by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College’s women scored more points in the third quarter than they did the first two in a 72-55 win over Saint Mary’s JV in first round Keith Lindsey Classic play Friday.
Leading 24-20 at the half, the Lady Blue Devils poured in 32 third quarter points to open a commanding 56-29 lead for their fourth win in five starts heading into a 4 o’clock clash with archrival Penn Valley.
Only one Blue Devil had more than one field goal in the first half as the Blue Devils shot just 25.8 percent, turned the ball over 10 times and only stayed ahead by limiting the Spires to 24 percent shooting and forcing 15 turnovers.
However, the Blue Devils broke the game wide open with a 32-9 third quarter outburst led by a trio of sophomores, Brooklyn Wagler, Brie Tauai and Millie Shade. Wagler finished with a double double, 15 points and 12 rebounds along with a game high six assists; Tauai scored all of her 10 points in the second half; and Shade had 10 of her 14 points in the final two quarters.
Two other Blue Devils had eight points including six each in the second half, DaShundra Morgan and Whitney Hazlett, as KCKCC hit 19-of-33 shots for a crisp 57.6 percent. The Blue Devils also won the rebounding battle 43-40 and forced 27 turnovers while making 19 of their own.
“We showed in the third quarter what we are capable of on both ends of the floor,” head coach Joe McKinstry said. “Unfortunately, the first, second and fourth quarters hold significance too (KCKCC was outscored 46-40). Saint Mary is a tough team that plays hard but we’re going to see much more talented and skilled teams than that. So we had better figure out how to play a more complete game.”