebraska Lauren Cook, Nebraska Morgan Broekhuis, Nebraska Jen Hamson, BYU

NEBRASKA PREP BASKETBALL FINALS – DEC. 7

BOYS BASKETBALL
Adams Central 59, Centura 36
Ainsworth 65, West Holt 56
Alma 49, Wilcox-Hildreth 48, OT
Archbishop Bergan 52, Omaha Brownell-Talbot 48
Ashland-Greenwood 50, Elmwood-Murdock 42
Bancroft-Rosalie 76, Walthill 58
Bayard 52, Bridgeport 41
Beatrice 48, Crete 33
Bellevue West 57, Omaha Northwest 56
Bishop Neumann 53, Norfolk Catholic 43
Bloomfield 85, Winside 34
Boone Central/Newman Grove 46, Pierce 44
Bruning-Davenport/Shickley 64, Dorchester 45
Burwell 67, Ravenna 60
Chadron 55, Gordon/Rushville 35
Chamberlain, S.D. 66, Santee 32
Clearwater/Orchard 54, Niobrara/Verdigre 37
Cody-Kilgore 34, Arthur County 17
Columbus Lakeview 67, Aurora 63
Columbus Scotus 50, Grand Island Central Catholic 47
Cozad 57, Hershey 44
Crawford 45, Hay Springs 21
Creek Valley 47, Potter-Dix 32
Creighton 48, Neligh-Oakdale 32
CWC 57, North Central 40
Elgin Public/Pope John 59, Plainview 27
Elkhorn South 67, Omaha Skutt Catholic 64
Elm Creek 62, Sumner-Eddyville-Miller 23
Elwood 51, Pleasanton 43
Exeter/Milligan 65, Heartland 56
Falls City 65, Auburn 28
Fort Calhoun 64, Douglas County West 33
Franklin 41, Lawrence-Nelson 30
Freeman 49, Falls City Sacred Heart 47
Fullerton 70, Elba/North Loup-Scotia 28
Gering 56, Alliance 43
Gibbon 42, Loup City 38
Giltner 63, Shelby/Rising City 36
Gretna 62, Bennington 41
Guardian Angels 73, Scribner-Snyder 28
Hartington Cedar Catholic 67, O’Neill 64
Hastings 56, Holdrege 42
Hastings St. Cecilia 44, Doniphan-Trumbull 31
High Plains Community 62, McCool Junction 54
Homer 63, Allen 32
Humphrey St. Francis 79, Heartland Lutheran 56
Kearney Catholic 68, Ord 38
Kenesaw 51, Shelton 47
Kimball 48, Perkins County 45
Leyton 72, South Platte 28
Lincoln Christian 52, Lincoln Lutheran 41
Lincoln East 59, Kearney 42
Lincoln North Star 50, Norfolk 47
Lincoln Northeast 55, Columbus 45
Lincoln Southwest 72, Lincoln High 49
Loomis 60, Amherst 51
Lutheran High Northeast 46, Omaha Concordia 31
Lyons-Decatur Northeast 48, North Bend Central 30
Madison 61, Battle Creek 45
Meridian 49, Cross County 41
Milford 71, Fairbury 57
Millard North 59, Millard South 51
Mullen 60, Hyannis 34
Norris 54, Elkhorn 31
North Platte 57, Lincoln Southeast 35
Oakland-Craig 41, Pender 38
Ogallala 57, Sutherland 53
Omaha Benson 67, Papillion-LaVista South 47
Omaha Burke 68, Millard West 65
Omaha Central 68, Omaha Westside 49
Omaha Creighton Prep 48, Omaha Bryan 34
Omaha Gross Catholic 59, Schuyler 31
Omaha Nation 54, Emerson-Hubbard 48
Overton 66, Axtell 50
Palmer 69, St. Edward 38
Palmyra 45, Mead 40
Papillion-LaVista 49, Omaha North 47
Pawnee City 80, Craig-Fairfax, Mo. 29
Paxton 67, Brady 30
Platteview 53, Arlington 29
Plattsmouth 59, Nebraska City 46
Red Cloud 39, Harvard 38
Scottsbluff 60, Rock Springs, Wyo. 53
Sidney 58, Chase County 37
Silver Lake 49, Nebraska Christian 36
Sioux County 48, Minatare 44
South Loup 64, SMC 48
Southern 58, Tri County 25
Spalding/Spalding Academy 69, Arcadia 20
Sterling 45, Diller-Odell 37
Stuart 40, Twin Loup 30
Todd County, S.D. 70, Valentine 65
Twin River 59, Central City 41
Wallace 67, Maxwell 24
Wauneta-Palisade 42, Cambridge 39
Wausa 56, Wakefield 46
Waverly 56, Blair 38
Weeping Water 62, Omaha Christian Academy 57, OT
Wisner-Pilger 46, Tekamah-Herman 39
Wynot 57, Osmond 30
Blue Valley Tournament
Consolation Semifinal
Olathe Northwest, Kan. 49, Ralston 43
Cattle Trail Tournament
Consolation Semifinal
Hayes Center 51, Southwest 36
Oberlin-Decatur, Kan. 55, Maywood 32
Semifinal
Arapahoe 45, Hitchcock County 25
Dundy County-Stratton 65, Medicine Valley 55
Goodland Tournament
Consolation Semifinal
McCook 58, Goodland, Kan. 44

