Thursday night the Rustlers faced up against the #23 ranked Casper College in their first matchup of the crossover and trailed 18-10 after 1 quarter. The Rustlers could not find their rhythm offensively as they trailed 34-20 at halftime. Casper came out hot in the 3rd quarter before eventually pulling away for a final score of 77-44. "Casper is a well-coached, veteran team with a lot of international experience. Teams like that bring so much to the table that you can't have a bad game, or even a bad possession or they can take advantage of it quickly and with precision. It's discouraging seeing missed layups and point-blank finishes go in and out while everything hits the bottom of the net for our opponents, but it is a matter of focus. Until we decide to do everything with a sense of urgency and elite focus, we will continue to fall short," stated Coach Westmoreland.

 

Friday afternoon was an exciting game all the way until the final buzzer, as the Rustlers squared up against the Lady Plainsmen of NJC for the 2nd time this season. From the opening tip-off, the game was in the hands of the Rustlers as they achieved their best shooting marks on the season, shooting 40% from the floor, 44% from deep, and 78% from the charity stripe. The Rustlers were led by freshman Criselle Mendoza who led the way for CWC going 6/12 from 3-point range finishing with 18 points on the evening. Both the Rustlers and NJC finished with 12 3's a piece. Going into halftime with a 39-31 lead, the Rustlers were feeling confident and ready for the second half. Foul trouble and fatigue began to creep up on the Rustlers who have started the semester short-handed without leading scorer Boyd (meniscus tear) as they only competed with 8 players this weekend. The Rustlers would still lead entering the 4th, 54-50 but over the course of the 4th quarter, there would be 12 lead changes as the game came down to the wire. Sophomore Ivana Bijic (15 points, 5 rebounds) suffered a sprained ankle early in the 4th quarter and Kalista Niu fouled out with 3 minutes to go (10 points, 13 rebounds) as the Rustlers competed the rest of the way with 6 players. Soon, freshman Taylor Elam would foul out and the Rustlers would finish with nobody over 5'6" on the floor. Melanie Garcia (15 points, 6 rebounds) and Criselle Mendoza would keep the Rustlers close as they head into the final minute. The Rustlers had a chance to tie the game with 10 seconds left, but a missed 3 on an inbounds play fell short before the Rustlers ultimately conceded 69-65. 

 

"I know games like this are just part of this wonderful sport we get to participate in, but days like today make me wonder who's holding this program's Voodoo doll and why they keep feeling the need to poke us with a needle, but we have got to find a way to move on with our heads held high. We are in a position, due to size and depth, where we cannot afford any mistakes. Any, at all. Unfortunately, a few errors, foul trouble and dumb luck with injuries cost us this game. But, if we use it as another learning experience then we can be better for it."

 

The Rustlers will open up a much-anticipated conference season this Saturday as they host Laramie County CC at 2 pm in Rustler's Gym, on January 21st.