MIAMI, OKLA. — The Allen Community College women’s basketball team cracked in a pair of road matchups this weekend at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College and State Fair College.
The Lady Red Devils (8-3) dropped their first game on Friday night at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, 76-47.
Allen came out and scored 15 points in the first quarter behind a pair of two-pointers from Britney Schroer, Khassidy Warr and Skyler Evans.
Things went south for the Devils in the second quarter when the team missed seven straight shots and allowed NEO to get back into the game. The only points of the quarter came on a pair of two-pointers from Jania Jones and a pair of free throws from Clara Romero.
“I felt we came out a little flat but we were battling them and doing well in that first quarter,” said Allen head coach Leslie Crane. “We started the second quarter reared up and we let it affect how we played defense. We quit pressuring the ball and they were able to get their feet set and shoot it better. We just couldn’t get past our missed shots.”
Allen trailed NEO at halftime, 34-21.
Naomi Smith and Schroer each sank a pair of two-pointers while Evans went for a layup and a free throw in the third quarter but the Lady Red Devils still trailed the Lady Norse heading to the fourth quarter, 51-33.
Evans got on the board again in the final quarter with a pair of layups but it wasn’t enough.
“There will be nights that we don’t shoot it well, and this was one of them, but we cannot let it affect our defense,” Crane said. “We are going to have to learn this the hard way and it is a hard lesson.”
The Lady Red Devils were outshot from the field, 39.1% to 35.7% as well as from beyond the arc, 45.8% to 0%. Allen was also outrebounded by Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, 43-38.
In Saturday’s game, the Lady Devils lost in overtime to State Fair Community College, 57-54.
Crane’s team played much better defense in this one but still couldn’t get all of their shots to fall, including at the free throw line late in the game. The Lady Red Devils forced 25 turnovers and made nine steals on the State Fair offense.
Tonya Williams hit a pair of two-pointers in the first quarter but that was the most Allen could muster and trailed heading to the second quarter, 15-7.
“This weekend was good for us. We learned a lot about ourselves as a team and as individuals,” Crane said. “Now with these lessons, we have to apply them to our future games and correct our mistakes.”
Allen got five points from Shade Richardson in the second quarter, followed by Smith’s layup and free throw. These baskets added some momentum to the Lady Red Devil rally bringing them to within two points at halftime, 24-22.
