Newsletter 11/12

What’son tap• Nov. 13 — WBB vs.Colorado Christian J.V.,Cougar Palace, 6 p.m.• Nov. 15-17 — VB atNJCAA National Tourney,West Plains, Mo.• Nov. 16-17 — MBB atRegion 18/9 Challenge,Casper, Wyo.• Nov. 16-17 — WBB atCentral Wyoming Classic,Riverton, Wyo.• Nov. 20 — WBB vs.Casper College, CougarPalace, 5 p.m.• Nov. 20 — MBB vs.Western Wyoming C.C.,Cougar Palace, 7 p.m.• Nov. 27 — MBB vs.Casper College, CougarPalace, 7 p.m.• Nov. 29-30 — WBB atAir Force Prep Classic,Colorado Springs, Colo.• Nov. 30 — MBB atHoliday Classic, Sheridan,Wyo.• Dec. 1 —MBB at HolidayClassic, Sheridan, Wyo.• Dec. 1 — WBB at AirForce Prep Classic, ColoradoSprings, Colo.• Dec. 6-8 — WBB vs. HolidayClassic, Cougar Palace.• Dec. 7 — MBB vs.Northwest Kansas TechnicalCollege, CougarPalace, 7 p.m.• Dec. 11 — WBB atColorado Christian J.V.,Lakewood, Colo.• Dec. 14-15 —MBB atNorthwest Classic, Powell,Wyo.• Jan. 7 —MBB/WBB atNorthwest Kansas TechnicalCollege, Goodland,Kan.Continued: Women’s basketballteam undefeated after four gameslete in Wyoming with the Milward-SimpsonAward in July.The big addition to theteam this year is Evgenia-JessSamorodova. Samorodova is a6-3 center from Russia, who canshoot form inside and outside.Other newcomers to theteam include 5-4 Lauren Rivera,5-10 Michelle Brassard,and 5-9 Shalisa Moffit of ColoradoSprings, Colo., 5-6 KatieKerkhoff of Parker, Colo., 5-6Maurissa Ortega of Lafayette,Colo., 5-3 Simone Evans of Aurora,Colo., 5-9 Alyssa Yates ofSpokane, wash., and 6-0 JennaLindquist of Ft. Collins, Colo.Harnish is pleased with theprogress of the freshmen bothon the court, the weight roomand in the classroom so far thisseason. Harnish said he is lookingfor plenty of success thisseason.“I honestly can say thatthis team will be tough to beatwhether at home or on the roadbecause we defend well, andyou have to defend well whenyou to on the road. I think weare that,” Harnish said. “I am reallyexcited and I think we willbe fun to watch. I hope peoplecome and watch us play becausethey will see a great work ethic,and they will see the game theway it is supposed to be played,the blue-collar way. I am excitedto show this team to the publicand watch them play.”So far the team has shownplenty of depth on the team asany where from 10 to 14 playershave contributed scoring.Samorodova leads the team averagingabout 12 points a gameand the big girl in the middlehad a double-double against Ft.Carson with 21 points and 11rebounds.While defense will be thestrong suit for the Cougars,Harnish said the offensive sideWNCC sophomore transfer Gritt Ryder drives to the basket duringthe Lady Cougars home opener against the Nebraska All-starson Nov. 3. Ryder has helped lead the Cougars to a 4-0 start.still needs to come around. Inthe first two games of the ColbyClassic against Colby andCNCC, the team did not shootwell from the field, the 3-pointarea or the free throw line.That is an area of concernthat he hopes is turned aroundas they head into a tough slateof games the end of Novemberwhen they have to face CentralWyoming College and MilesCommunity College the weekendof Nov. 16-17 and then laterwhen they face Casper Collegeat home Nov. 20.Harnish was pleases howthe team improved through thegames at the Colby Classic, especiallyin the shooting aspec inthe Ft. Carson game.“We had a very good weekendand a very good start to theseason to go 4-0,” Harnish said.“We played hard and competedall weekend. We have done everythingwell this weekend [inall the games] except shoot andwe shot better today [against Ft.Carson].”