Press Release from Central Wyoming College Athletics
Rustlers’ Women Split in Helena
The Rustlers got back in the win column this weekend, but their efforts were not enough to bring home two wins as they competed in the Carroll College Holiday Classic. The Rustlers are now 6-8 on the season with 2 games left before the break.
On Friday night, the women were led by freshman Emily Sawyer with 16 points and 12 rebounds for her 4th double-double of the season, and Natalia Ballin who poured in 11 points, 10 rebounds and 8 steals leaving her 2 steals shy of a triple-double in the Rustlers 63-45 victory over Rocky Mountain College.
On Saturday, the Rustlers were not able to carry over the same performances as they fell to Carroll College 63-55. Esperanza Vergara led the Rustlers with 12 points while Natalia Ballin contributed 11 points. Ariana Rodriguez also brought 9 points to the performance.
“We are making progress, but winning matters,” stated Coach Westmoreland. “We can’t shoot 30% every night and expect that to be enough, but without putting in individual work to improve our shooting percentages, we will continue to lose games to teams with less talent than us because they’re doing the big things like getting in the gym. There were some things we could’ve changed defensively, of course, to slow Carroll down, but at the end of the day, the ball goes in the hoop. Whichever team does that part of the game better, wins.”
The Rustlers finish up the semester next weekend at North Platte, Nebraska in the Hampton Inn Classic, followed by two early January contests before conference play begins on January 18th.
Men Limp Into Break After 0-3 Week
Men’s basketball wrapped up their first semester of games last week. Playing three opponents: Snow College (NJCAA #6), McCook, and Trinidad State (defending Region 9 champions). The week did not go the way the Rustlers were hoping, dropping all three contests. Here is a breakdown of each game:
GAME #1: CWC: 86- SNOW: 107
The second meeting against the 6th-ranked Badgers did not have the same feel as the first contest. After battling Snow on their home court a couple of weeks earlier, the Rustlers did not have the same level of pop they did in game 1. Snow jumped all over the Rustlers early and did not let up. “You can see why this team is undefeated and ranked sixth in the country. They are physically more mature than us, play better as a team, and outworked us in every aspect of the game.” commented Coach Schmit on his team’s poor performance.
GAME #2: CWC: 76- MCCOOK: 79
Traveling to Sterling, CO for the Region 9 crossover event were the last games on the schedule for the first semester. On Friday, CWC took the court to play McCook. Both teams have shown glimpses of their potential first semester with some quality wins and bad losses. For 40 minutes, the game was a battle with both teams holding leads throughout the contest. With CWC holding a 5 point lead with 5 minutes to play, the game looked like it would go to the Rustlers. Sloppy offense and lack of a competitive spirit on the defensive end saw McCook battle back to take the lead late. A late turnover and missed three point shot at the buzzer saw CWC drop the contest.
GAME #3: CWC: 69 – TRINIDAD STATE: 87
Coming off of back to back losses to play the defending Region 9 champions was not the spot the Rustlers wanted to be in. “We are not playing our best basketball right now, so taking on a team with a winning pedigree, a top 30 team in the NJCAA, and a team coming off a loss, was not something me or the guys were excited about.” Coach Schmit stated about the game against Trinidad. Though the final margin was 18 points the game was in question up until the last five minutes. CWC was within 4 at the 9 minute mark. With a poorly played stretch of basketball, the lead quickly ballooned from 4 to 15. The Rustlers could never regain any momentum, which led to the lopsided final score.
The Rustlers head into Christmas break with a record of 6-9. The team will return to the court on Friday, January 5th against Otero and Saturday, January 6th against Lamar. Both games will be held in the CWC gym.