The Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team lost a heartbreaker to Lake Region State College in a contest that went down to the final second.

                The Cougars 3-point shot at the buzzer hit the rim and wouldn't fall as the Royals out of North Dakota earned the 74-72 win Saturday at Cougar Palace.

                The game was one of halves for the Cougar women as WNCC shot just 28.1 percent in the first half and then played better in the second half with 50 percent shooting.

                WNCC led just twice in the first quarter at 2-0 after Shiho Isono made the opening bucket and then 4-3 after Ola Duda hit two free throws. After that Lake Region would lead 18-10 after the opening quarter.

                The second quarter saw Lake Region jump to a 32-14 lead on a Simone Clay 3-pointer with five minutes to play. WNCC came back to cut the lead to 34-21 after Jayla Owen and Isono each had 3-pointers, but the Royals led 40-26 at halftime.

                WNCC played a lot better in the second half. In the third period, the Cougars outscored the Royals 27-21 and cut the deficit to single digits at 61-53 after an Owen field goal to end the third.

                The fourth quarter saw the Cougars score the first nine points including a big 3-pointer by Bre Fowler within the first minute of the quarter and then Isono helped the Cougars take their first lead since the first quarter on two Isono free throws with 8:13 to play.

                The two teams were then tied at 64-64 with 5:19 to play. Lake Region retook the lead at 69-64 on back-to-back Ray'ven Robinson field goals. Lake Region led 73-69 with 25 seconds to play when Owen hit a trey with 12 seconds to play to bring the Cougars to within 73-72. With six seconds to play, Brailyn Davis hit one of two free throws for a 74-72. WNCC had one last chance to tie or win the game and Fowler's trey from the corner by the Cougar bench hit the rim and bounced away giving the Royals the hard-played win.

                Lake Region was led in scoring by Robinson with 28 points.

                WNCC had four players in double figures led by Duda's 22 points including going 8-for-8 from the charity stripe. Also hitting double digits included Isono with 15 points with five assists and seven steals; Fowler with 11 points and three 3-pointers, and Owen with 10 points.

                WNCC will be back in action next weekend when they host the Region IX Crossover Tournament Thursday through Saturday. WNCC will play Thursday at 7 p.m. against Central Wyoming, Friday at 7 p.m. against Casper College, and Saturday at 6 p.m. against Western Wyoming.

Lake Region        18 22 21 13 – 74

WNCC                   10 16 27 19 – 72

LAKE REGION

Ray'ven Robinson 28, Brooke Kleinig 5, Simone Clay 11, Kyla Fitzgerald 10, Brailyn Davis 7, Tiziana Hulci 6, Lara Navarro 7.

WNCC

Shiho Isono 15, Jayla Owen 10, Yara Garcia 3, Bre Fowler 11, Mackenzie Joseph 2, Imani Harris 6, Ola Duda 22, Faith Walker 3.