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Ainsworth 60, West Holt 51
Alma 63, Wilcox-Hildreth 40
Archbishop Bergan 31, Omaha Brownell-Talbot 28
Arthur County 59, Cody-Kilgore 39
Ashland-Greenwood 37, Elmwood-Murdock 25
Bancroft-Rosalie 74, Walthill 29
Beatrice 53, Crete 41
Bellevue West 70, Omaha Northwest 32
Bishop Neumann 50, Norfolk Catholic 47
Bloomfield 36, Winside 25
Brady 53, Paxton 32
Bruning-Davenport/Shickley 52, Dorchester 23
Centura 41, Adams Central 34
Chadron 65, Gordon/Rushville 31
Clearwater/Orchard 48, Niobrara/Verdigre 35
Columbus Lakeview 36, Aurora 30
Columbus Scotus 35, Grand Island Central Catholic 24
Crawford 42, Hay Springs 38
Cross County 74, Meridian 29
CWC 42, North Central 25
Elgin Public/Pope John 43, Plainview 41
Elwood 55, Pleasanton 28
Emerson-Hubbard 97, Omaha Nation 45
Exeter/Milligan 49, Heartland 36
Falls City 35, Auburn 29
Falls City Sacred Heart 51, Freeman 43
Fort Calhoun 55, Douglas County West 26
Franklin 28, Lawrence-Nelson 23
Fremont 37, Grand Island 30
Fullerton 42, Elba/North Loup-Scotia 40
Gering 44, Alliance 43, 2OT
Gibbon 42, Loup City 29
Gretna 62, Bennington 30
Guardian Angels 66, Scribner-Snyder 32
Hastings St. Cecilia 72, Doniphan-Trumbull 22
Holdrege 74, Hastings 36
Homer 67, Allen 23
Humphrey St. Francis 97, Heartland Lutheran 45
Kearney Catholic 65, Ord 32
Kenesaw 48, Shelton 38
Kimball 47, Perkins County 31
Leyton 49, South Platte 21
Lincoln Christian 46, Lincoln Lutheran 37
Lincoln East 53, Kearney 51
Lincoln Northeast 51, Columbus 37
Lincoln Pius X 40, Seward 38
Lincoln Southeast 65, North Platte 33
Loomis 42, Amherst 36
Madison 42, Battle Creek 25
McCool Junction 49, High Plains Community 37
Milford 36, Fairbury 27
Millard North 52, Millard South 27
Millard West 72, Omaha Burke 46
Mullen 49, Hyannis 29
Nebraska Christian 43, Silver Lake 37, OT
Neligh-Oakdale 48, Creighton 38
Norfolk 36, Lincoln North Star 26
Norris 53, Elkhorn 32
Omaha Benson 51, Papillion-LaVista South 30
Omaha Central 62, Omaha Westside 59, 2OT
Omaha Concordia 58, Lutheran High Northeast 36
Omaha Roncalli 43, Council Bluffs, Thomas Jefferson, Iowa 21
Omaha Skutt Catholic 43, Elkhorn South 40
Overton 46, Axtell 36
Palmer 48, St. Edward 38
Palmyra 57, Mead 40
Papillion-LaVista 47, Omaha North 38
Pawnee City 49, Craig-Fairfax, Mo. 30
Pender 43, Oakland-Craig 15
Pierce 48, Boone Central/Newman Grove 39
Platteview 68, Arlington 43
Plattsmouth 45, Nebraska City 36
Potter-Dix 48, Creek Valley 41
Ravenna 48, Burwell 35
Red Cloud 27, Harvard 17
Sandhills/Thedford 42, Ansley-Litchfield 36
Shelby/Rising City 51, Giltner 35
Sidney 44, Chase County 24
Sioux County 57, Minatare 16
South Loup 38, SMC 35
Southern 53, Tri County 19
Spalding/Spalding Academy 46, Arcadia 33
Sterling 48, Diller-Odell 40
Stuart 50, Twin Loup 36
Sumner-Eddyville-Miller 42, Elm Creek 31
Sutherland 65, Ogallala 46
Tekamah-Herman 41, Wisner-Pilger 28
Todd County, S.D. 47, Valentine 43
Twin River 39, Central City 36
Wahoo 54, Wayne 43
Wakefield 47, Wausa 33
Wallace 52, Maxwell 36
Wauneta-Palisade 47, Cambridge 31
Waverly 56, Blair 24
Weeping Water 56, Omaha Christian Academy 24
Wynot 54, Osmond 42
Cattle Trail Tournament
Consolation Semifinal
Hayes Center 45, Medicine Valley 43
Semifinal
Arapahoe 45, Hitchcock County 25
Dundy County-Stratton 52, Southwest 23
Goodland Tournament
Semifinal
McCook 64, Wallace County, Kan. 29

