JCCC women’s basketball wins NJCAA national title

JOHNSON COUNTY, Kan. (KCTV) - The Johnson County Community College Cavaliers returned home as champions Monday – fresh off a 75-67 win over the No. 6 seed Pima Aztecs in the NJCAA Division II National Championship on Saturday in Joplin, Missouri.

The win was JCCC’s third national championship in women’s basketball – and second under long-time head coach Ben Conrad.

“What is most rewarding about [winning the national championship] is just them getting to see the validation of all the work. It’s not easy. College basketball is a long season,” said Conrad. “I just think of all the work that they did and for them to be able to see that payoff, that for me is always the best reward, getting to see where their work turned into something really special.”

The Cavaliers finished the season with a 34-1 record. The team is loaded with local talent – with eight of the 14 players from the KC metro. One of the local players is Truman High alum Layla Scott, who scored 25 points to lead the Cavs to the title.

“Coming in, you never expect that, ‘Oh, I’m going to go to the national championship and win.’ It’s something you dream about,” said Scott on Monday. “Now that it became real, it’ feels amazing.”

“It was really a great year. We were really competitive,” said Yar Manyiel, a North Kansas City High School alum. “The national championship was the best. Just being around each other, we were so ready and excited for it.”

JCCC’s two previous national championships in women’s basketball came in 2000 and 2015.