The 2015-16 Kansas City Kansas Community College women’s basketball team was one win away from making history. The Blue Devils had advanced to the NJCAA DII National Championship and were set to face Illinois Central College. On March 19, 2016, the Blue Devils etched their names into the history books, cruising past the Panthers with an 81-59 rout. The team was ready with scissors in hand to cut down the nets.
“After winning the national championship,
the only thing I could think was no way this cannot be real,” former player Sierra Roberts said. “It felt like Christmas morning, but better. It was like wanting something so bad and for so long and then finally obtaining it. It was a feeling that will forever be unmatched. The most rewarding, happiest and overall best feeling that I have ever had in my entire life. I wish I could go back to that moment all the time.”
KCKCC played four games in the NJCAA National Tournament. The squad’s first challenge was against Waubonsee who they defeated 72-53. KCKCC then rolled past Owens Community College 78-64 and Monroe Community College 81-59 before facing Illinois Central in the title game.
Former head coach Joe McKinstry said it took a lot of preparation to get to where they wanted to be at the end of that memorable season.
“We were holding on by a thread as far as our physical health,” McKinstry said. “We were really beat up. When we beat Illinois Central in the championship, I just remember feeling happy and incredibly proud of the girls. They were thrown into a tough situation with a new coach coming in, and they could have handled that a lot of different ways. I believe the girls’ ability to stick together and persevere is what got us on top of that ladder and cutting down the nets in the end.”
Prior to making the long championship run, former player Cheyenne North reminds herself of one moment she had with her teammates.
“As the season progressed, we realized (Joe) McKinstry was a winner and that he wanted to win,” she said. “I told them that us having the opportunity to be in that moment was because of them and was a testament to their hard work. A lot of the sophomores made a good effort to band together.”
It had been a season to remember for the Blue Devils. Today as fans enter the KCKCC Fieldhouse and look up above center court, they see the 2016 banner that hangs in the rafters describing it all. The white banner, along with the 2019 national championship banner the team also clinched, are at the center of many hanging above the court, signifying a dominate season that ended with a national championship.
“We were invited to Topeka to be recognized on both the House and Senate floors (a few days after winning the championship),” McKinstry said. “The following November during the Keith Lindsey Classic, we held a ceremony where we put the Championship banner on the wall in the gym. I think about 75 percent of our team was able to come and be a part of that, so that was really special.”
