2009/10 Season
Jayhawks REGION 3 CHAMPIONS
NJCAA Division II Basketball
By Scott Eddy
For the past five months, the Jamestown Community College women’s basketball team has used a motto derived from song lyrics to believe in reaching a goal 34 years in the making.
“There’s a song, ‘Our moment, our time,’ we put it on the back of our shirts,” JCC women’s head coach Keith Martin said.
It’s a motto that goes beyond just being a catchy line for a T-shirt.
“We write it on our hands every day,” freshman forward Beth Gribble said.
After a drought of 34 years without a women’s basketball regional championship for the school, this year’s group of Jayhawks made this their time by way of its NJCAA Division II Region 3 title game victory over Genesee last Sunday.
JCC took its first women’s basketball championship since 1976 with a 64-53 win over Genesee CC on Sunday at the campus physical education complex. The meeting was the fourth straight season the Jayhawks and Cougars had met in the regional championship game. For JCC, the fourth time was the charm.
After a 71-61 over Erie CC on Saturday sent JCC into the regional final, and Genesee knocked off Mercyhurst North East in its semifinal game, the stage was set for another Jayhawks-Cougars final pairing. The Jayhawks started out the game on a 7-2 run, fueled by a loud crowd of approximately 400, giving JCC a home court advantage which it hadn’t enjoyed in the school’s previous three trips to the regional final. Genesee would quickly answer back with a run of its own, though, to take the lead. Cold shooting plagued the Jayhawks in the first half, hitting just 22 percent from the field in the game’s opening 20 minutes as the Cougars took a 28-23 lead into intermission.
JCC came out of half energized and regained control with a 15-3 run to begin the second half. Freshman Kay York (Frewsburg) knocked down a pair of key three-point baskets to bring the crowd to life and push the Jayhawks’ lead into double figures. The Jayhawks’ two scoring leaders throughout the regular season, freshmen Beth Gribble (Sherman) and Rachel Ottaway (Sherman), bounced back from cold first half play and accounted for all of their combined 17 points in the second stanza as the Jayhawks shot 42.9 percent in the final 20 minutes.
Gribble, York and Katie Lemon all finished with 10 points apiece for JCC to lead the home team in scoring while Genesee’s Jamia Martin led all scorers with 16. Kayla Crosby put in nine points for JCC while Ottaway finished with seven. Crosby and Lemon each earned selections to the All-Region III Tournament Team along with Martin and Ka’Mela Bender from Genesee and Lauren Henry from Mercyhurst North East. Gribble took Most Valuable Player honors for the tournament.
JCC has now notched 11 consecutive victories on its way to a 25-7 overall record. The Jayhawks have advanced to a district play-in game for the right to play in the NJCAA Division II Women’s Basketball National Tournament. JCC will travel to either the CC of Rhode Island or Monroe College from the Bronx on Saturday, March 6. The winner of the game enters the national tournament in Peoria, Ill. March 17-20.
“I told the kids, ‘We’ve been knocking at the door for three years, let’s knock it down,’” Martin said. “They did.”
2009/10 Jayhawk Women's Basketball Team
Record as of 1/26/10: 18-5 (4-1)
Jayhawks Hunting Regional Title With No. 1 Seed
By Scott Eddy
Success is nothing new for the Jamestown Community College women’s basketball program under head coach Keith Martin.
The longtime coach has secured 200-plus victories in his 11 years at the helm and six 20-win seasons. This season, Martin’s Jayhawks have been dominant nearly from start to finish of the regular season campaign, standing at 23-6 overall and 9-1 in NJCAA Division II Region 3 play with one game remaining, at Monroe CC this Friday, to finish its regular season slate.
With the number one overall seed in the Region 3 playoffs, slated for Feb. 27 and 28 at the JCC physical education complex, the Jayhawks hope to do the one thing they haven’t accomplished in 34 years – win a regional championship.
The program has reached the regional final in three straight seasons – all losses to Genesee CC. There are signs that ignite hope at JCC that this year could be different, however. For one, JCC has knocked off Genesee twice during the regular season. The team also boasts the deepest lineup Martin says he has ever had at the school.
“We’ve always played a lot of kids. To have that number of 11, 12 (players receiving minutes each game) and whatever kid it is make big plays in big games, no, we haven’t had that much depth,” Martin said. “This team is special.”
JCC hasn’t had one or two ‘go-to’ players this season; rather, it’s been a roster full of players producing with different heroes each night. The Jayhawks have just one player – freshman Rachel Ottaway at 10 points per game – averaging in double figures on the season. Seven other players average between five and 10 points per night.
The Jayhawks entered the week ranked No. 16 in the NJCAA Division II national poll, and the only team ranked in the top 20 from Region 3.
