TORRINGTON – The Eastern Wyoming College Lady Lancers suffered their first loss of the season Friday evening at home against the Western Nebraska Community College Lady Cougars at the Verl Petsch Jr. Activities Center.
Western Nebraska used 12-2 and 6-0 runs in the first quarter en route to a 82-63 victory over the Lady Lancers.
“It was a good test for us and show us what we need to get better at,” EWC head coach Tom Andersen said. “It exposed some of our weaknesses. We’ll take it as a learning experience.”
EWC held an early 8-6 lead following a pair of free throws from sophomore guard Ines Salat Margarit, but the Lady Cougars answered with a 12-2 run over the next two minutes to grab their first lead of the game.
Western Nebraska’s size advantage played a large factor in the remainder of the game.
“It was a physical game. They let both teams play,” Andersen said. “When you let both teams play, the team that is bigger and taller is going to have an advantage. We have to counteract that with our speed and quickness and better shooting.”
By the end of the first quarter, the visiting Lady Cougars had extended its lead to as many as 11.
The Lady Lancer deficit held steady through halftime.
Early in the third quarter, Salat Margarit sank a 3-pointer to draw her team back within six, but that proved as close as EWC came to seeing the lead the rest of the evening.
Over the final 10 minutes of play, the Lady Cougars used 9-2 and 11-2 runs to pull away for the 19-point win.
WNCC outrebounded Eastern Wyoming 40-23 and outshot the Lady Lancers 43.9 percent to 34.8 percent.
“Offensively, we had a tough time scoring against their length. That is something we are going to have to fix before we play them again,” Andersen said. “They have a great team. They have some size. They have some good ball handlers.”
The Lady Cougars also knocked down eight 3-pointers.
“We allowed them to get some open looks, especially from the 3,” Andersen said. “That is something we wanted to take away from them but didn’t.”
Freshman forward Paula Martinez Sanz led the Lady Lancers with 18 points, while sophomore guard Abril Rexach Roure added 14.
The Lady Lancers return to action Friday and Saturday in Nebraska. On Friday, they travel to McCook for a 4:30 p.m. tip, while on Saturday, the Lady Lancers head to North Platte for a 1 p.m. contest.
WNCC 26 15 21 20 – 82
EWC 15 17 16 15 – 63
Western Nebraska: Tishara Morehouse 16, Merle Wiehl 27, Allysah Boothe 5, Andrijana Reljic 2, R’Manie Pulling 11, Eva Langton 4, Yuliyana Valcheva 7, Taylor Joplin 10.
EWC: Abril Rexach Roure 14, Ines Salat Margarit 7, Morning Gambler 3, Macie Mackey 4, Emily Buchanan 8, Kelli Raff 3, Nicole Cutler 4, Barbara Trehub 2, Paula Martinez Sanz 18.