 

HUSKER VOLLEYBALL TEAM SWEEPS WASHINGTON

The fourth-seeded Nebraska volleyball team handed No. 13 seed Washington its only sweep of the season, defeating the Huskies 25-14, 25-21, 25-23 in front of 8,954 fans at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha on Friday in an NCAA Regional Semifinal.

With the win, the Huskers (26-6) advanced to Saturday’s NCAA Regional final against fifth-seeded Oregon, a 3-1 winner over No. 12 seed BYU in Friday’s first match. Saturday’s regional final, Nebraska’s first since 2009, is set for 5:30 p.m. (Central) and will air live nationally on ESPNU. Tickets are available for the match through Ticketmaster or by visiting the CenturyLink Center ticket office.

Washington ended its season with a 25-7 record.

Facing a physical Washington team, setter Lauren Cook led a balanced Husker attack that featured four players with at least seven kills. Nebraska, which hit .233 in the sweep, was led by Omaha native Gina Mancuso’s match-high 14 kills. Morgan Broekhuis and Hannah Werth added nine kills apiece and each hit at least .300, while Meghan Haggerty produced seven kills on 18 swings. Defensively, Werth produced 21 digs with a strong effort, while libero Lara Dykstra added 14 digs.

Washington was led by Krista Vansant’s 10 kills, while Kylin Munoz added seven kills. Defensively, the Huskies were out-dug 55-33 by Nebraska, but Washington out-blocked Nebraska 11-4, including a 10-0 advantage after the first set. Offensively, the Huskies hit .130, their fourth-lowest percentage of the season.

