It looked like it was going to be a runaway early, but for Allen Community College, it would be too out-of-the-ordinary for a game to end that simply.
While the Red Devils (8-12; 3-12 Jayhawk) built a big lead early in the first half and still held a 10-point advantage at halftime, Pratt’s third quarter run caused the Red Devils to be only up by three points going into the fourth quarter.
That is when Red Devil coach Todd Buchanan decided to call on a forgotten — to the fans at least — member of his team.
Freshman McKena Arlt had checked into the game late in the third quarter and had fired up and missed a 3-point shot badly. Now she began the fourth quarter in a home game the Red Devils needed to have and she found herself on the floor.
“It felt really good to help my team to a win,” Arlt said.
Arlt had been suspended for the previous four games for undisclosed reasons.
“It means everything (to receive a second chance),” Arlt said. “I couldn’t stop smiling.”
Before that the freshman had been averaging over eight points a game for Allen.
“She’s always been a really good player,” Buchanan said. “She certainly has a good offensive skillset.”
To begin the fourth, Arlt found herself open from behind the arc on the left wing and she fired. The ball splashed through the bottom of the net and just like that Arlt was back and Allen had a six-point lead.
“It felt really good,” Arlt said. “It made me feel like I was back.”
After a pair of Pratt baskets cut it back down to two points, the Red Devils found Arlt again and she knocked down another bucket. This one was from a step inside the line at the three-point arc.
That basket sparked a 10-0 run that included three foul shots from Haley Wilson, who was fouled attempting a three, and another three-pointer from Arlt.
Arlt finished the game with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting in 11 minutes of playing time.
From there Pratt would make runs to cut the margin but could never get within a basket of the lead and Allen was able to hold them off for an 88-80 win by leaning on their excellent free throw shooting down the stretch.
Allen went 24-27 from the charity stripe in the game with Wilson leading the way by going 9 for 9.
