3-POINTERS FOIL NO. 9 LADY BLUE DEVILS IN LOSS TO NO. 4 JCCC

            Head coach Valerie Stambersky has no time for moral victories but she had to see good things in Kansas City Kansas Community College's 68-53 loss to No. 4 ranked Johnson County Wednesday night.

            Facing a team that had put 99 points on the board against them just a couple of weeks ago, the Lady Blue Devils battled the Lady Cavaliers on even terms for nearly three quarters of the game only to be done in by one 63 second span.

            A furious Blue Devil defense had limited JCCC to just 2 of 16 3-point attempts in the first half only to have Juanita Robinson drill two 3-pointers and Timeka O'Neal one in 63 seconds to break a 33-33 tie and forge a 42-34 lead with 10:24 remaining, KCKCC still got back to 50-45 with 4:21 left only to have Robinson hit back-to-back 3-pointers for a 56-45 lead and the Cavaliers pulled away at the free throw line in the closing minutes.

            Ranked No. 9 in the latest NJCAA Division II, the Blue Devils (21-5) get yet another shot at a ranked foe when they host No. 2 Highland (25-1) Saturday at 2 p.m.

            Defenses reigned in a furiously fought first half in the collision of ranked teams. JCCC (25-1), which had scored 49 first half points on the way to a 99-67 home court win over KCKCC Jan. 22, eked out a 27-24 halftime lead as both teams shot 33 percent from the field.

            Cassidy Harbert had 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds and Rashaun Casey 12 points for KCKCC but it wasn't enough to offset 27.3 percent shooting and the Cavaliers' 53-32 domination of the rebounding. Robinson had 19 points and Nieka Wheeler 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead JCCC.