by Alan Hoskins
Despite having no 6-footers on the squad, Kansas City Kansas Community College’s women’s basketball season could not have started any better – 13-0 and a No. 8 ranking in NJCAA Division II.
However, play in arguably the nation’s best Division II conference begins in two weeks so two non-conference contests to start the 2016 season loom big for the Lady Blue Devils. Livin’ The Dream comes to KCKCC at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 4, followed by North Central Wednesday, Jan. 6.
Outscoring opponents by 34 points a game, the Blue Devils have only been seriously tested on two occasions – wiping out 9-point deficits in the final quarter in wins over both Coffeyville and North Arkansas. Outsized in all but a couple of games, the Blue Devils have won with quickness and athleticism, outrebounding foes by 10 a game and forcing 23.3 turnovers per contest.
“This group does a good job of sharing the basketball and trusting one another’s abilities,” said coach Joe McKinstry. “If we don’t have a great look at a good shot, we’ve been able to move the ball where a teammate has the opportunity to score. And we want to play fast and get a lot of shots up. I’d rather have missed shots with the opportunity for an offensive rebound than turn the ball over.”
Cheyenne North, a 5-11 sophomore from Gallatin, Tenn., leads the way with a double double in scoring (17.4) and rebounding (11.3). She’s also averaging a conference-leading 3.7 blocks a game, leading in assists, shooting 51.1 percent from the field and just earned her third KJCCC Player of the Week honor the final week of 2015 play.
But it’s balance that has carried the Blue Devils to their unbeaten start with six players averaging eight or more points a game led by veterans Erin Anderson (16.0), Sierra Roberts (12.1) and Arrica Daye (9.3). They are joined by freshmen Brooklyn Wagner (8.7), Destiny Vincent (8.7) and Brie Tauai (8.0).
Anderson leads in steal with 3.8 a game while North (4.4), Daye (4.2) and Anderson (2.4) lead in assists. Despite their lack of size, the 5-7 Wagler (5.6) and Anderson (5.5) are second and third in rebounding followed by Tauai (4.7) and sophomore Janay Jacobs (4.2).
“Basically, we’ve gone with 10 players and everyone has played and contributed,” McKinstry said. “The sophomores have stepped up and really carried us while the freshmen as a group have done a great job of contributing. I knew coming into the position we obviously had a lot of talent and experience but at the same time it was the first time for everything including me understanding them as individuals as to what they could bring as a team and put them in position to be successful.
“Record-wise, we can’t be better. We’ve been tested at times and I like their resiliency in coming out and playing hard. Being outsized in 11 of our 13 games I think emphasizes how hard we compete and play. While our record and ranking are good, we know our scheduled hasn’t been the toughest and we have some deficiencies and are beatable. But so far we’ve stepped up and answered every challenge.”
With Highland, the No. 9 ranked team in Division II, and No. 1 ranked and defending national champion Johnson County looming dead ahead Jan. 13 and Jan. 16, the Livin’ The Dream and North Central games Monday and Wednesday loom especially large.
Alan Hoskins is the sports information director at KCKCC.