A late rally lifted the Allen Red Devils to victory in a 67-62 slugfest with the Kansas City Kansas Community College Blue Devils Saturday.
Allen freshman guard Jennyfer Gros was limited to a 3-pointer and a drive, but both of those scores came at crucial moments, kick-starting a fourth quarter rally with sophomore forward Tawhirikura Doyle and sophomore center Yolaine Luthi carrying the Red Devils from there for the win.
“That’s what sophomores can do for you,” Allen coach Leslie Crane said. “She had a great game, but so did Tawhirikura — Toff. Toff did some things you couldn’t see on defense or don’t see on a stat sheet. She had 12 points and played her butt off.”
The Red Devils seemed in control for the majority of the contest. After jumping out to a 21-8 lead in the first quarter, they carried a 34-18 lead going into the break.
The Blue Devils went on a 25-12 run to end the third quarter ahead 48-46.
“We got away from our defensive plan, but by the fourth quarter we got it back,” Crane said. “We got rattled. We had immature moments. We had two or three of those that got to us in the third quarter, but they did not define us. We played through it and came out on top. That’s maturity and learning from them so they don’t affect you.”
A pair of free-throws by sophomore guard Nikki Gear, along with Gros’s bucket and 3-pointer tied the contest 53-53 in the final minutes. Capitalizing off a technical foul, Doyle found paydirt on a drive, then gave Allen a 58-55 lead with a 3-pointer.
Intending to cut off the 3-pointer, the Blue Devils left Luthi open for a pair of drives underneath, then Doyle drove to make it a two-score ballgame with little time remaining on the clock and Allen ahead 63-57. An inbound to Luthi for a bucket, followed by successful Allen free-throws secured the 67-62 victory.
Luthi ended the evening with a team-leading 21 points, followed by Doyle and sophomore guard Juana Rojas, who tied for second in scoring with 12 points each. Freshman forward Joniya Lewis had a team-leading six rebounds before her ejection in the third quarter, followed by Luthi and sophomore forward Jalynn Weakley with five boards each.
“We learned some things from the Neosho loss, as far as fighting through adversity to get good scoring situations,” Crane said. “Jalynn came in and did some good things. She had some immature moments too, but sometimes that happens. They’re learning.”
With the win, the Red Devils improved to 13-7 overall and 5-2 in Jayhawk Conference play. They hope to improve their conference record Wednesday on the road against Labette County. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m.
