by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC sports information
It was almost like déjà vu all over again for the Lady Blue Devils of Kansas City Kansas Community College.
In 2016, the Blue Devils had lost twice to unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Johnson County, the second time by 91-61, and yet 22 days later, KCKCC beat the Cavaliers 73-66 to win the Plains Region VI championship (and eventually a national championship).
This season, the No. 1-ranked and unbeaten Cavaliers posted 11 and 24-point wins over KCKCC but in epic fashion Saturday, the Blue Devils grabbed the 67-59 Plains championship and a shot at another national title at Friends University in Wichita.
The win came from the two biggest shots in the young career of De’Jaria (D.J.) Guillory, a 5-8 freshman from Park Hill South. Guillory, who a quarter earlier had helped the Blue Devils let a 12-point lead slip away, first broke a 57-57 tie with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:44 left and then delivered the dagger, another 3-pointer from the same place and a 63-59 lead with 51 seconds left and the win.
“She got us the lead and then put the game away,” KCKCC coach Joe McKinstry said. “We knew both shot opportunities would be there; you just have to make the shots and D.J. did. A great job.”
Trailing 17-16 after one quarter, the Blue Devils grabbed command in the second period by shooting 53.3 percent and limiting JCCC to just four field goals to lead 34-26 at the break. They were still comfortably ahead 48-36 when sophomore Aliyah Myers, the driveshaft of the Blue Devil offense and defense, picked up her third and fourth fouls in a matter of 23 seconds and went to the bench.
With Myers out, the Blue Devils committed four straight unforced turnovers, three by Guillory, in less than two minutes and momentum shifted to JCCC.
Other than a 3-pointer by Tiara Earnest, the Cavaliers outscored the Blue Devils 9-3 to start the fourth period and went ahead 55-54 with 5:39 remaining.
A Jewel Hart free throw and Ikla Elam layup regained the lead 57-55 only to have JCCC pull even on Jaylen Townsend’s rebound and follow shot with 2:48 left and set the stage for Guillory’s heroics.
After Guillory’s first 3-pointer made it 60-57, JCCC’s Gabby Fuller scored on a layup but Guillory’s second 3-pointer gave KCKCC a 4-point lead and Myers (who else?) sealed the win with a steal and two free throws to set off a wild celebratory dog pile in front of the KCKCC bench.
“Defensively, I thought our girls did a great job,” McKinstry said. “We changed some things and our guards did a very good of making it difficult for their guards.”
So tough the Cavaliers made just two of 12 three-point attempts after averaging nearly eight 3-pointers and 23 attempts during the season. The 59 points are also a season low for JCCC, which averaged 78 points during the season.
In addition, the Cavaliers committed 21 turnovers, nearly twice as many as they had averaged during the season.
“A whole, whole lot for them,” McKinstry said. Fourteen of the turnovers came on Blue Devil steals including four by Myers and three by Guillory.
And while the lankier Cavaliers dominated rebounding 45-40, McKinstry was delighted by the post play of Ikla Elam and Jewel Hart, who combined for 24 points and nine rebounds.
“They put their post players in foul trouble and were tough physically. They had no answer for the two of them,” McKinstry said.
Five players scored in double figures for KCKCC. Guillory had 14 points, Hart and Elam 12 each and Myers and Earnest 10 apiece. The 5-6 Earnest led rebounding with seven while Hart added five and Elam four.
The Blue Devils will learn Monday who and when they’ll play in the national tournament, which has been shifted from Michigan to the campus of Catawba College in Charlotte, N.C. , April 19-24. Fortunately or unfortunately, KCKCC and JCCC could clash a fourth time. Because of the Covid pandemic, one at-large team will be added to the 16-team double elimination tournament and as the No. 1 ranked NJCAA Division II team, JCCC seems the logical choice.
“If we do, I hope it’s on Saturday night in the championship game,” McKinstry said.