JOPLIN, Mo. – No. 1 Johnson County Community College women's basketball team's run to a perfect season and third national basketball championship fell short after No. 2 Kirkwood downed the Lady Cavaliers 69-58 for their first defeat of the season. It is Kirkwood's ninth national title and second in three years. Kirkwood also defeated Johnson County to claim the 2017 national championship.
Kirkwood built a five-point first quarter lead over Johnson County and extended their lead in the second quarter leading by 11 at the half 36-25. The Lady Cavaliers cut their deficit to 42-37 midway through the third quarter, but Kirkwood responded with a 14-5 run to close out the period for a 56-42 advantage. The Lady Cavaliers did manage another run to cut the Eagles lead to single digits at 61-52, but that would be the closest they would get.
Freshman forward Amani Henry led JCCC with 12 points, followed by freshman guard Taliyah Scott and sophomore forward Grace Lynch each with 11. Henry also recorded a game-high eight rebounds.
Jenna Twedt, the tournament's MVP, led all players with 18 points, followed by Demetria Prewitt with 13.
Johnson County ends the season at 34-1. It is the third straight season with 30+ victories and 11th in the 16 years under the leadership of head coach Ben Conrad.
One loss – at the worst possible moment – should not negate the team's historic level of achievement.
JCCC reached the NJCAA Tournament undefeated and awarded the No. 1 seed for the first time in program history. They played for a national title for the fourth time in since 2015. JCCC was ranked No. 1 in the NJCAA D-II Poll for the last eight weeks of the season. The Lady Cavaliers won its fourth connective KJCCC D-II championship and ninth with Conrad. They set countless program records: The second longest winning streak (34 games), the longest home court winning streak (71) and tied the most wins in a season (34).
The sophomores end their career with a record of 67-4 over their two seasons, the best of any class in program history.
Sophomore guards Jazzy Klinge and Saige Grampsas were named to the All-Tournament Team. Klinge averaged 10.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists over the four games in the tournament. Her 31 total rebounds rank tied for sixth most by a JCCC player in tournament play
Grampsas averaged 8.8 points per game and made a team-high eight 3-point baskets, which rank ninth all-time in tournament history.
Henry finished the tournament averaging 7.8 points and 6.3 rebounds. She also made 57 percent of her field goal attempts. Scott averaged 10.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists and Lynch averaged 7.3 points.