by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College’s busy young women’s basketball team is off for a well-deserved break after closing out first semester play with a 76-67 loss at Des Moines Area Community College in Boone, Iowa, Thursday night.
Finishing pre-holiday play with a 13-4 record, the Lady Blue Devils are now idle for 28 days before resuming play Jan. 11 with a home game against Ottawa University JV.
Leading 15-12 after one quarter, DMACC used a 22-14 second quarter for a 37-26 halftime lead and then maintained 10-12 point leads through most of the seconds half. Closest KCKCC could get was 64-58 with 3:49 remaining but the Bears ran off the next seven points to open a 71-58 spread and improving to 11-3 on the season.
Forwards provided much of KCKCC’s scoring as Kisi Young had 20 points, Nija Collier 15 and Lillie Moore 12. Miya Ford added eight points while Camryn Swanson and Ashley Daniels had KCKCC’s only 3-point goals and finished with five points teach.
“Judging by the shot chart that we keep on the bench, we missed 25 shots in the paint and were 2-of-16 from the 3-point line,” KCKCC coach Joe McKinstry said. “In a 9-poing loss, it’s not hard to see where we came up short. This is probably the sixth or seventh game in a row that we have shot poorly from the perimeter.”
KCKCC’s third game in five days, the loss was the third in the last four games for the Blue Devils, who will tumble in the NJCAA Division II national poll after being ranked No. 11 in the first rankings.
“I have to take much of the blame for our recent struggles,” McKinstry said. “We’ve played 17 games up to this point. That’s the most in the country. When you have a team full of new faces and 13 freshmen, 17 games is a lot in 45 days. I think we are physically and mentally tired and that’s completely on me,
“We also have to understand that as the season goes on, teams are going to be making it difficult for us and taking away certain aspects of the game,” he said. “We’ve got to do a better job of preparing ourselves and take advantage when the opportunities come. We’re young and our future is bright but it’s up to us on how bright it will be.”