After winning 10 of 11 games in January and February, the Lady Rangers appeared to have control of second place in Region XIV with their sights set on No. 1 Trinity Valley.
Then the team reeled off five consecutive losses to end February, which spiraled the team to fifth place.
Heading into Tuesday’s regular season finale with Jacksonville College, KC had nothing to play for, having solidified fifth place and a matchup with Paris in the conference tournament Friday.
Seeking momentum for postseason play, the Lady Rangers rallied past an aggressive Jacksonville College squad for a double-digit win, the team’s first victory since Feb. 6. With the loss, Jacksonville fell out of a matchup with Angelina and into eighth place to play Trinity Valley first in tournament play.
“When we were losing we missed easy shots, so this win is big to get us mentally prepared to play Friday,” said Roy Thomas, KC head coach.
During KC’s losing skid, the team averaged 63 points per game compared to a 75-point average in the previous six-game winning streak.
“We have played really good basketball, but we haven’t been able to put the ball in the bucket,” Thomas said.
KC attempts to complete a return-trip to the Region XIV Championship Game, after losing in 2009’s title game to TVCC. The Lady Rangers open tournament action 3 p.m. Friday against Paris at the University of Texas at Tyler’s Herrington Patriot Center.
March 2 – KC 77, Jacksonville 63
KC’s offensive woes continued in the first half of Tuesday’s finale with Jacksonville. The Lady Rangers failed to reach the scoring column until three minutes of action passed.
Several minutes later, Rashida Young nailed two free throws with 13:40 remaining in the first half to give KC a 9-8 lead.
Jacksonville then reeled off an 11-0 run to go up by 10 points, 19-9.
Danyell Oliver buried a 3-pointer with four minutes left to cut JC’s advantage to four points. KC later narrowed the deficit to three points but trailed at halftime, 36-30.
Jacksonville’s Rayvin Miller led all scorers with 24 points and sank a 3-pointer to extend the team’s lead to nine points early in the second half, 41-32.
Then, KC kicked it into another gear, much like earlier in the season. The Lady Rangers rallied past Jacksonville with a 16-1 run over six minutes of action. Jah Leah Ellis scored seven straight points, and an Oliver 3-pointer tied the game at 42-42 with 15 minutes left.
Alexis Andrews gave KC the lead for good, 44-42, with just less than 14 minutes to go.
Full-court pressure frustrated JC throughout the final period, as KC’s lead grew to as much as 16 points in the final seconds.
Oliver led five Lady Rangers in double figures, scoring 21 points. Tangeka Payne and Lily Abreu added 13 points each. Ellis chipped in 11 points while Young contributed 10.
Feb. 27 – Paris 40, KC 37
After falling short in overtime to the No. 9 team in the country Feb. 24, the Lady Rangers continued the losing streak last Saturday, falling to Paris Junior College 40-37.
KC trailed 23-21 at halftime, and neither team’s offense improved in the second half.
Paris held a 3-point lead with 33 seconds when KC’s Tangeka Payne converted one free throw to narrow the lead to two points, 37-35. PJC iced the game, though, from the free throw line.
Payne led the team with nine points while Danyell Oliver scored all eight of her points in the first half. Oliver made KC’s lone 3-pointer in the first half as the team missed 15 of 16 attempts on the game.
Despite, holding Paris to two field goals on 14 attempts in the second half, the Lady Rangers were unable to capitalize, shooting 19 percent (6-32) in the final stanza.
37 points was a season low for KC which had lost five games in a row after previously winning 10 of 11 games. The Lady Rangers previous win was a 30-point rout of Panola College Feb. 6 in Masters Gymnasium. The Lady Rangers last won a road game Jan. 23 at Jacksonville College.
// Ryan Griffin, Sports Editor