Labette women’s basketball won’t play any games in the fall semester, the school announced.
Injuries to an already small roster have sidelined a program that, two years ago, won the Kansas Jayhawk Conference and was routinely ranked in the top-10 of the NJCAA Division II poll.
“What went into the decision was the health and safety of our players,” Labette head coach Kaylena Andersen said. “We were sitting at nine players before all this started. Hopefully, we can get back up to that. I feel disappointment for the girls. You can’t always help the way the chips fall. It’s more important to keep them healthy and safe than it would be to take risks, start and not be able to finish.”
Labette said in an announcement from school president Mark Watkins that it intends to play its scheduled games in the spring semester, after winter break. KJCCC play doesn’t start until the second semester of the school year.
“This decision allows us to focus on supporting our current student-athletes’ recovery and conditioning, while providing the time necessary for our coaches to recruit additional student athletes who can strengthen our roster for January when conference games resume,” Watkins said.
Andersen added that the school will attempt to reschedule a few of its non-conference games from the fall to spring semester.
“I have good relationships with the majority of the teams we originally planned to play, and all of them understood,” Andersen said. “There’s one team that’s in the same boat that is going to play with six. We’re trying to reschedule a few of those games for January.”
Labette’s roster size has been a focus of speculation for weeks leading up to the start of basketball season. In late September, Andersen held open tryouts with scholarships still open.
At press time, no roster for Labette was available on the NJCAA, KJCCC or school website.
Every other Division II school in the KJCCC had its roster published on the NJCAA site. Fort Scott has 11 players listed. Allen has a dozen while Highland has 13. Hesston, Johnson County and Kansas City Kansas have 14 apiece.
Neosho County, the closest school to Labette, has 19.
According to the Associated Press, a study from the Aspen Institute that was published Wednesday found that sports participation for girls is at its highest rate since 2012, fueled in part by the meteoric popularity of WNBA and University of Iowa basketball star Cailtin Clark.
With a small roster size, that Andersen estimates will be at nine once the spring semester starts, the approach to the season changes.
“We’re doing things to make sure we’re having healthy and adequate practices that aren’t grueling,” Andersen said.
Labette volleyball players are expected to be part of the women’s basketball roster.
While extremely rare, there are instances of college programs suspending or canceling seasons in recent years.
Highland didn’t play its 2022 volleyball season, but resumed the program the following year.
At the NCAA level, Davidson canceled the end of its basketball season in early March due to mounting injuries. TCU also had to briefly suspend its 2024 season due to injuries.
Labette was scheduled to play its first game on Friday against Cottey JV. Now, a Jan. 6 date against the same opponent is the tentative start date.
“We understand that faculty, staff, students, and fans may have questions, and we want to assure everyone that we are doing everything possible to field a full team when conference play begins,” Watkins said. “We remain committed to creating a safe, supportive environment for our student-athletes to succeed both on and off the court. We will continue to communicate updates as the semester progresses and look forward to a strong return in January.”
