by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC sports information
The beat goes on for Kansas City Kansas Community College’s high-geared women’s basketball team.
The highest scoring NJCAA Division II team in the nation, the unbeaten and No. 6 ranked Blue Devils literally raced to a 94-44 win over Metropolitan Community College Tuesday night.
It was the seventh straight win for KCKCC, which leads the nation in total points, field goals and games played and is second in scoring average (87.7) and steals and third in assists. In all, KCKCC ranks in the Top 10 in 11 categories.
The Blue Devils never trailed Metropolitan in scoring 90 or more points for the fourth time this season.
Capitalizing on 38 Wolves turnovers, the Blue Devils time and again beat Metro’s defense down the floor for layups. Leading 24-10 after one quarter and 42-21 at the half in which reserves combined for 20 points, KCKCC poured in 34 points in the third quarter in shooting 63.2 percent.
Eleven Blue Devils scored, eight with seven or more points. Aliyah Myers led the way with 19 points, 13 in the first half; six rebounds and eight assists, all game highs.
Tiaira Earnest and DeQuaria Guillory added 12 points each, Ikla Elam and Trinity McDow 9, Mercer Roberts 8 and Faith Putz and Lacy Whitcomb 7. De’Jaria Guillory led in steals with six; Earnest in assists with four.
“Obvious Aliyah Myers was fantastic the first half,” KCKCC coach Joe McKinstry said. “Leading the nation in steals coming into the game, she was credited with only one but she does so much more than she’s credited for. She is our motor and gets us going.
“But we had some other good performance. De’Jaria Guillory gave us a huge energy boost when she got in the first quarter and jump-started us with six steals. Ikla Elam gave us big boost in the second quarter. And while we don’t have a dominant post player, our what I call a ‘three-headed’ monster of Mercer Roberts, Trinity McDow and Elam gave us 26 points and 11 rebounds from the post position. It’s great to have their depth and they all bring something different to the table.”
McKinstry was equally happy with the defense.
“Forcing 38 turnovers with no full court press, just man-to-man half court was fantastic,” he said. “This is the best guard talent I’ve had.”
Unless McKinstry is able to add another game, the Blue Devils are now idle until a week from Thursday (Feb. 18), a return battle with Metropolitan on the Penn Valley campus.
