IT’S “LADY RANGERS DAY!” | Kilgore pays tribute to KC women’s basketball (W/VIDEO)

The Kilgore College Lady Rangers basketball program went back home, so to speak, this season, returning to the NJCAA Women’s National Basketball Tournament for the first time since 1993.

Not only did they get back to nationals, but coach Stephanie Williams’ Lady Rangers did so in style, winning the Region XIV Conference Women’s Tournament, and knocking off both Trinity Valley and Tyler Junior College in the process.

And that’s why today, April 8, 2025, was officially proclaimed Kilgore College Lady Rangers Day by Kilgore Mayor Ronnie Spradlin in a tribute.

Spradlin read the proclamation for the assembly to hear:

KC was seeded No. 4 as they entered the RXIV Conference tournament at Lee College in Baytown, and defeated fifth-seeded Panola College in the first round.

The Lady Rangers got matched up against top-seeded Trinity Valley in the semifinals, and had split with TVCC in the regular season. They bounced the Lady Cardinals from the tournament, too, punching their ticket to the finals.

Of course, getting there would mean beating rival TJC, but they were able to do that, too: Kilgore College went up by double digits on TJC, then held on through a comeback, weathering the storm for a win, and taking the conference tournament title.

Nakiyah Allen was named the overall conference tourney most valuable player, and teammates Jarahle Daniels and Madison Bob were selected all-tournament.

But that got KC back on the national stage, allowing the Lady Rangers to head to the Ford Center in Casper, Wyoming for the NJCAA Women’s National Tournament, their first in 32 years.

And they did not just happily make the trip. KC got there and knocked off Walters State (Tenn.), in the first round, surprising some.

KC ran into Chipola (Fla.), the tournament’s No. 1 seed, in the second round. Chipola and the rest of the top eight seeds had first-round byes.

The Lady Rangers gave Chipola all it wanted, but Chipola managed to eliminate them from the tournament, 73-63.