Set one was tight early, before Nebraska opened up an 11-7 lead with a 6-1 run. The run was fueled by a pair of kills and a solo block by Meghan Haggerty. After trading sideouts, Nebraska stretched the lead to 20-10 with seven straight points, including three consecutive Husker blocks. Following a service error, Nebraska won three straight points to cap a 10-1 run that put the Huskers in front 23-11. Haggerty then ended the 25-14 victory with her third kill of the set on Nebraska’s second set point. The Huskers featured a balanced offensive attack, as Broekhuis, Mancuso and Werth also had three kills in the set. Nebraska out-hit Washington .345-.028 in set one.

Nebraska kept its momentum by jumping out to a 6-1 lead in set two, forcing an early Washington timeout. Munoz recorded the Huskies’ first kill of the set following the timeout, then served an ace to cut the lead to three. Three quick Nebraska points stretched the lead to six before Washington trimmed the lead to 16-13 and the Huskers answered by pushing the lead back to six. But after a Washington sideout, Nebraska committed three consecutive hitting errors, including a pair of UW blocks, as the Huskies trimmed the lead to two at 19-17 and forcing a Husker timeout. Mancuso delivered back-to-back kills following the timeout, fueling a 5-2 run that gave Nebraska a 24-18 lead. Washington fought off three match points before a Broekhuis kill delivered a 25-21 win for the Huskers. Washington out-hit the Huskers .176-.154 in the set and out-blocked NU 6-0, but Nebraska produced nine more kills than the Huskies. Mancuso totaled six kills in the set, two fewer than Washington’s team total.

In set three, Nebraska won four of five rallies to take an early 5-2 advantage. Washington came back strong, using a 5-1 run to take a one-point lead. Neither team led by more than two until UW won four straight rallies to earn a 14-10 lead. The Huskies continued to lead by four until a 7-1 Nebraska run gave the Huskers a 19-17 lead and forced Washington into calling both of its timeouts. NU stretched the lead to three, before back-to-back Huskie points trimmed the lead to 21-20. Washington then pulled even at 22, forcing Nebraska to use its final timeout. A Mancuso kill and Washington net violation then gave Nebraska two match points at 24-22. The Huskies fended off one match point, before Broekhuis ended the match with her seventh kill.

COLORADO MINES MEN DOWN CSC, 72-67

CHADRON – Colorado School of Mines went on a 25-9 scoring run during the opening nine minutes of the second half and made it stand up for a wild 72-67 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference victory over Chadron State Friday night.

Chadron State, now 0-7, led by as many as 19 points in the first half and owned a 46-30 advantage at halftime but the Orediggers shot over 50 percent from the field and outscored the Eagles 42-21 in the second half to improve to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the RMAC.

Mines tied the game at 55-55 with less than 11 minutes to play and the Eagles and Orediggers proceeded to trade punches the final 10 minutes. Mines started to pull away late in the contest, though, and made nine of its final 12 free throws in the closing two minutes to seal the win.

Chadron State built its large lead in the first half with some hot shooting, especially from long range. They clicked on over 58 percent of their shots from the field and sank nine 3-pointers.

However, the Eagles’ shooting touch went away in the second half as they hit five of 19 from the field and just two 3-pointers.

Trevor Wages paced Colorado Mines with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Luke Meisch also scored 20 points and added eight boards and Brian Muller chipped in 12.

Zac Bargen led Chadron State with 19 points, David Downey scored 11 points in the first half and point guardJustyn Anderson scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds.

The Eagles will play at Colorado Christian today Saturday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

WNCC MEN WIN OVERTIME THRILLER

Cody Johnson finished with a double-double of 25 points and 18 rebounds, but it was his blocked shot with a second to play in regulation that helped the Cougars come back to drop Northwest Kansas Technical College 96-85 in overtime on Friday at Cougar Palace.

