by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Not all the cheers were for Kansas City Kansas Community College’s Region VI women’s basketball champions Tuesday night.
Jubilant Blue Devils rushed to the stands to applaud their fans led by a raucous group of Blue Devil soccer players who turned the celebrating into an atmosphere right out of a page of the British Premier Soccer League.
“The crowd was amazing and helped us tremendously,” said Blue Devil captain Camryn Swanson in the wake of KCKCC’s 84-71 win over Highland at Hartman Arena in Park City Tuesday. “Their energy was great throughout the whole game and made the atmosphere so special. Our team can’t thank them enough for traveling three hours to come watch us.”
For sophomores Kisi Young and Lillie Moore of Magnolia, Arkansas, the championship was extra special
“We’re getting to play for the national championship in our home state,” said an excited Young. The national tournament will be played March 19-23 in Harrison, Arkansas, which is located about 30 minutes south of Branson, Missouri.
“Amazing, I’ve never been a part of anything like this,” Young said. “This is a dream come true. As kids we all dream of becoming a champion and to cut down the nets.”
It was an exceptional night for Moore, who scored 25 points and hauled down a game-high 14 rebounds in arguably her best performance of the season.
“This is what we’ve been working for for two years,” Moore said.
Success came earlier than expected for freshman Brodi Byrd, who had 11 points, six rebounds and three assists in the first half to help the Blue Devils open a commanding 35-26 lead. A couple of her first-half field goals came on drives to the basket.
“I was surprised, surprised that I drove to the basket,” she grinned.
“It’s exciting, one of our best games,” said sophomore Caitlyn Stewart, the hero of KCKCC’s 79-76 overtime win over Johnson County last Saturday. Stewart made three fourth quarter 3-pointers, the last with 10 seconds left to force overtime.
“This win solidifies that hard work pays off,” Swanson said. “We started this grind in the summer and to have sought out our goals is truly spectacular. However, the biggest goal of ours still remains and that is to win a national championship.”
“Honestly, I’m not fully used to all this so it’s not something I take for granted,” coach Joe McKinstry said. “Now it’s our obligation to go represent this conference to the best of our ability.”