by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Three members of Kansas City Kansas Community College’s national tournament-bound women’s basketball team have been earned Jayhawk Conference and Region VI post-season honors.
Record-breaking sophomores Erin Anderson and Cheyenne North have been named to the All-Jayhawk Division II and Region VI first teams; freshman Brooklyn Wagler to both second teams.
For North, it was her second year as a member of the All-Jayhawk team. The all-time KCKCC leader in blocked shots for a single season with 82, North is also the career leader with 14. Named Region VI Player of the Week four times, North was the only player in the region to average a double double for the season. She led the region in rebounding and finished fourth in scoring at 15.8 a game.
A 5-11 sophomore from Gallatin, Tenn., North also shot at a 49.2 percent clip from the field and handing out 3.4 assists per game. In KCKCC’s 63-56 win over No. 1 ranked Johnson County in the Region VI championship game, North scored 8 of KCKCC’s final 16 points while grabbing five rebounds.
As a freshman, North also led the Blue Devils in rebounding (7.9) and blocked shots (2.0) and was second in scoring at 11.5 points per game. Shooting 52.5 percent from the field, North was third in assists (2.2)
A 5-7 guard, Anderson has also written herself into the record books as one of best defensive players. With games still remaining, Anderson has 101 steals this season to tie her for sixth on the all-time theft list and her 198 steals in two seasons has her No. 3 on the career list.
Named the Lady Blue Devils’ most valuable player as a freshman, Anderson finished second in scoring (15.5) and third in assists (2.5). In addition to leading the region in steals, Anderson finished second in 3-point shooting accuracy at 38.4 percent.
A graduate of Edwardsville High School near St. Louis, Anderson also led the Blue Devils in steals as a freshman (3.0) while averaging 7.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 assists.
Had it not been for Highland’s Sonja Vukov, who was named both MVP and Freshman of the Year, KCKCC’s Wagler might well have been the top freshman after averaging 13.6 points and 8.8 rebounds in regional games and leading Region VI in field goal accuracy at 55.1 percent and ranking fifth in rebounding.
A 5-7 guard from Shawnee Mission Northwest, Wagler was second in rebounding for the season at 7.1 and third in scoring at 11.0. She averaged 10.0 points and 7.1 rebounds for all games. At one point in the season, Wagler had a streak of 24 straight games in which she did not shoot less than 50 percent from the field including two games in which she did not miss a shot with six or more attempts. She also had six double doubles with highs of 23 points and 14 rebounds at Highland, which was ranked No. 6 at the time.
North and Anderson were joined on the first All-Jayhawk team by Vukov and Johnson County’s Erica Nelson and Chastity Franklin. JCCC’s Ben Conrad was voted Coach of the Year.
Alan Hoskins is the sports information director at KCKCC.