Johnson’s block came seconds after Willie Mangum connected on three free throws to tie the game at 76-76 with 9.2 seconds to play in regulation. It was then Johnson that blocked a shot by Northwest Kansas’ Gian Clavell to send the game into overtime.

In the extra period, the Cougars energy was enlivened by an enthusiastic crowd in outscoring the Mavericks 20-9 for the Cougars to even the Cougars’ record at 5-5.

WNCC coach Russ Beck said that his team won a dog fight and persevered when they had to.

“We will take it any way we can get it right know. Sometimes you just have to gut it out and find a way to win despite the circumstances,” Beck said. “I told the guys that that team was very, very scrappy and they are well coached and they have some talented players. I am happy with the win. We really turned it up in overtime. We had a very clutch play in terms of us talking about it in the huddle during a time out where they were really jumping to block shots. Willie got his guy in the air and picked up the foul, which was huge with under 10 seconds to play. That is a tough situation to be in to step to the free throw line and knock down three that you absolutely need. Then we come down and got a block and forced a miss to get to overtime. In overtime, we outscored them 20-9 and we really got pumped up.”

The game was an epic battle between two talented teams. WNCC started the contest on a tear, jumping to a 13-3 and later a 19-6 lead behind five 3-pointers, including a game-opening trey from Rich Williams and two from Mangum. Northwest Kansas came back to cut the deficit to 25-21 only watch the Cougars outscore the Mavericks 16-8 on 3-pointers by Charles Ward and Zach Clemens for a 41-32 halftime lead.

In the second half, the Cougars built a 50-39 lead before Northwest scored eight straight to cut the deficit to 50-47. WNCC, once again, pushed the lead back to near double digits on a couple occasions. Northwest never gave up and finally tied the contest at 59-59 with 6:25 to play. Moments later, the Mavericks took their first lead of the game at 62-61 on a bucket by Talan Whitaker.

Northwest seemed in control, leading 74-69 with under a minute to play. That was when WNCC refueled its energy. Ward hit a jumper to cut the lead to 74-71. After a missed free throw, Johnson nailed two free throws with 20.1 seconds to play. Clavell then put the Mavericks up 76-73 with 16.8 seconds to play. Mangum then came down and was fouled putting up a 3-pointer with 9.2 seconds to tie the game.

The overtime period saw the Cougars go on an 8-0 run to go up 86-78 on two buckets by Youssoupha Kane. Northwest cut the lead to 86-82 with 2:00 minutes to play before WNCC scored the final nine points for the win.

The Cougars had four players finish in double figures. Johnson had the big night with is 25 points, but Mangum and Ward gave off the bench to chip in 20 points each. Rich Williams also came up big, scoring 11 points from his starting position.

Beck said that Johnson had a big game.

“Cody had a really big double-double with 25 points and 18 rebounds,” he said. “He also had that huge block, but the most critical thing was his 8 of 8 from the free throw line. When you can get that from one of your big men, you are in business.”

The big difference in the game, however, was shooting. Northwest was 34 percent from the field but were just 29 percent from behind the arc (13 of 44). The Cougars show 49 percent in the first half and then were just 29 percent in the second half. But, in the extra period, the Cougars were hitting 62 percent of their shots for the win.

WNCC, 5-5, will wrap up the first semester next weekend when they compete in the Northwest Wyoming tournament in Powell, Wyo. Beck said he wants his team to finish the season on a high note and then head into second semester with some momentum.

“We just want to finish this semester on a high note because as we look around the league, there are a lot of teams that have nice records like 10-2, 9-1, and 8-2 but they have played six or seven jayvee teams,” he said. “We have played three out of the last four national champions and everybody that we have played in November has been ranked last year. We feel like we are battle tested, been in some situations with some tough teams, we lost some and we won some, but we hope down the stretch as we improve that this team has a chance to compete for a championship because of the schedule that we have played.”

