Both of Highland's basketball squads lost in the opening round of the NJCAA Region VI playoffs on Monday night. The #3 seeded women's team fell to the #6 seed Neosho Panthers at Ben Allen Field house 68-61. The #6 seed Highland men's team traveled to Kansas City to face the Blue Devils of KCKCC. The Scotties lost in Kansas City 77-43.

Women's Basketball (19-12)
Turnovers were the demise for the Scotties in the playoffs, as Highland committed a season high 25 turnovers against Neosho. The Panthers were able to capitalize on the Scotties' mistakes scoring 24 points off Highland's turnovers.

Garneisha Love and Courtney Davis led the Scotties in scoring with 11 points each. Kenadi Rising rounded out the double-digit scorers for Highland, adding 10 points and grabbing 7 rebounds.
The Panthers had four players scoring in double figures against the Scotties.

After the game, The Scottie Sports Network caught up with head coach Jordon O'Brien for her thoughts on the game, the season, and the future. "It was tough tonight. You'll never get the win giving up 25 turnovers and that killed us", said Coach O'Brien. "I'm proud of my girls overall. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for my sophomores and I'm excited to bring this freshman class back to Highland next year." When asked about her upcoming plans now that the season was over, O'Brien excitedly added, "it's time to hit the road and go recruiting!"

Men's Basketball
Like the women's team, turnovers were a major factor for the Scotties in the opening round of the playoffs. Highland committed 26 turnovers against KCKCC and the Blue Devils were able to score 28 points off of those turnovers. Highland scored 2 points off of 9 KCKCC turnovers.

Chris Flippin capped the night for the Scotties with another double-double, finishing with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Josh Owens was the only other Scotties scoring in double figures, adding 13 points for Highland.

Joshua Dames of KCKCC led all scorers with 16 points.

After the contest coach Jon Oler said, "We are a very young team, and one that has some important pieces returning.  Chris Flippin was the best freshman rebounder in the Jayhawk Conference and he is a good person to build around for next season."

Both Scottie Basketball coaching staffs will remain busy for the rest of the month as they begin their seasonal recruiting trips and prepare to host the 36^th Annual NE Kansas All Star games to be held on March 26^th at Ben Allen Field House.