KANSAS CITY, KAN. — The Allen Community College Red Devils season came to a sudden end after falling to rival Neosho County Community College in the Plains District semifinal Friday night.
After leading at halftime, the Red Devils allowed the Neosho Panthers to pull away late.
“We had some mistakes on switch-ups and things, and we probably didn’t do as good of a job as we should have,” Allen coach Leslie Crane said. “The kids wouldn’t go to the glass and finish. It made a big difference because we did not have that.”
Despite out-rebounding Neosho, much of Allen’s boards came on the defensive end. Without second-chance opportunities, and Allen shooting only 20% beyond the 3-point line, the Red Devils were extremely limited on their attack.
“We got too far down, but we came back and played even with them,” Coach Crane said. “We missed some shots, some rebounding. We did not have the interior game we needed tonight to beat a team like that. We’ve never been a team that relies on just one thing.”
Sophomore forward Tawhirikura Doyle had a strong night in her final appearance for Allen with a team-leading 19 points, including six field goals and a pair of 3-pointers, as well as a team-leading seven rebounds. Sophomore forward Jalynn Weakley was second in scoring with 12 points. She tied sophomore center Yolaine Luthi for second in steals with three each.
The Red Devils ended their season 17-10 overall and finished tied for second with Neosho in the conference standings. With half of their roster graduating or transferring before next season, including the New Zealand trio of Doyle, sophomore guard Nikki Gear and sophomore guard Delta Shaw, as well as Luthi, sophomore center Ja’Mya Garland and sophomore forward Juana Rojas of Spain, the Red Devils have more than a few holes to fill next season.
“It’s always a rebuild. We’re always losing six or seven sophomores,” Crane said. “You’re always grooming the next group. These kids coming back as sophomores learned a lot of things, and maybe this will make them hungrier for next year.”
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