No. 7 ranked Labette made the most of its height advantage Saturday, blocking six KCKCC shots including this one by Jada Mayberry in a 66-62 win. (KCKCC photo by Alan Hoskins) KCKCC freshman Kamryn Estell scored two of her 17 points in the Blue Devils’ 66-62 loss to Labette Saturday. Estell also led KCKCC in rebounds with seven and assists with four. (KCKCC photo by Alan Hoskins)
by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College’s Lady Blue Devils couldn’t buy a basket when they needed it most Saturday.
Leading No. 7 ranked Labette 62-59 with four minutes remaining, the Blue Devils missed their final six shots in a frustrating 66-62 loss. Equally frustrating, the Cardinals went ahead on two offensive rebounds and outscored the Blue Devils 14-4 the final seven minutes.
The loss, the third in a row for the No. 10 ranked Blue Devils (21-5), left KCKCC alone in fourth place in the Jayhawk Conference at 2-4 and out of the running for a second straight conference championship.
The Blue Devils play at Hesston Wednesday and then close out their home season with games against Fort Scott Saturday and Highland Feb. 19.
Labette (19-4), meanwhile, vaulted into a tie with No. 3 Highland (19-1) for first place at 5-1 thanks to a Johnson County 90-75 win over the Scotties that ended Highland’s unbeaten season and set up a first place showdown between the two leaders at Highland Wednesday night.
“Offensive rebounds (23) and free throws (17-of-24) beat us,” KCKCC coach Joe McKinstry said. “We had a six-point lead with seven minutes to go. We really looked good in the third quarter (outscoring Labette 24-17) but obviously lost that in a hurry. But I was really proud of the effort. They really fought hard and put us in position to win and we had not been doing that against teams of that level. We had not been in that position. We just didn’t execute well and make the shots when we had the opportunity.”
Freshmen Aliyah Myers and Kamryn Estell led the Blue Devils, Myers had an exceptional shooting night, making 7-of-9 shots from the field and all three of her 3-point attempts in scoring a team-leading 19 points while Estell had 17 points and game highs in rebounds (7) and assists (4).
Adoreya Williams added seven points, Brodi Byrd six and Tiara Earnest five for KCKCC. Williams also had five rebounds and Jada Mayberry and Caroline Hoppock four each.
Tied 16-16 after one quarter, KCKCC trailed 27-25 only to have Labette open a 34-27 lead in the final two minutes of the half. However, the Blue Devils knocked down 9-of-15 third quarter shots for a 51-51 tie in a see-saw battle that had nine ties and 10 lead changes.
The Blue Devils built their 58-52 lead with 7:13 left on field goals by Byrd, Estell and Mayberry but managed only a field goal and two free throws by Estell the rest of the way.
Labette converted two offensive rebounds to go ahead 64-62, a layup by Jessica Martino and a 3-pointer by Jayla Smith with 2:34 left and then held on. Denijsha Wilson led the Cardinals with 20 points including 10 free throws.
Labette dominated the rebounding 47-34 including a 23-12 advantage offensively and blocked six shots against the smaller Blue Devils. Neither team shot well – KCKCC 39.3 percent and Labette 34.8 percent with 3-point percentages and turnovers (17-16) nearly dead even.
“I’m proud of them, I really am,” McKinstry said. “I just wished we could pull one out. We gave ourselves a chance and that’s an improvement.”
