FRESH PERSPECTIVE

Lady Pirates’ Success Hinges On Freshman-Heavy Squad
After two 20-plus win seasons, two region title game appearances – the second resulting in the program’s seventh Region XVI championship – the North Central Missouri College women’s basketball team came crashing down to earth.
In the 2018-2019 season, the Pirates scuffled to a 7-20 overall record. The seven wins are the fewest for a single season since the program was re-introduced at North Central prior to the 1998-1999 season.
But a new year has brought new perspective – and a new team.
North Central rolls into the 2019-2020 season with a completely rebuilt roster. The Pirates return just two players from last year’s squad and the roster is rounded out by 11 freshmen – many of whom come from local schools.
“Last winter, during the season, when we were working on recruiting, we knew what we needed,” North Central Head Coach Jenni Croy said. “I think we strayed away a little bit from what works with our program and what we like to do in recruiting the year before and we lost out on a lot of players. This year we really worked hard on focusing on those local kids who were all about basketball and we did that.”
The incoming talent immediately puts North Central on a different level than the Lady Pirates found themselves at last season. A trio of guards in the freshman class are expected to make an immediate impact for the NCMC women. Lily Osborn from Stanberry and Brittney McKay from Grain Valley will be starters for the Pirates this year as will Kortlyn Rounkles, who was redshirted at Johnson County Community College last year after graduating from Southwest Livingston in Ludlow. She transfers to NCMC with two years of eligibility still remaining.
“Those three guards are a solid unit together,” Croy said. “Each day I think they learn each other’s ways and play together better.”
Osborn made a living in the high school ranks with a very good step-back three-pointer move. That has carried over to the junior college ranks and she has picked up the game at this level very quickly. Croy sees a lot of similarities between Osborn and another guard that helped lead NCMC to a region title just two seasons ago.
“I hate to compare former players to current players, but – for those who have followed our program – Lily Osborn resembles Kendey Eaton in a lot of ways,” Croy said. “She can score, she defends well and just has a really good presence about her on the court. We expect her to be one of our top guards. She is just an all-around good player who is just going to continue to get better and better.”
Another freshman who will be a starter for North Central is Kennedie Kieffer. The Pirates have a rich history of all-region post players and Kieffer could very well be the next on that list. At 6-0, she has good height. But it is her work ethic that has impressed Croy the most.
“Kennedie is like a sponge,” Croy said. “She wants to learn and absorbs everything you tell her on the court. She is really physical under the basket and we are going to go to her anytime we can get her on a post up. She has to have the ball in her hands and that’s what we have kind of been preaching to the guards, ‘you have got to see her,’ and she works on her post moves constantly. I think she is probably going to be one of the best, if not the best, legit post player to come through here because of her work ethic and her willingness to figure it all out.”
While last year was a forgettable one for the Pirates, North Central does return two players from that squad who certainly have roles on this year’s team. Guard Dymeria Guillory and forward Da’Briauna Bables will both see ample time on the floor this season for the Pirates. Guillory will slide in with Osborn, Rounkles and McKay to give North Central a very formidable guard rotation.
Bables, meanwhile, gives Trenton another solid post option. She has also grown into a leadership role – something that a team featuring 11 freshmen can really use.
“Da’Briauna is a great kid,” Croy said. “She was quiet last year, didn’t really open up and this year the girls voted her as a team captain. She has taken that leadership role and really takes pride in the team. She gets excited for each kid when they have success. We have started her some, we haven’t started her some and she is a kid who handles that and always has the best outlook for the team in mind.”
With the amount of guard talent this squad has, North Central has the ability to run a four-guard lineup on the court, something the Pirates plan to do this year based on match-ups.
“We can go with a big lineup because we have size, but we can go with a quick lineup, too,” Croy said. “It just depends on what the other team’s match-up looks like for us. We will probably switch that up all year long.”
St. Louis has traditionally been the team to beat in Region XVI over the past few years, but that school underwent a coaching change in the offseason, leaving the Archers as a bit of a wild card. Metropolitan Community College has been on the rise under Marcus Harvey, who also coaches the men’s team at that school, so this year’s region has a wide open feel to it. Croy sees a lot of similarities between this year’s North Central team and past Lady Pirate teams that have closed the season by hoisting a region championship.
“This group resembles a lot of the past groups we have had that won the region,” Croy said. “How they practice, how they lift, how they get along – that’s exciting to see. With this group we have brought in, it is a fresh start for us. They are coming together. We still have a lot to work on with 11 players who have never played college basketball before, but I see this group continuing to grow and adapt to the game each and every day.”
Key to the team’s overall success will be getting the freshmen-heavy roster accustomed to college-level basketball.
So far, North Central has been on track for that, starting off the season 2-1. NCMC went 1-1 at the Johnson County Classic last weekend and picking up a lopsided victory at Ellsworth Community College on Tuesday. Despite the positive start, there is plenty to work on. The Pirates have struggled with turnovers early and are still trying to find that happy medium between playing fast and playing under control.
The North Central women will host the Graceland University junior varsity tonight (Friday) tipping off at 4 o’clock. The Pirates play host to the Livin’ The Dream exhibition team on Saturday. Action at the Ketcham Community Center is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

2019 NCMC Women’s
Basketball Schedule
11/1 vs. Fort Scott CC (@JOCO) W, 70-53
11/2 @ Johnson County CC L, 80-72
11/5 @ Ellsworth W, 72-43
11/8 vs. Graceland JV 4:00 pm
11/9 vs. Livin’ The Dream 1:00 pm
11/11 @ Central Methodist JV 7:00 pm
11/15 vs. Fort Scott CC (@KCK) 2:00 pm
11/16 @ Kansas City Kansas CC 4:00 pm
11/20 @ Southwestern CC 5:30 pm
11/23 vs. Southeast CC 2:00 pm
11/26 vs. John Wood CC 5:00 pm
12/3 vs. Missouri Valley JV 6:00 pm
12/7 vs. Marshalltown CC 2:00 pm
12/9 @ ASA College (Miami) 7:00 pm
12/10 @ Miami Dade College 4:30 pm
1/8 vs. Ellsworth CC 5:30 pm
1/11 @ St. Louis CC* 1:00 pm
1/13 vs. Graceland JV 5:30 pm
1/18 vs. Kansas City Kansas CC 2:00 pm
1/22 vs. Metropolitan CC* 5:00 pm
1/28 @ Southeast CC 5:00 pm
2/1 vs. St. Louis CC* 1:00 pm
2/4 vs. Missouri Valley JV 5:30 pm
2/8 @ Metropolitan CC* 2:00 pm
2/10 @ Moberly Area CC 6:00 pm
2/12 @ Marshalltown CC 6:00 pm
2/14 vs. Park JV 5:30 pm
2/20 vs. Central Methodist JV 5:30 pm
(* Region 16 Game)
(Home Games In Bold)