Faced with the dissapointment of an opening round upset loss, the LCC women's basketball team decided they would fight.
The Devils grabbed the 7th place trophy after winning a third straight game, 58-53 over Centralia on Tuesday March 10th at the NWAQC Championship Tournament in Kennewick.
Kaylea Knox scored 22 points to lead the way over Centralia, including four clutch free throws at the end to keep the Blazers at bay. Knox was named to the All-NWAC Tourney 2nd team following the win.
LCC went 3-1 in the tournament and showed great mental toughness after the opening round loss to Blue Mountain.
Against the Blazers, Sierra Richards added 14 points and five rebounds in her final game as a Red Devil. Mady Hanna had eight points and six rebounds in her LCC finale. Donniesha Webber also had a great final LCC game as she tallied six points, nine rebounds and six assists. LCC outrebounded Centralia 58-53 and the Devils had just eight turnovers.
The tournament started with an 85-82 loss to Blue Mountain as Mar'Shay Moore had 37 points and 13 rebounds. 21 turnovers did in the Devils. Sierra Richards had a huge game for LCC with 26 points and 14 rebounds. Knox had 19 points against the T-Wolves. Katerina Brejchova had 12 points, four boards and four assists.
The Devils bounced back on Sunday with an 83-66 win over Skagit Valley. LCC raced to a 20 point halftime lead and were never threatened after that. Knox had an incredible game with 35 points. She hit 5 of 12 three's and 12 of 21 field goals total. Richards had a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Autumn Moorcroft had had a solid game with 11 points and eight rebounds.
LCC got into the trophy round by defeating Bellevue 70-57. Knox again was out front with 23 points and four assists. Richards had another double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Hanna scored 13 points mostly at the free throw line, hitting 10 of 14 at the line. Webber added 12 points. The Devils avenged two losses to the Bulldogs earlier in the season.
It was an outstanding season for the West Region champs and they showed they were one of the top teams with a 3-1 record at the big dance in Kennewick. LCC finished the season wiuth 25 wins and nine losses.
Speaking of losses, the Devils will lose eight sophomores. Coach Meadors praised the job his sophomores did in thier two years at LCC including Webber, Emily Griner, Moorcroft, Knox, Hanna, Richards and injured guard Amanda Britt. With a talented freshman class returning to lead in 2016 and some exciting recruits coming in, the Devils are again looking forward to playing basketball on the final day, once again.
