Of all 31 games the Cyclones played this season, there was none they fought more for than their last one of the season — the NJCAA Midwest A District Championship.
In their battle with Kankakee Community College (22-7) for the chance to compete at nationals a second straight year, the Cyclones (23-8) worked every inch of their home court to a fired up crowd. They led most of the game, but ran out of steam in the third quarter for a bitter 67-61 loss.
Kirsten Kamholz got her team on the board first, and the Cyclones held an 18-14 lead after one quarter despite earning several early fouls. The Cavaliers were not a team to mess with because of big athletes who played physical ball making the Cyclones work even harder to get near the basket. A number of missed free throws and field goals by Kankakee, however, helped Moraine Valley maintain a lead through the second quarter. Nicole Poole became pivotal, grabbing boards and scoring when her team needed it. With 5:30 left in the second quarter, the Cyclones were up by 10 and Kankakee had yet to score. More Cyclone fouls and missed shots allowed the Cavaliers to catch up and lead by one. Before the buzzer, Kamholz scored to get the Cyclones ahead 28-27.
The third quarter saw the teams trade leads before the Cyclones encountered their first real deficit of the game, but they never gave up. Moraine Valley was down by 10 in the fourth and kept pushing, thanks to some attacks on the basket from Chelsea Cross. But it wasn't enough to surpass the Cavaliers' lead. Kamohlz led the effort with 21 points followed by Cross (14 points). Poole and Kaeli Ford each banked nine.
"I was very impressed with how we came out. Kankakee is very physical, and they play with high intensity, and we matched that," said Head Coach Delwyn Jones. "It was a team effort. We had a game plan to take it tight to make Kankakee shoot from the outside, and we executed well. When we were down in the fourth, no one gave up, even when we were in foul trouble. We played hard and fought to the end. It was a complete team effort. I'm proud of how far these young women came this season."
For their efforts, Kamholz, Poole and Cross earned All-Tournament honors while the team took home a runners-up Region IV trophy.