ACC women’s basketball opened its season with a 71-46 win over Ottawa University’s JV team Tuesday night. “I thought we were a little timid at first,” said Allen Community College head coach Leslie Crane. ”We were a little nervous, but once we got over that we were good.” The slow starts didn’t stop in the first quarter. It seemed like every time there was a break, regardless of if it was a time out or the beginning of a new quarter, both teams came out sluggish. “We started looking down the floor and running the floor,” Crane said of what helped Allen heat up. “Their diamond and one defensive scheme kinda threw us back. We practiced for it but we took a step back. Once we started looking down the floor better and shooting layups like we practiced, we were fine. “It just took a little while to get in a groove,” Crane added. Allen eventually built a 17-point lead as the game headed toward the fourth quarter. The game was sealed in the fourth when Allen led by as many as 30 points early in the quarter. “With a team like Ottawa that shoots a lot of threes, they are never out of the game,” Crane said. “You can’t get complacent, there were a couple of times that we did and that is what this team has to learn. You have to keep fighting no matter what the score is, you have to keep fighting and do things you know you need to do to win.” Allen had a clear size advantage over Ottawa in a very physical game. “We are going to be a physical team,” Crane said. “With Adj (Mbaye), Skyler (Evans), Clara (Romero), Tristian (Martin), and Chloe (Burns) inside, we had a height advantage. We needed to take advantage of that. We didn’t do that early but once we did, that was the difference in the game.” Allen is 1-0, but there are things to improve before Allen takes the court again. “We have to do a lot better passing,” Crane said. “We need to work on some things with how we handle the ball. We need to work on shooting, the team needs to be dedicated to getting more shots in than what we can in practice. There are things to work on daily that we need to get better at.” Evans scored 15 points and made her only free throw. Mbaye and Evans scored 14 points. Allen has two games this weekend. On Friday, the Lady Red Devils will play Kansas City, Mo.-based Calvary University’s JV team. On Saturday, Kansas Wesleyan’s JV team will come to Iola. Wesleyan University is in Salina.
ACC women’s basketball opened its season with a 71-46 win over Ottawa University’s JV team Tuesday night.
