Allen County Community College’s Red Devil women did everything but win at home Saturday.
With 1:20 left in the game, the Red Devils held a 10-point lead over visiting Cowley County Community College Tigers. By the final buzzer, the Tigers had pulled out a 52-49 victory.
The Red Devils were in charge. Their defense was holding the Tigers.
Brittney Redmond, whose two three-pointers helped the Red Devils come back from a 10-2 first-half deficit to lead 17-16, sank two free throws with 1:20 left. Those two charities put Allen County up 49-39.
“We talked about playing defense and hitting free throws in the final minute,” said Mark James, ACCC women’s head coach, who admitted he was baffled by what happened to his team that final 1:20.
“We fell apart. We had been handling their press the whole game but then we let the pressure get to the best of us. Cowley is good for a reason and they put full-court pressure on you and pressure the ball all the time.”
Megan Honas scored for Cowley County then Rackell Goldson was fouled. Goldson hit 7 of 8 free- throw attempts for the Red Devils in the game. Allen County was in the double-bonus but Goldson missed both attempts.
Breanna Bryant nailed a three-pointer for the Tigers. The Tiger press forced a Red Devil turnover on the inbounds play. Symone Murray drilled a trey four seconds later making it a two-point game, 49-47, with 45 seconds on the clock.
The pressure from Cowley County threw the Red Devils into a panic. A five-second call turned the ball back to the Tigers with 30 seconds left. Murray was fouled on a three-point field goal attempt and she sank all three free throws putting the Tigers up 50-49 at the 16.9-second mark.
Allen County point guard Miracle Davis got through the press and drove right to the basket. Davis missed the layup and Cowley County pulled the rebound. The Red Devils were forced to foul and Devery Alexander knocked down two free throws for the Tigers to seal the comeback victory.
“I don’t want to take anything away from Cowley County but we just fell apart. We only had nine turnovers in the first half and ended up with 21,” James said. “Our players played hard and did such a great job of putting themselves in a position to win this game. It’s just disappointing that we let it get away from us.”
A win would have secured a first-round playoff game for the Red Devils. Now, it’s a wait and see situation for Allen County as the Red Devils need some help from other teams going into the final week of regular-season play.
The Red Devils are 6-10 in Jayhawk Eastern Division and 11-17 overall. In Region VI, Division I play, Allen County is 6-8 and working for a top-four spot in region play.
The Red Devils travel to Highland on Wednesday. They finish at home this coming Saturday against Johnson County with a noon tipoff time. Allen County is hosting a Kansas Class 1A, Division II Substate Tournament Saturday evening.
Cowley County ripped Allen County for a 10-2 start Saturday night. Goldson and Davis led the Red Devils back in the game while the ACCC defense curbed the Tiger offensive output.
