by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
A new era in Kansas City Kansas Community College women’s basketball will get underway Wednesday when the Lady Blue Devils open the 2017-2018 season.
The opener Wednesday will be against North Central Missouri College in Trenton, Mo., with the home opener Thursday against Graceland junior varsity at 6 p.m. The Blue Devils have six games in their first 11 days including St. Mary junior varsity Nov. 6 and the annual Keith Lindsey Classic against William Penn junior varsity and Penn Valley Nov. 10-11.
With only one returnee from last year’s 19-win team, Joe McKinstry faces a total rebuilding job in his third season as Lady Blue Devil head coach.
“Obviously we knew the way we recruited last year we would be in this situation,” McKinstry said. “We’re very young and inexperienced. But for our staff, this is the start of a two-year plan. We spent a lot of time recruiting and putting this team together and we’re very excited about the group we have here.
“The key for us as a staff and program will be to try and stay patient and focus on the big picture. We do have good talent and good depth – more size, length and athleticism than the past two years.”
That says a lot. Two years ago in McKinstry’s first year, the Blue Devils surged to the NJCAA Division II national championship, KCKCC’s first ever. Without a 6-foot starter, KCKCC swept the four-game national tournament by an average margin of 19 points a game to cap a 33-3 season. Despite losing four starters, the Blue Devils were 19-13 last year.
Alix Wilson, a 5-9 guard from St. Joseph (Mo.) Central, is the lone returnee from last year, Wilson, who played in 32 games (eight as starter), is coming off hip surgery following last season.
“We’re looking forward to her being healthy and filling a bigger role,” McKinstry said. The only other sophomore is guard Ally Lollis, a transfer from the University of Tampa. A good shooter, she’ll be counted on as a perimeter scoring threat. A capsule look at the Blue Devil roster by position:
Point guard – “Two very capable players who will share playing time,” McKinstry said. “Caitlyn Stewart from Wichita Maize is more of a traditional point guard with her speed and ability to involve teammates; Tyrionne Martin from New Orleans is more of a scoring point guard and ball handler who is learning how to run the offense.”
Shooting guard – “An abundance of guards,” McKinstry said. “Very wide open with a lot of competition every day to pick up the speed of the game and immediately contribute at this level.”
In addition to the two sophomores, Wilson and Lollis, the wealth of freshmen hopefuls include 5-10 Caroline Hoppock from Olathe East; 5-9 Camryn Swanson, Blue Springs, Mo.; 5-7 Ashley Daniels, Schlagle; Miya Ford, Piper; and 5-4 Gene Ojeda, Shawnee Mission Northwest. Once the KCKCC volleyball concludes, the Blue Devils will also get the services of 6-0 Randi Johnson of Lee’s Summit, Mo.
Power forward – No pure post player but four solid candidates to rebound and score inside. They are 6-0 Nija Collier of Roseville, Mich.; 5-11 Lizzie Stark of Liberty (Mo.) North and a pair of teammates from Magnolia, Ark., 6-1 Lillie Moore and 5-9 Kisi Young.
“All will get plenty of playing time and the opportunity to contribute,” McKinstry said. “A lot of talent that’s working hard to learn to play at this level.”
Makayla Jacobs, a 6-0 sophomore transfer from Tabor College in Hillsboro, and 5-10 guard Kiara Brown of Schlagle, will redshirt this season.
“It’s a team I think can be fun to watch,” McKinstry said. “Our goal from the start of practice is to get better every day and build towards getting our talent to come together and understand how to compete at this level, especially when playing in the toughest conference in the country.”
That’s no exaggeration – national tournament finalists in each of the last four seasons. In 2014, Highland finished second in the Division II national tournament. The next year Johnson County won it; KCKCC followed suit in 2016; and JCCC was second last season. In KCKCC’s national championship season, the Blue Devils defeated the No. 1, No. 2, No. 5 and No. 12 seeded teams in the national tourney and none came closer than 14 points.
“Last year, all five teams in our conference were ranked in the Top 20 at one time or another,” McKinstry said. “Johnson, Highland and Labette all finished in the top 15 in the national rankings. We finished fourth in the conference and won 19 games. That says a lot about the Jayhawk.”
McKinstry is being assisted by Chamissa Anderson, a former Michigan and Chicago area standout and coach in her third season, and newcomer Timeka O’Neal, who earned All-American honors at JCCC and then played two years at the University of Kansas.
Kansas City Kansas Community College
2017-2018 Women’s Basketball Schedule
Nov. 1 – N. Central Missouri, Away 5:30 p.m.
Nov. 2 – GRACELAND JV, Home 6 p.m.
Nov. 6 – SAINT MARY JV, Home 5 p.m.
Nov. 8 – Ottawa JV, Away Noon
KEITH LINDSEY CLASSIC
Nov. 10 – WILLIAM PENN JV 6 p.m.
Nov. 11 – PENN VALLEY 4 p.m.
Nov. 15 – North Arkansas, Away 5 p.m.
Nov. 17 – PARK UNIV. JV, Home 5 p.m.
Nov. 18 – Penn Valley, Away TBA
Nov. 26 – ELLSWORTH, Home 2 p.m.
Nov. 27 – Washburn JV, Away 5 p.m.
Dec. 1 – NORTH ARKANSAS, Home 5 p.m.
Dec. 2 – MARSHALLTOWN, Home 2 p.m.
Dec. 6 – N. CENT. MISSOURI, Home TBA
Dec. 10 – Wabash @ St. Louis TBA
Dec. 15 – Des Moines Area, Away 5:30 p.m.
Jan. 11 – OTTAWA JV, Home 7 p.m.
Jan. 16 – Saint Mary JV, Away 5:30 p.m.
Jan.18 – William Penn JV, Away 5:30 p.m.
Jan. 24 – Johnson County*, Away 5:30 p.m.
Jan. 27 – HESSTON*, Home 2 p.m.
Jan. 31 – Fort Scott*, Away 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 3 – HIGHLAND*, Home 2 p.m.
Feb. 7 – LABETTE*, Home 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 10 – JOHNSON COUNTY*, Home 2 p.m.
Feb. 14 – Hesston*, Away 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 17 – FORT SCOTT*, Home 2 p.m.
Feb. 21 – Highland*, Away 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 24 – Labette*, Away 2 p.m.
• – Jayhawk Conference game
Feb. 28 – Region VI quarterfinals TBA
March 3 – Region VI semifinals TBA
March 7 – Region VI finals Park City