Allen Community College’s women gave the top-ranked and undefeated Johnson County Cavaliers everything they wanted Saturday afternoon.
But offensive struggles in the second half doomed any hopes of a Red Devil upset.
The Cavaliers took control of the game with a 17-2 run and held Allen to a single field goal in the fourth quarter of a 49-39 victory.
The loss, Allen’s second in a row, drops ACC to 1-2 in Jayhawk Conference play and 13-4 overall.
“To hold the No. 1 team in the nation to 49 points shows we’re pretty dad-gummed good,” Allen head coach Leslie Crane said. “But we’ve got to do a better job of finishing around the bucket.”
Allen trailed 28-27 early in the third quarter when the Red Devils’ Sarang West converted a 3-point play to push the Red Devils ahead. Khamille Warr scored inside and a pair of Sara Ortiz buckets capped a 7-2 run to extend ACC’s lead to 34-30.
But the Cavaliers responded with eight straight points to take the lead for good.
Allen’s Noa Muranaka ended the Cavalier run with a bucket early in the fourth quarter.
But that was ACC’s final field goal of the game.
The Red Devils shot an ice cold 4 of 25 from the field in the second half (16 percent).
Still, Crane noted there’s plenty of room for optimism, particularly with how Allen responded following a heartbreaking loss at Neosho County earlier in the week.
“I was afraid of how we were gonna bounce back,” she said. “Our kids bounced back fine.
“But we need a better effort with finishing buckets, rebounding, and with our kids going to the ball.”
All of those problems, she added, are fixable. “It just takes focus.”
Muranaka led Allen with 12 points. West followed with 10.
Abigail Alvarez pulled down five rebounds. West also had three steals.
