Month: February 2019

Late treys, Collier rally Lady Blue Devils past No. 3 JCCC 69-64

Sophomore Caitlin Stewart knocked down one of the biggest shots of her career Monday, a baseline jumper for a 62-59 lead with 1:43 left that helped propel KCKCC to a 69-64 win at Johnson County. (KCKCC photo by Alan Hoskins)

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

Kansas City Kansas Community College’s Lady Blue Devils couldn’t buy a 3-point field goal the first 36 minutes Monday night, then knocked down three in a row to rally to a 69-64 win over No. 3 ranked Johnson County.

Billed as a battle of Jayhawk Conference heavyweights, it was all that – nine ties and 15 lead changes before sophomore Nija Collier and freshman Brodi Byrd provided the knockout blows.

Boyd drew the Blue Devils even 57-57 with a trey with 3:35 left, Collier put KCKCC ahead to stay 60-59 with a three at 2:21, Caitlyn Stewart knocked down a critical baseline jumper for a 62-59 edge with 1:43 to go before Byrd delivered a dagger 3-pointer for a 65-59 lead with 1:08 remaining.

Two Stewart free throws widened the KCKCC lead to 67-59 with 25 seconds left and Lenaejha Evans wrapped it up with two charity tosses in the final three seconds.

“It was a game of runs and we were fortunate we made the last run with the right amount of time left,” said KCKCC coach Joe McKinstry, who ended a string of five straight losses to the Cavaliers. “A big win; I thought we showed some real toughness and resiliency.”

The win over a JCCC team that had been ranked No. 1 in the nation most of the season tightened KCKCC’s hold on the Jayhawk Conference lead.

At 5-1, the Blue Devils (23-3) lead Highland and Labette (both 4-2) by one game and the Cavaliers (3-3) by two games with four to go. KCKCC is right back in action Wednesday, playing host to Hesston while Highland and Labette are colliding in Parsons.

Nija Collier (KCKCC photo)

Collier, the 6-0 sophomore from Detroit, led the Blue Devils with an All-American performance – 25 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and three blocks.

All were game highs and came when the Blue Devils needed them most – 19 points and 12 rebounds in the second half.

“We had no answer to No. 14 (Collier),” said JCCC coach Ben Conrad, whose Cavaliers suffered only their third loss (23-3).

“I was nervous going in,” Collier said. “I wanted to prove to other teams that they were wrong, that we are the best.”

One of the top 3-point shooters in the conference, Collier missed her first six threes before draining the one that put the Blue Devils ahead to stay.

“Coach (assistant Tameka O’Neal) told me to keep shooting; it’s going to go down. I like to take the big shots; my teammates push me to take big shots,” she said.

Lenaejha Evans was the only other Blue Devil in double figures with 12 points including two treys while Stewart had eight points, six rebounds and three steals in guiding the offense for 36 minutes.

“Biggest win in my two years,” Stewart said.

Byrd contributed the two big 3-pointers while Lillie Moore and Kisi Young got the Blue Devils off to a 14-point lead in the first half with six and five points.

KCKCC surged to a 28-14 lead with 7:19 left in the half only to turn ice cold, getting only baskets from Moore and Young in a 12½ minute span in which JCCC outscored the Blue Devils 24-4 and led 38-32 before Evans finally ended the drought with 5:05 left in the third quarter. That’s when Collier took over, scoring 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in the final 15 minutes.

Neither team shot well, KCKCC 25-of-69 for 36.2 percent; JCCC 24-of-72 for 33.3 percent.

The Blue Devils had a 40-37 rebound edge; JCCC fewer turnovers 13-11.

K.K. Jackson-Morris had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead JCCC.

“I think we lacked a little confidence early,” McKinstry said. “When you play Johnson County you’re going to get shots but you have to be ready when you get them. I think we were finally were able to adjust.”

KCKCC will take a four-game winning streak into Wednesday’s game against Hesston – wins over Fort Scott which was ranked No. 13 early in the season, No. 10 Highland, No. 16 Labette and No. 3 JCCC.

“I bet no other team has played a tougher stretch than that and to win all four makes me very proud of this team,” McKinstry said.

The Blue Devils play at Fort Scott Saturday and Highland next Wednesday before a season-ending home re-match with JCCC Saturday, Feb. 23.

Resident suffers minor burns in home fire

A resident suffered minor burns to the face in a home fire on Monday afternoon in the 7900 block of Haskell Avenue.

According to the Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department’s spokesman, a woman was taken to the hospital with minor burns to the face.

One dog perished in the fire, according to the fire report.

Firefighters answered the alarm at 1:46 p.m. Monday at the single-family home, and saw flames showing from the top of the building, according to the report.

The cause of the fire is undetermined and is under investigation, the fire report stated.

Two pumpers extinguished the fire, with help from a quint unit, according to the fire report. In all there were eight suppression units, three EMS units and six other units responding to the fire, totaling 41 fire personnel.

The estimated dollar loss to the property was $20,000, with contents loss estimated at $10,000, according to the Fire Department.

Tuesday weather: A sunny end to sleet and rain

Today, with sunny skies and a high near 37, Wyandotte County will see an end to sleet, rain and snow until the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

The temperature was 31 at 8 a.m. Tuesday, with a northwestern wind that made it feel like 20 degrees.

A greater warmup is in the forecast for Wednesday, which might reach highs of 55, the weather service said.

On Thursday, Valentine’s Day, the warm temperatures persist with a high of 52, according to the weather service.

On Friday, though, a cold front arrives and temperatures will plummet to a high of 25, with a chance of snow, the weather service said. More snow is forecast for the weekend, and it will be a cold 25 degrees on Monday, Washington’s Birthday.

Today, it will be sunny, with a high near 37 and a west northwest wind of 10 to 15 mph, gusting as high as 22 mph, the weather service said.

Tonight, the low will be 23 with a west wind of 5 to 9 mph becoming calm in the evening, according to the weather service.

Wednesday, it will be mostly sunny with a high near 55, the weather service said. A south southwest wind of 5 to 14 mph will gust as high as 18 mph.

Wednesday night, it will be partly cloudy, with a low of 38 and a south wind of 10 to 14 mph, gusting as high as 26 mph, according to the weather service.

Thursday, Valentine’s Day, it will be partly sunny with a high near 52, the weather service said. A south wind of 9 to 11 mph will become north northwest in the afternoon, with winds gusting as high as 21 mph.

Thursday night, there is a 20 percent chance of snow after midnight, according to the weather service. The low will be around 20.

Friday, there is a 60 percent chance of snow, mainly after noon, with a high near 25, the weather service said.

Friday night, there is a 30 percent chance of snow after midnight, with a low of 12, according to the weather service.

Saturday, it will be mostly sunny with a high near 30, the weather service said.

Saturday night, there is a 60 percent chance of snow, mainly before midnight, with a low of 19, according to the weather service.

Sunday, there is a 30 percent chance of snow, with a high near 29, the weather service said.

Sunday night, it will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 13, according to the weather service.

Monday, Washington’s Birthday, it will be mostly cloudy, with a high near 25, the weather service said.