OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - Five members of the Johnson County women's basketball team, second-year guard Kierra Prim, freshman guard Nariyah Simmons, sophomore guard Jaylen Townsend, sophomore guard Gabby Fuller and freshman guard Mackenzie Hart all earned D-II Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference and All-Region VI/Plains District honors for the 2021-22 season. Prim as named to the first team. Simmons, Townsend and Fuller earned second-team honors and Hart was a third-team selection.
Additionally, Prim was selected the MVP of the conference, the fifth player to earn that honor. Simmons was named both the Freshman and Defensive Player of the Year and head coach Ben Conrad was selected the Coach of the Year.
Prim leads the KJCCC D-II conference in both scoring and rebounding, averaging a double-double of 15.6 points and 10.4 rebounds. She scored in double figures in 28 of JCCC's 32 games and topped 10+ rebounds 19 times, resulting in 17 double-double efforts. Her 332 total rebound also rank second in the NJCAA. Prim also leads the conference in made free throws (119), ranks second in the conference field goal percentage (51.4) and third in free throw percentage (71.7). She also was selected as the KJCCC D-II Player of the Week seven times, the most of any player. Prim was the Lady Cavaliers leading scorer in 15 games, top rebounder 23 times and led in steals in six games.
Simmons, a second-team selection, really began to shine as a collegiate player once the conference season began. For the season, Simmons is averaging 9.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 106 assists, and is shooting 35.1 percent from 3-point range and 76 percent from the free throw line. However, her number jumped up to 12.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 41.5 percent from beyond the arc and 78.2 at the line. She has reached double figures scoring 13 times, and on the defensive side she was able to shut down opponents' top players. Simmons led JCCC in scoring in four games, in assists three times and was tops in steals in eight games.
Townsend earned second-team honors and is the team's second leading scorer at 12.3 per game. She also leads the team in 3-point field goals with 47 and free throw accuracy at 81.3 percent. Also this season, Townsend became just the fifth player in team history to score over 1,000 points in a career. Townsend was the team's top scorer in six games this season and eight times led in steals.
Last season, Townsend won a suitcase full of honors in 2020-21. She was named the 2021 NJCAA Division II Women's Basketball Player of the Year presented by the Marines. She is the first player in JCCC history to earn this prestigious award.
Prior to that honor, Townsend had been named NJCAA D-II first-team All-American, World Exposure Report second-team All-American, NJCAA D-II All-Tournament, first-team All-Region VI/Plains District, first-team D-II All-Kansas Jayhawk Conference and MVP of the conference.
Fuller earned second-team honors and ranks as the team's fifth leading scorer at 8.2 points and second leading rebounder a 7.7 per game. She scored in double figures eight times, and topped 10+ rebounds seven times. In 2020-21, Fuller also earned second-team all-conference and all-region/district recognition after averaging 8.4 points and 8.0 rebounds.
A third-team selection, Hart averages 6.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and ranks second in the conference in assists with 151, an average of 4.9 per game. Hart scored in double figures eight times and was the game leader in assists in 27 games.
For the eighth time in his 14-year career at Johnson County, head coach Ben Conrad has taken home the Coach of the Year honor. He also was selected in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2021. This season, Conrad has led his team to a 31-1 record, conference and region championships and a berth to the NJCAA D-II Tournament for the eighth time under his watch. His team spent five weeks at No. 1 this season and were the No. 2 team in the other 10 weekly polls. Earlier this season, Conrad recorded his 400th win as the Lady Cavaliers coach. Even more impressive he only needed 457 games to get it done.