Red Devils fall to Labette

A late-season offensive swoon continues to prove troublesome for Allen Community College’s women.
On Monday, the Red Devils shot a cool 22 percent from the field and committed 20 turnovers.
Meanwhile, visiting Labette Community College found its footing midway through the second half, embarking on a 16-6 run to take the lead for good in a 55-40 win.
The loss, Allen’s third in a row, drops the Red Devils to 13-14 overall and 6-9 in Region VI Eastern Division play. Allen is tied for fourth in Region VI standings with Neosho County, which holds the tie-breaker because of the Panthers’ season sweep.
After sitting five players in Allen’s previous game for disciplinary reasons, Red Devil coach Mark James had four of the five on the active roster, but on the bench to start the game.
Labette’s defense kept Allen on its heels in the first half. The Red Devils attempted 19 3-pointers (hitting only three) in the opening 20 minutes, compared to only six attempts from 2-point range. Labette wasn’t any more prolific, hitting only 1 of 12 treys in the opening half and shooting 21 percent from the field.
The squads went to the locker room knotted at 18-18.
Allen’s Kendra Taiclet drained a couple of 3-pointers early after halftime to loosen things up for the Red Devils. Her second from downtown closed the Cardinal lead to 25-24. Maggie Stithem’s trey with 13:25 remaining knotted the score at 29-29 for Allen
Labette responded with a 7-0 run before Taiclet connected again from 3-point range. Her shot was followed shortly thereafter by an Ebonie Jones trey to pull Allen to within 36-35.
That was as close as the Red Devils got.
The Cardinals scored the next 11 points, capped by Dayshanay Russell’s free throw to put Labette up 47-35 with 4:29 remaining.
The lead never dipped below double digits after that.
Taiclet’s 11 points led Allen, while DaNara Day followed with nine points and seven rebounds. Miracle Davis had eight boards and three assists. Hannah Blackwell pulled down seven rebounds. Jamie Peel had two steals.
Labette put three in double figures: Irianne Nicholas with 16 points, Shawnee Phillips with 15 and Brooke Dickey with 11.
Allen hosts Kansas City, Kan., Wednesday night for Sophomore Night.
Labette (18-37—55)
Allen (18-22—40)
Labette (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Dickey 5-1-4-11, Phillips 6-3-4-15, Lutz 1-0-2-2, Lee 0/2-0-2-6, Nicholas 4-8-4-16, Carver 1-0-1-2, Hocker 0-2-1-2, Russell 0-1-0-1. TOTALS: 17/2-15-18-55.
Allen (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Jones 1/1-0-4-5, Stithem 0/1-0-1-3, Davis 0-2-2-2, Redmond 0/1-1-3-4, Peel 1/1-0-4-5, Taiclet 1/3-0-3-11, Blackwell 0-1-3-1. TOTALS: 4/8-8-23-40.