NW Kansas                         31 45 9 – 85

WNCC (5-5)                        42 34 20 – 96

NORTHWEST KANSAS

Kayman Garrett 3, Gian Clavell 26, Talan Whitaker 10, Juan Ortiz 3, Markees Walker 25, Marcus Walden 3, Nicholas Riley 7, Lamar Burton 2, Jeffrey Burgos 6.

WNCC

Zach Clemens 3, Quante Cooley 4, Rich Williams 11, Willie Mangum 20, Trey Moore 2, Isaiah Castellaw 2, Charles Ward 20, Cody Johnson 25, Youssoupha Kane 3, Chad Calcaterra 4.

COLORADO MINES WOMEN DOWN CSC, 65-59

GOLDEN, Colorado – The Colorado School of Mines women’s basketball team opened the second half on an 11-0 scoring run and then made four of six free throws in the closing seconds to secure a 65-59 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference victory over Chadron State College Friday evening at Lockridge Arena.

Only five Orediggers scored in the game but four of them ended up in double figures, led by Taylor Helbig’s 22 points. Tory Langas added 15 points and 10 rebounds, Angie Charchalis, who entered the game as the RMAC’s scoring leader, chipped in 12 points and eight boards and Courtney Gallo finished with 11.

The game was close throughout but Mines led the majority of the contest and even pushed its lead to as many as 14 points early in the second half. However, the Eagles fought back and trimmed the Orediggers’ advantage to four points three times in the final seven minutes but they could never turn it into a one-possession game.

Dallas Shaw led Chadron State (1-5, 1-1 RMAC) with 15 points and six rebounds and Kattie Ranta had her second double double of the season, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Three other Eagles scored at least eight points. Sadie Waugh and Kate Simonton each scored nine and Lisa Durden had eight points and seven rebounds.

Also for Chadron State, Greer Babbe had six points and seven boards.

The two teams both made 23 field goals and had 47 total rebounds but Mines hit two more 3-pointers and four more free throws than the Eagles to earn the win.

Chadron State will play at Colorado Christian Saturday. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m.

WNCC WOMEN NOW 13-0

The sixth-ranked Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball put five players in double figures and remained undefeated with a 90-41 win over Hastings College junior varsity in the second day of the Holiday Classic on Friday at Cougar Palace.

The Cougars controlled the game from the get-go with a strong start. Laurin Rivera, a freshman from Colorado Springs, Colo., said this team has a knack to start strong.

“We are all ready to play in every game so that is good,” she said. “We just come out strong and don’t focus on what the other team is; we just come out strong in every game and that is what gets us the lead.”

The Cougars scored the first 21 points of the contest with a tenacious defense that had three steals and two 3-pointers from Shalisa Moffit and Jess Samorodova. Hastings’ first bucket didn’t come until six minutes was gone as Abby Jackson picked the pocket of Gritt Ryder for the easy score.

WNCC came right back and scored 14 straight points, including back-to-back buckets by Rivera to go up 35-2 before leading 43-8 at halftime.

The big reason for the Cougars strong their ability to take the ball to the hole and that is what they did a night after they connected on 12 3-pointers against Colby on Thursday. The Cougars connected on just 6 of 11 treys in Friday’s contest as Shalisa Moffit had three.

Rivera said this team can score from anywhere on the court.

“This game was definitely a driving to the basket game,” she said. “We can definitely do both like shoot from outside and drive inside. Tonight, we just played really well together and I am excited that we have a victory.”

Hastings started the second half by connecting on two 3-pointers by Rachel Walton and Jackson, but the Cougars depth was too much for Hastings as WNCC went up 57-15 and then used a late run15-6 run to open up an 80-32 lead that was aided by 3-pointers by Rivera and Kelsey Doddridge and four points from Katie Kerkhoff.

The Cougars blistered the nets for 62 percent shooting compared to 25 percent for Hastings. Once again, the Cougars shared the ball on the court, dishing out 29 assists and getting 24 steals. Rivera paced the team with eight assists while getting four steals. Mikayla Brower, Gritt Ryder, and Moffit all had four assists. Ryder and Maurissa Ortega led the team with five steals each.

