The Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team captured a pair of conference wins over the weekend in southern Colorado.

                On Friday, the Cougars overcame a first-quarter deficit and earned a 77-66 win over Trinidad State College. Saturday's contest against Otero College saw the Cougars bury 15 3-pointers and roll to a commanding 84-45 win over the Rattlers.

                The wins pushed the 24th-ranked Cougars record to 21-5 overall and, more importantly, to 7-0 in conference play.

                WNCC will be off until Friday when they host McCook Community College in a key conference battle. A win Friday and the Cougars will capture the South Sub-region and host the Region IX tournament which is slated for March 13-15.

                Saturday's win over Otero saw the Cougars trail just once in the contest and that was at 3-0. After that, WNCC ran off nine straight points behind six points from Adelina Urtane and cruised to the 22-9 first-quarter lead.

                WNCC continued staying strong as they pushed the lead to 24 points at 39-15 in the second quarter back-to-back 3-pointers from Urtane and Helena Kuck and then six straight points from Zozefine Sipolina. WNCC ended the half as Katie Vierra hit a triple just as time was expiring for the 47-22 halftime lead.

                The third quarter was a little closer as WNCC outscored Otero 21-17. The Cougars had a 30-point lead at 57-27 and the deficit fell below 30 points a couple times, the closest was 65-39 after a 5-0 run by Otero. WNCC got a late 3-pointer by Sipolina to end the quarter and lead 68-39.

                The fourth quarter saw the Cougars outscore Otero 16-6 and never looked back.

                WNCC shot 42 percent from the field and 44 percent from the 3-point arc, burying 15 3-pointers.

                Sipolina led the way with 28 points, including six 3-pointers, and Helena Kuck tallied 19 points with six treys. Also hitting for double figures were Urtane with 13 points and Nataly Dunka with 10.

                WNCC dominated the glass, out-rebounding Otero 49-36. Dunka and Lidia Hernandez led the way with eight rebounds each.

                Friday's game with Trinidad was a battle as the Trojans held a 24-23 lead after the first quarter as they held the Cougars scoreless in the last 1:37.

                The second quarter saw WNCC outscore Trinidad 18-14. Trinidad led by as much as nine points with just over six minutes to play at 36-27. That was when WNCC turned up the heat scoring five straight to cut the deficit to 36-32. WNCC took the lead with 1:16 to play in the half on an Urtane bucket and led 41-38 at the break.

                WNCC fell behind 42-41 in the third before Sipolina hit a triple to put WNCC up 45-42. WNCC never trailed again in the third, leading 59-52 after 30 minutes of play.

                The fourth quarter saw Trinidad tie the game at 61 with 5:39 to play. WNCC retook the lead a minute later on an Urtane bucket and cruised to the 11-point victory.

                WNCC shot 41 percent from the field and buried just six 3-pointers. The Cougars won the game from the charity stripe, making 15-of-22 free throws compared to just six for Trinidad.

                WNCC had four players in double figures, led by Sipolina with 18 points, followed by Dunka with 17, Urtane with 13, and Laura Montiel with 13.

Saturday's Game
WNCC                22 25 21 16 – 84
Otero                   9 13 17 9 – 45
WNCC
Lidia Hernandez 2, Helena Kuck 19, Laura Montiel 7, Adelina Urtane 13, Zozefine Sipolina 28, Katie Vierra 5, Nataly Dunka 10.

Friday's Game
WNCC                23 18 18 18 -- 77
Trinidad             24 14 14 14 -- 66
WNCC
Lidia Hernandez 4, Helena Kuck 6, Laura Montiel 13, Adelina Urtane 15, Zozefine Sipolina 18, Carleigh Pszanka 4, Nataly Dunka 17.