The Allen County women went into the winter break on a very somber note.
The Lady Devils had just lost their sixth straight game and nothing seemed to be going right. Head coach Todd Buchanan said the entire team, even himself, had a lot of answers to find over the month off.
Some of those answers seemed to be found as the Allen women got their second conference win of the season on Wednesday when they beat the Dodge City Lady Conquistadors 66-42.
“I think our demeanor and attitude changed,” Buchanan said. “I thought we played together and really that’s all I ask. We all had to go back and look at ourselves in the mirror and I feel like we’ve come back really reset. We wanted to start 2018 off really different and I feel like we did that.”
Leading the way nearly from the get-go for the Lady Devils was freshman guard Jakira Wilson who flourished after sophomore starting point guard Kamri Summons went to the bench early with foul trouble.
Wilson had 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists and was the only player on either team to score in double-figures.
“We had a really good heart-to-heart when she left for break and another when she came back and I wanted to make sure that we understood each other,” Buchanan said of Wilson. “She responded and I give her all the credit in the world. A lot of it was she was given the opportunity. She earned it and she answered the bell big time.”
After two and a half minutes of no scoring from either team, the Lady Devils jumped out to an early 7-0 lead and kept that offensive momentum going throughout the first quarter scoring six unanswered to take a 19-7 lead.
Six straight from Dodge City to start the second half cut into Allen County’s lead but the Lady Devils settled things down and fought their way back out to a 10-point lead right before halftime.
“Sometimes we might have put our head down and not play through things,” Buchanan said. “Tonight I feel like we proved that we could play through whatever. Did we do everything perfect? No. But we did the things we needed to do to shut the door.”
Dodge City opened the half with an 8-2 run and kept their lead at double-digits until 3:30 left to play in the game when a Lady Conq layup cut Allen County’s lead to nine.
The Lady Devils did not let it go any further and closed out the final three minutes on a 21-6 tear that completely put Dodge City away and sent them packing for western Kansas.
“Our poise was at an all-time high,” Buchanan said. “And even when we didn’t shut the door completely it was our composure that got us back to the point of being able to end it. I was really proud of that.”
The Lady Devils are now 4-10 and 2-8 after the win. They travel to Hutchinson on Saturday to face a Blue Dragon team that’s won 10-straight.
PHOTO: Freshman guard Jakira Wilson takes the ball down the court in Allen County’s 66-42 win over Dodge City on Wednesday. Wilson had a team-high 21 points. REGISTER/TIMOTHY EVERSON