The Cougars offensive output was enormous with five players in double figures while the Cougar bench outscored Hastings 43-9.

Samorodova and Ryder paced the team with 14 points each followed by Rivera’s 11 points, and Ortega and Jessica Aratani each with 10 points.

WNCC, 13-0, will wrap up the Holiday Classic as they face Air Force Prep at 3 p.m. at Cougar Palace. Air Force Prep came back from a 12-point second-half deficit to sting Colby Community College 61-58 on a last-second shot. The first game on Saturday has Colby facing Hastings at 1 p.m.

Hastings JV                         8 33 – 41

WNCC (13-0)                      43 47 – 90

HASTINGS JV

Jesi Markvicka 4, Abby Jackson 8, Katie Hofer 5, Rachel Walton 9, Haley Gebers 7, Chelsie White 4, Kyle Gee 2, Makenzie Mudloff 2.

WNCC

Laurin Rivera 11, Kelsey Doddridge 6, Gritt Ryder 14, Shalisa Moffit 9, Katie Kerkhoff 8, Maurissa Ortega 10, Michelle Brassard 2, Ashley Stevens 4, Jessica Aratani 10, Jenna Lindquist 2, Jess Samorodova 14.

ALLIANCE WRESTLING TEAM DOWNS SCOTTSBLUFF, 40-38

Alliance hosted Scottsbluff in dual wrestling action Thursday night. The Bulldogs won the team competition by a 40-38 score.

Individual Results:

106 — Cristian Hulsey, Alliance lost by pin, to Cruz Delacruz, Scottsbluff

113 — Eli Moreno, Alliance lost by pin to Keegan Hessler, Scottsbluff

120 — Devin Ushio, Alliance won by pin over Ryan Aratani, Scottsbluff

126 — Walker Johnson, Alliance won by pin over Marcos Garcia, Scottsbluff

132 — Tyler Smith, Alliance won by forfeit

138 — DJ Wear, Alliance won 12-1 over Isaiah Jaramillo, Scottsbluff

145 — Kade Weber, Alliance lost by pin to Sabian Harsh, Scottsbluff

152 — Jeff Heusman, Alliance lost by pin to Tristan Donelson, Scottsbluff

160 — Cameron Nagaki, Alliance won by forfeit

170 — Dawson Johnson, Alliance won by pin over Cody Rossman, Scottsbluff

182 — Nick Smith, Alliance won by forfeit

195 — Kyson Schnell, Alliance lost 6-4 to Cameron Presher, Scottsbluff

220 — acob Baldwon, Alliance lost by tech. fall 18-2 to MArio Soriano, Scottsbluff

285 — Donald Red Nest, Alliance lost by pin to Andrew Aratani, Scottsbluff

There were 4 JV matches

Truen Henderson, Alliance won by pin.

Matt Pachak, Alliance lost by Tech Fall.

James Long, Alliance lost 15-6.

David Hinojosa won by pin.

Alliance travels to the Cheyenne Invitational Saturday.

BRONCOS SMACK RAIDERS, 26-13

OAKLAND, Calif. — Peyton Manning threw his 30th touchdown pass of the season on the game’s opening drive, and the Denver Broncos rolled to their eighth straight victory, beating the Oakland Raiders 26-13 on Thursday night.

Knowshon Moreno ran for 119 yards and a score on a career-high 32 carries and Matt Prater kicked four field goals for the Broncos (10-3), who moved a half-game ahead of New England and Baltimore for the second-best record in the AFC. Denver visits Baltimore next week in a game that will help decide who gets a first-round playoff bye.

Carson Palmer threw one interception that thwarted a possible scoring chance for the Raiders (3-10) and lost a fumble that set up a touchdown for the Bro
ncos as Oakland lost its sixth straight game.

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