The Allen Community College Red Devils snapped their three-game losing streak in grand fashion after defeating NJCAA 15th-ranked Kansas City Kansas Community College Wednesday.

The Allen Red Devils snapped a three-game losing streak while opening the Jayhawk Conference season with a 53-42 win over 15th ranked Kansas City Kansas Community College Blue Devils.

Not much space separated the Red Devils and Blue Devils Wednesday night, but KCKCC’s aggressive defense throughout the contest backfired in the end as Allen incrementally added to its lead from the free-throw line in the final minutes.

“We did a very good job staying within our game plan to get this win,” Allen coach Leslie Crane said. “We gutted it out. We showed our grit tonight. I’m proud of them.”

The Red Devils benefited from strong play in the paint. Sophomore center Yolaine Luthi posted a double-double with a team-leading 12 points to complement her team-leading 10. Sophomore forward Jalynn Weakley nearly had a double-double with 10 points, nine rebounds and a team-leading four assists while coming off the bench. Coach Crane believes their efforts ultimately carried Allen to victory.

“We got a heck of a game out of Jalynn. We also got a heck of a game out of Yolaine,” Crane said. “She was quiet in her scoring tonight. She was sneaky. Those contributions were huge. We out rebounded them 48-26 and that was the difference in the game.”

Luthi and Weakley were far from Allen’s only contributors Wednesday. Sophomore guard Juana Rojas came off the bench to tie freshman guard Karizma Johnson for third in scoring with 7 points each and was second in assists with three. Three different Red Devils had multiple steals. Allen finished the contest ahead of KCKCC in virtually all offensive categories, but Coach Crane said the defense was responsible for the statistical disparity.

With the win, the Red Devils improved to 9-5 overall and 1-0 in the Jayhawk Conference. They hope to take their conference record to 2-0 2 p.m. Saturday, when they host Labette County Community College.

“It gives us a lot of confidence, but we have to make sure we take care of business at home Saturday,” Crane said. “Labette is a very quick team and very well disciplined. We had better make darn sure we will be disciplined, which is something we’re going to talk about tomorrow.”

Article and Photo Credit: Iola Register- Jimmy Potts