Date: 02/13/2024
Kankakee Community College had success from the free throw line to secure an 84-76 NJCAA Region 4 victory over Joliet Junior College on the road Tuesday night.
A free throw from Jaida Taylor gave the Cavaliers their first point of the game, which the Wolves quickly matched. KCC’s Valorie Dagg, Amaria Pender, and Myllena De Sousa teamed up to score six points, giving them a 9-3 lead. KCC kept with the Wolves offensively, until six points from JJC’s Ashanti Brown tied the quarter at 13.
The score stayed close, and the Lady Cavs entered halftime leading 33-32.
Following halftime, a six-point JJC run was matched by KCC in the form of two free throws by Jazmyn Smith and four points from De Sousa. KCC matched JJC’s scoring throughout the quarter until an eight-point run by Brown gave the Wolves a 58-50 lead. Jasmine Ferrero closed out the quarter for the Cavs, scoring two points to narrow the deficit to 58-52.
Seventeen of KCC’s 32 points in the final quarter came from free throws. Despite trailing 65-58 early in the fourth, the Lady Cavaliers turned the game around when Pender scored back-to-back baskets. Four points from Smith and two from Taylor flipped the score in KCC’s favor, 68-65. JJC scored twice to briefly take a one-point lead, but Ferrero sank a three-pointer to come through for KCC and take back the lead for good. KCC scored the rest of their points from the free throw line, as Taylor, Smith, Pender and Ferrero combined for 11 out of 12 shots.
The Lady Cavaliers scored 24 of 27 free throws during the game, ultimately taking the win 84-76. They improved to 13-12 and will host the Mineral Area Tech College Thursday at 5:30pm.
Stats: Pender (26 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals); Smith (20 points, 3 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists); De Sousa (10 points, 2 rebounds); Dagg (8 points, 6 rebounds); Taylor (7 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals); Ferrero (6 points, 4 rebounds).
