Pretty much everything went right Wednesday for half of Allen Community College women’s rivalry matchup against visiting Neosho County.
Pretty much everything else went wrong after that.
The Red Devils saw Neosho storm back from a 12-point halftime deficit in the first five minutes of the second period, then take the lead for good with 6:40 left in a 74-65 win.
“In the second half, they just wanted it more than we did,” Red Devil head coach Katie Mahoney said.
Neosho’s Ashley Grant was the biggest thorn in Allen’s side.
She exploded for 23 second-half points, including the bucket with 6:40 remaining to give the Panthers a 57-55 lead. The bucket started a 10-0 Neosho run. Her free throws with 4:23 left pushed the Panthers on top, 65-55.
Allen got no closer than seven from there.
“She just took over,” Mahoney said. “We knew she was going to go left every time, and we still couldn’t seem to stop her.”
It was a far cry from Allen’s first half, in which the Devils shot at a 55 percent clip, while limiting Neosho to 31 percent shooting.
That it came with leading scorer O’ceonna Weston on the bench with two fouls was even more telling.
Allen trailed 16-11 when Weston was whistled for her second personal.
Allen responded with a 24-6 run to push ahead by double digits. Rebecca Fisher got things started with a pair of 3-pointers, before Nicole Salazar scored on a runner and a 3-pointer. By the time Reagan McClellan converted a 3-point play at the 1:56 mark, Allen’s lead stood at 35-22.
The Red Devils took a 39-27 advantage into halftime.
“We played really well in the first half, as well as we’ve played in a while,” Mahoney said. “A lot of different girls stepped up for us.”
Neosho shot 58 percent in the second half, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Allen’s shooting dropped to a frigid 29 percent after the break.
“We were still getting good looks, but we couldn’t get them to drop,” Mahoney said.
Kylie Molisee led the way for Allen with 15 points and 19 rebounds, while Salazar had 14 points and five assists. Weston wound up with 13 points. Fisher scored nine and Kailey Cleaver had seven.
“Kylie was very strong for us inside, and it was good to see Nicole start to get her shooting touch back,” Mahoney said. “She’s been getting better each game.”
Grant wound up with 35 points and nine boards for Neosho. Danel Stithem had 12 points, all from 3-pointers, and Dena English scored 10.
The loss keeps Allen winless in Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division action and drops the Red Devils to 7-20 overall. Neosho improves to 3-7 in conference and 11-17 overall.
The Red Devils wrap up their home schedule Saturday against Labette.
Neosho (27-47—74)
Allen (39-26—65)
Neosho (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Alfonso 1-2-0-4, Gonzales 2/1-0-4-7, Yarbrough 0-0-1-0, Dunbar 0-2-3-2, Grant 13/1-6-1-35, Stithem 0/4-0-2-12, English 1/1-5-4-10, Williams 2-0-0-4. TOTALS: 19/7-15-15-74.
Allen (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Salazar 4/2-0-4-14, Fisher 0/3-0-1-9, Molisee 7-1-0-15, Weston 5-3-4-13, McClellan 2-1-5-5, Cleaver 3-1-3-7, Stevens 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 22/5-6-17-65.
Second-half swoon does in ACC women
