by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
With win No. 10 safely in the books via a 97-53 win over William Penn junior varsity Thursday, Kansas City Kansas Community College’s Lady Blue Devils take to the road for their next three games.
At Washburn University junior varsity Monday at 5:30 p.m., the Blue Devils (10-1) will compete next Friday and Saturday in the Southeast Nebraska Classic in Beatrice. They’ll open play Friday against Central Nebraska at 2 p.m. and then meet host Southeast Saturday at 6 p.m. before returning home for a big re-match with Metropolitan Community College Tuesday, Dec. 11.
The inside-outside presence of sophomores Nija Collier and Camryn Swanson laid the ground work for the 97-53 win over William Penn.
Collier scored a game high 25 points on 10-of-12 field goal attempts, grabbed eight rebounds and came away with a season high six steals while Swanson had a season high 19 points that included 5-of-9 three-pointers.
Kisi Young had her second double-double in three days, scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds while Lillie Moore had a near double-double with 13 points and eight rebounds.
Caroline Hoppock added nine points, Brodi Byrd seven and Lenaejha Evans six while Caitlyn Stewart led in assists with five.
Tied 4-4 after more than three minutes into the game, the Blue Devils ran off 16 straight points for a 20-4 lead and led 23-11 after one quarter on 58.8 percent shooting.
They finished the game with 35-of-65 shots for 53.8 percent while limiting the Statesmen to 31.3 percent shooting. KCKCC also forced 33 turnovers but committed 21 and had only a 41-38 edge in rebounding.
“We shot the ball well but 21 turnovers take away a lot of opportunities to score,” KCKCC coach Joe McKinstry said. “Also, William Penn had 18 offensive rebounds and had a 10-0 run to finish the game. We have to be better than that.
“We did make 18-of-21 free throws (.857) which is fantastic but I’m still waiting on a night where we can shoot the ball well from 3-point. We’re capable of doing better (.375). And we have to do a better job in the fourth quarter. We have to stay focused. Now is the time we’re getting ready for January and February.”
