The Allen Red Devils kept their record unblemished over the weekend while hosting the Haskell College Fighting Indians and the McPherson Bulldogs.
After Friday night’s 59-37 victory over Haskell College, the Red Devils followed up Saturday against McPherson by taking the contest 79-31 and improving their record to 6-0.
“I felt better with what we were doing offensively,” Allen coach Leslie Crane said. “We created a lot of our offense out of what we were doing on defense. That was good.”
Against Haskell, strong production in the first and fourth quarters made all the difference for the Red Devils. Starting freshman forward Emma Varennes tied Joniya Lewis for top scorer with Lewis coming off the bench for 11 points. Another bench player reaching double digits Friday was freshman guard Karizma Johnson, who had 10 points.
Rebounding made a big impact Friday with much of Allen’s scores coming from put-backs under the basket. Lewis had a team-leading 14 rebounds, followed by Varennes with eight, then sophomore forward Nikki Gear and freshman forward Jalynn Weakley with five each. Varennes also had a team-leading four steals and led Allen with two blocks.
Against McPherson, the Red Devils limited them to single digits in the second, third and fourth quarters. Sophomore center Yolaine Luthi came off the bench for a team-leading four steals while also leading in rebounds with seven, followed by sophomore center Ja’Mya Garland and Weakley with six, then Varennes and sophomore guard Juana Rojas with five each.
“We really pushed the ball up the floor Friday night,” Crane said.
Saturday’s blowout seemed a team effort with nearly four players reaching double digits. Lewis had a team-leading 13 points, only one ahead of Varennes, followed by freshman guard Jennyfer with 10. Lewis also had a team-leading four assists, followed by Luthi, Johnson and sophomore guard Delta Shaw with three each.
“We also looked inside to our post players a lot, and got the ball to them,” Crane said. “We focused more on our inside and then going up strong. We finished around the bucket. The kids did a much better job, and I can’t complain about the defense.”
The Red Devils return to the hardwood Wednesday, when they face North Central Missouri College in a doubleheader. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.