JCC boasts several leaders among various different statistical categories within Region 3 as well. Jenny Bojanowski stands second in free throw percentage at 76.5 percent; Katie Lemon is second in three-point field goal percentage at 39.1 percent; Kayla Crosby ranks fourth in assists at 3.7 per game and 103 for the season; Hannah Reynolds checks in third in field goal percentage at 50.8 percent.
The depth of the Jayhawks rotation makes the team a potential match-up nightmare for opponents.
“Who do you scout, who do you take away? There’s so many other people on the floor that can hurt someone,” the longtime Jayhawks coach said. “It’s a credit to the kids, they’ve been unselfish all year long. What they’ve accomplished is because they play as a team. No one can take away one kid on our team. If they do that, someone else will make plays.”
In regionals, JCC will have the benefit of its home crowd as the Jayhawks host the tournament. The team has enjoyed a strong following for its home games throughout the past several seasons and anticipates enjoying home court advantage against its Region 3 foes.
“This community has embraced our program over the years,” Martin said. “I can’t imagine what those last two days of February are going to be like in this gym. Our community has been wonderful. It’s going to be in our favor so much to have the home crowd with us. Hopefully we play well and they finish up what they’ve started.”
1/26/10: Jayhawks 66 vs. Niagara CCC 37: Gribble 12, York 11, Carlson 10
1/23/10: Jayhawks 72 vs. Alfred State 50: Gribble 18
1/21/10: Jayhawks 80 vs. Genesee CC 74: Gribble 23, Rowland 17, Ottoway 16
1/16/10: Jayhawks 55 vs. Mercyhurst NE 38: Ottoway 15pts
Date: Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010
The Jayhawk women’s basketball team couldn’t hold an early lead or stop a late charge from Erie CC and fell before its home crowd, 60-54 on Thursday night in its NJCAA Division II Region 3 season-opener.
1/5/10: Jayhawks 54 vs Broward, FLA 60: Beth Gribble 13 pts, Kay York 9pts
12/13/09: Jayhawks 73 vs Orange County CC 50: Beth Gribble 20 pts, Rachel Ottoway 19pts
12/12/09: Jayhawks 55 vs Quinsigamond 39: Kay York 12 pts, Megan Rowland 12 pts.
12/9/09: Jayhawks 77 vs Niagara College, Canada: Kay York 19 pts
12/5/09: Jayhawks 50 vs Columbus State 45: Kay York 13pts
12/4/09: Jayhawks 68 vs Kirtland CC 49: Beth Gribble 10 pts
12/2/09: Jayhawks vs Pitt-Titusville:
11/21/09: Jayhawks 52 vs Sheridan, Canada 76: Rachel Ottoway 12pts Jenny Bojanowski 11pts
11/20/09: Jayhawks 80 vs Tyndale College, Canada 11: Lindsay Alday and Skylar Carlson 13pts each
11/14/09: Jayhawks 65 vs Cuyahoga CC 56: Katie Lemon with 21 pts and 8 rebounds, Alicia Stebbins with 17pts
11/8/09: Jayhawks 81 vs TC-3 51: Beth Gribble 14 points, Rachel Ottoway 11 points
11/7/09: Jayhawks 85 vs CCAC South 24: Beth Gribble 16 points, Hannah Reynolds 11 points
11/4/09: Jayhawks 84 vs Pitt Titusville 42 (W): achel Ottoway 16 points, Beth Gribble 10 points
11/1/09: Jayhawks 60 vs Niagara College, Canada 47 (W): Rachel Ottoway 15 points
Coaches:
Keith Martin (head coach)
Travis Wells (assistant coach)
Beth Beaver (assistant coach)
Roster:
| # | Name | Position | Height | Year | H.S. |
| 4 | Skylar Carlson | G | 5'9" | So | Falconer, NY |
| 33 | Kayla Crosby | G | 5'8" | So | Russell, PA |
| 10 | Katie E. Lemon | G | 5'9" | So | Frewsburg, NY |
| 40 | Meaghan Rowland | F | 5'9" | So | Falconer, NY |
| 11 | Lindsey Alday | G | 5'6" | So | Shreman High School |
| 20 | Jenny Bojanowski | G | 5'7" | So | Eisenhower, PA |
| 21 | Kaylyn York | G | 5'5" | So | Frewsburg High School |
| 24 | Diana Depane | G | 5'5" | So | Jamestown High School |
| 43 | Alicia Stebbins | C | 5'10" | So | Olean, NY |
| 32 | Beth Gribble | G | 5'8" | So | Sherman High School |
| 34 | Rachel Ottaway | C | 6'1" | So | Sherman High School |
| 43 | Ashley Judd | G | 5'7" | So | Ripley High School |
| 45 | Taylor Bankoski | F | 5'11" | So | Dunkirk High School |
| 50 | Hannah Reynolds | C | 6'2" | Fr | Salamanca High School |
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