Tournament Central

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Entering postseason play with just four losses to two different teams by a combined 32 points, the Highland Community College women’s basketball team knew that the opportunity to avenge their earlier losses not only existed but also stood in the way of seeing the Scotties win their first NJCAA Region 6 Division 2 Women’s Basketball Title since 2018. Taking the lessons learned from those matchups, the Scotties made the most of their weekend in Overland Park, Kansas by taking down number two ranked and top-seeded Johnson County Community College on their home court 59-54 in the Region 6 Tournament semifinals before outlasting number two seed and number 10 ranked Allen Community College 53-42 to come away with the Plains District crown and automatic berth into the NJCAA Division 2 Women’s Basketball National Tournament.

Taking the path that at the beginning of the tournament would have likely been deemed the most daunting of the top four seeds in the tournament, the Scotties found themselves on the short end of a three-way tiebreaker that went to a random draw to determine the number two, three, and four seeds. Stuck with the number four seed, HCC made quick work of fifth-seeded Kansas City Kansas Community College with a 66-33 win on their home court on March 3rd to advance and take on a JCCC squad that went a perfect 30-0 in the regular season and was given a first-round bye into the Region 6 Tournament semifinals. Arguably more difficult, however, was taking on the Cavaliers that had lost just one game in the past two seasons and a team playing on their home court where they had last suffered a home loss on January 29, 2020 (96 consecutive games).

The opportunity to have opened the postseason four days earlier, however proved to be beneficial as Highland overcame a slow start that saw just one point scored in the first two-plus minutes to go on a 13-3 run and take a 22-9 lead at the end of the first quarter against Johnson County to put the Cavaliers in an uncomfortable position of having to play from behind. Despite seeing JCCC outscore HCC 15-4 in the second quarter, the Scotties took a 26-24 lead into halftime and grew their lead to five at 48-43 heading into the fourth quarter where 10 minutes of game time stood between them and an appearance in the Region 6 Championship game. As is often seen in the postseason, points became hard to come by down the stretch as neither team wanted to make a crucial mistake which proved to be to the benefit of Highland as the Scotties never let the Cavaliers get closer than three while holding on and pulling arguably the biggest upset of the weekend across the Division 2 slate.

Even with the win, Highland head coach Saundra Proctor knew the job was not finished yet as one more game awaited her time the next day with the opponent proving to be another team that HCC could not say they had a win against this season in Allen Community College. In the previous two matchups with the Red Devils this season, Highland lost by a combined total of 11 points in games that saw the scoring played in the low to mid-50s. Championship Saturday proved to be no different in terms of scoring as the pace once again matched the previous matchups.

Yet, it was Highland who once again found a way to match their quick start from the day before by jumping out to a 17-6 lead at the end of the first quarter before adding to their lead in the second quarter to hold a 29-16 lead heading into halftime. The game was far from over, however, as Allen began to make their move out of the half by limiting HCC to just six total points in the third quarter to cut a 13-point deficit down to eight at 35-27 heading to the fourth with both teams not wanting to leave their NJCAA Tournament fate up a potential at-large berth.

Pushing their lead back to double digits with a layup to open the quarter, Highland saw the game quickly tighten back up as Allen scored the next five points to get within five with just under seven minutes remaining where it would stay for the next three minutes of action. Free throws by the Scotties pushed the lead back out to 10 at 45-35 with just over three minutes remaining as the Red Devils would get no closer than five points the rest of the way as HCC went eight-for-eight from the charity stripe down the stretch to secure their spot in the upcoming NJCAA Division 2 Women’s Basketball Tournament.

Tournament MVP Cameron McNamara finished the game against Allen with 24 points and seven rebounds, becoming the second Scottie in program history to eclipse the 1,000-career point mark at HCC. The first 1,000-point scorer for Highland, Mariane De Caravalho, also did so during a season in which Highland won the NJCAA Region 6 Tournament as HCC went to the NJCAA Division 2 Final Four that season and finished third after going 4-1 at the National Tournament.

As for Johnson County and Allen, both the Cavaliers and Red Devils will wait and see if they receive one of four at-large berths into the National Tournament. The official 20-team field and seeds will be announced on Tuesday, March 11th at 12 PM (CDT) with the National Tournament set to take place March 17-22 at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center in Joplin, MO.

2025 NJCAA Region 6 Division 2 Women’s Basketball All-Tournament Team
Cameron McNamara – Highland (Tournament MVP)
Mafalda Chambel - Allen
Yolaine Luthi - Allen
Kyleigh Scoggins - Fort Scott
Jalasia Hull - Highland
Tamia Smith - Johnson County