KANSAS CITY, KAN. — Allen Community College coach Leslie Crane reached her 500th career win as a head coach while leading the Red Devils to an upset of 15th-ranked Kansas City Kansas Community College.
Before Wednesday, the Red Devils had experienced a slew of losses to non-conference NJCAA Division I powerhouses, which meant breaking the record against a top 25 team and Jayhawk Conference rival a big deal.
A large contingent of Allen fans cheered following the final whistle of the game, recognizing Crane’s milestone win.
“It’s all about the kids. That’s why we do this,” said Crane. “If you do it for any other reason, then you’re doing it for the wrong reason.
“It’s about making a difference for young women, and I hope I have. I had a lot of former players in the house here tonight and I hope I made a difference for them.”
Crane is the daughter of Roberta and ACC Hall of Fame coach Neil Crane, who coached the men’s basketball team from 1975 to 1990. An Iola native, Crane began her basketball career at IHS, then played for the Red Devils and later the Arkansas State Indians before a 2008 rebrand.
When her father retired, Crane began her coaching career at Turner High School before turning around a fledgling KCKCC program amidst a 47-game conference losing streak. In four years at KCKCC, Crane racked up 117 wins. Before leaving in 2011, Crane was the winningest women’s coach in the history of the Summit League while leading the Western Illinois Leathernecks.
Crane landed in the Jayhawk Conference when she began coaching the Independence Community College Pirates in 2012. Over seven seasons, she had 117 wins but stepped away due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Crane returned to her hometown to coach at her alma mater.
Crane credited assistant Jim Papin, who began working with her at Independence, for helping her turn a program with only two wins the previous season, and only eight the season before that, into a program often ranked in the NJCAA top 25 and a perennial contender for the Jayhawk Conference title. In the past three seasons, the Red Devils have a 52-33 record, including 20-win seasons the past two years.
“Jim has been with me these last few years and made a huge impact on me and our program,” Crane said. “I could not have done that, win those 500 games, without assistant coaches helping me, and the kids.”
