It took Allen Community College’s women a little longer than expected to shake off the dust of a month-long break.
The Red Devils didn’t score for the first seven minutes of the conference opener against visiting Fort Scott Saturday.
Allen, which was unbeaten through the non-conference portion of its schedule, trailed the Greyhounds 13-5 after one quarter.
Then, after finding their stride into the second period, another lull allowed Fort Scott to jump ahead 23-18 with about 2 minutes left in the half.
But the Red Devils didn’t earn their No. 11 ranking without some stingy defense, and boy did they put it on display from there.
The Red Devils scored on a buzzer-beater to end the half with a 25-25 tie, and then clamped down on the defensive end from there, holding Fort Scott without a field goal for the final 18½ minutes of a 56-30 victory.
The win lifts the Red Devils to 12-0 on the season with a home game against Hesston set for Wednesday evening.
Allen head coach Leslie Crane said the extended layoff — a Jan. 4 tilt at Crowder was canceled due to the weather, which meant the Red Devils hadn’t touched the court since Dec. 6 — may have played a role in the team’s slow start.
Aaliyah Brown hit a pair of free throws with 3:01 left in the first quarter for ACC’s first points, but Fort Scott still led 8-2 before Juana Rojas drained a jumper for the Red Devils’ first field goal a minute later.
Allen opened the second quarter with a 13-3 run to take its first lead of the game, but Fort Scott responded with eight straight points to lead 23-18.
But Allen battled back to even the score at 25-25 on Tawhirikura Doyle’s buzzer-beating jumper at the half.
Mafalda Chambel opened the third quarter with a trey to give the Red Devils the lead for good.
Fort Scott’s Caitlyn Foltz — a former Anderson County standout — got free inside for a bucket with 8:30 left in the third quarter to pull the Greyhounds to within 30-27.
But Allen’s defense ensured there would be no further drama.
The Red Devils forced consecutive shot clock violations during one stretch late in the third, and repeatedly harassed the Greyhound ball-handlers and systematically crushed any kind of offensive threat.
