Two Lady Indians receive Region IX post-season honors

Two McCook Community College women's basketball players have received Region IX post-season honors.

Sophomore Madara Liepniece was named to the Region IX all-south team as well as being selected to the all-tournament team. Freshman Carolina Garcia Perdomo was one of five players named to the Region IX South all-defensive team.

Liepniece, the 5-7 point-guard from Riga Latvia, started all 31 games for MCC this year leading the team with 12.4 points per game, 3.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game. She was second on the team with 5.1 rebounds per game. She shot 34.0 percent from the field, 30.8 from the 3-point line and 70.9 percent from the free-throw line. During the season, she scored in double-figures 20 times, with a high of 25 coming against Laramie County Community College on Nov. 8.

She was named the South's Player of the Week three times this season claiming the top award in Week 2, Week 4, and Week 14.

In her only tournament game at Scottsbluff, she hit a critical basket with 0.6 seconds left in the game against Gillette to send the game into overtime, where the Lady Indians came up short 69.68. In being named to the all-tournament team, Liepniece played 34 minutes scoring 12 points, with four rebounds and three steals.

Garcia Perdomo, 5-8 guard from Islas Canarias, Spain, started 24 games for the Lady Indians and averaged 5.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. She had 33 steals on the season.

Casper College claimed their fourth straight Region IX title after defeating Western Wyoming Community College 67-55 in the championship game Saturday evening at Scottsbluff. Casper advances to the NJCAA Division 1 national tournament March 25-April 1 at the Wyoming Ford Center in Casper, Wyoming. Coach Dwight Gunnare was named the North Coach of the Year and Ryan Davis of Western Nebraska was the top coach in the South.