Western Nebraska Community College's Zozefine Sipolina scored 92 points in four games last week in helping the Cougar women to four wins and to a 21-5 record.
For her efforts, Sipolina was named the Region 9 Division I Player of the Week for the week ending February 16.
Sipolina, a freshman guard from Latvia, scored 92 points in those four games with 20 3-pointers and going 12-of-15 from the free throw line. She also pulled down 14 rebounds and had six steals.
Sipolina is averaging 15.6 points a game this season while shooting 38 percent from the 3-point arc and 85.7 percent from the charity stripe. Sipolina has made 406 points this season and buried 82 3-pointers this season.
Sipolina became one of just 30 women's basketball players to net 400 points in a season on Saturday with her 28 performance against Otero College. Her 82 3-pointers made this season is tied for second in the record book along with Lyndie Puckett's 82 made back in 2014-15. Merle Wiehl leads with 121 made triples in the 2018-19 season.
Sipolina will lead the 21st-ranked Cougar women in a key sub-region game on Friday, February 21 when McCook Community College comes to Cougar Palace for a women's and men's doubleheader beginning at 5:30 p.m.
The contest is important for the Cougars because with a win Friday, the Cougars will win the South Sub-region and host the Region IX tournament March 13-15. McCook comes into the contest winners of their last three with a 17-10 record. On Wednesday, McCook defeated Northeastern Junior College 76-54.
WNCC is 21-5 overall and 7-0 in the South Sub-region while McCook is 6-1 in the conference. WNCC defeated McCook 67-50 back on January 28 at McCook. In that game Sipolina and Adelina Urtane each had 17 points for the Cougars while the team buried 12 3-pointers.
McCook was led by Madara Liepnience with 13 points followed by Peyton Cox with 11. The Indians had just two triples in the contest.
The McCook and WNCC men's game will be interesting as well Friday night. WNCC is battling to stay in second place in the South Sub-region and are still in a race to win the sub-region crown with a 5-4 conference record. WNCC is 10-15 overall.
The McCook men come to Cougar Palace with a 12-13 record and are 2-5 in the sub-region. The last time out for the two squads was on Wednesday when WNCC defeated North Platte at Cougar Palace 85-83 while McCook hosted Northeastern Junior College and fell to the Plainsmen 76-63.
The game will also be a food drive for the WNCC Cougar Cupboard. Spectators can bring donations for the food drive and receive $1 off admission per can and if they bring five or six cans, they get in free. All donations will be used in the Cougar Cupboard for WNCC students.