The 16th ranked Barton Community College women's basketball team had four members land on the 2023 Division I All-KJCCC/All-Region VI teams announced on Thursday.
The selections were headlined Jenny Nkem Womsi in being named the Player of the Year, joined by Defensive Player of the Year and Honorable Mention selection Brennan Kirchhoff, along with 2nd Team selections Acorionna Lard and Morgan Meyers.
The four helped Barton to the program's 10th Region VI title, the first since 2008 in advancing the now 28-5 Cougars to the NJCAA Division I Tournament next week in Lubbock, Texas.
Complete 2023 All-KJCCC/All-Region Selections
Jenny Nkem Womsi – Player of the Year, 1st Team Selection
The 6'1" sophomore from Yaounde, Cameroon, is the first Cougar selected for the conference top honor since two-time achiever Wendy Okeson's distinction in 2000.
Voted the Co-Newcomer of the Year and 2nd team selection last year, this year Womsi led the Division I players with a nation 4th best 13.2 rebounds and ranked 9th in scoring at 14.8 points per game.
Posting 24 double-doubles on the year, Womsi reached double-digits in scoring all but six games, twice scoring a career high 25 points and grabbing 10 or more rebounds in all but four of the 33-game schedule to date including a program sixth most 20 rebounds in one game.
Brennan Kirchhoff – Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defensive Team, Honorable Mention Selection
The 5'4" sophomore from Cedar, Kansas, joined Womsi as a two-time post-season recipient by landing on the honorable mention team.
Usually assigned to the opponents main threat from the guard position, Kirchhoff proved herself each contest in giving Barton a steady defensive presence to earn the league coaches' voting of the Defensive Player of the Year.
Offensively Kirchhoff filled her role, reaching double figures in fifteen contests including matching a career high 20 point performance against Labette, and knocking down key three pointers throughout the season. Burying a career high 5-of-7 behind the arc in the Cougars' opening round playoff game, Kirchhoff stands 6th on the career made chart with 114.
Leading by example of toughness and grit, Kirchhoff not only canned big three-pointers when the Cougars needed a boost, but was also willing to drive to the hole or grab rebounds. Ranking a program third best 79.2% from the free throw line, Kirchhoff also secured 4.5 rebounds per game, dished out 3.0 assists, and averaged 8.8 points.
Acorionna Lard – 2nd Team Selection
Ranking second in the league in assists, the 5'9" guard from Davenport, Iowa, was key to the Barton offense with her all-around floor game.
Distributing 5.0 assists per contest, Lard also contributed 9.7 points and 3.9 rebounds with 1.2 steals.
Scoring a career high 27 points against league champion Dodge City, Lard reached double figures in over half of the 33 games and posted three double-double performances.
In early November hosting Neosho County, Lard scored 13 points and hauled down a career high 10 rebounds for her first career double-double, followed three games later in distributing a new 13 best assists with 14 points, with a 17 point and 10 rebound performance coming at Pratt in the second week of February.
Morgan Meyers – 2nd Team Selection
Joining Lard on the second team selections, Meyers ranked third in the league with 76 made three-pointers in moving up to the 5th spot of the program's all-time accomplishment list.
The 5'7" native of Cunningham, Kansas, ranked in the top three on the team in most offensive categories including a second best 12.6 points per game.
In her 32 games played, Meyers eclipsed ten or more points in 23 games including the last seven to date with a career high 29 points coming early in the season against Neosho County.
Burying a program top-eight 76 three-pointers so far on the season, Meyers' career 126 made beyond the arc ranks 6th best all-time.