The CCRI women’s basketball team wasted no time making a splash on its sixth straight trip to the NJCAA Division II National Championship. Unfortunately for the Lady Knights, the waves they made took them to a familiar spot.

In the opening game of the tournament, which was held in Peoria, Illinois, CCRI blew past previously undefeated Allegany College of Maryland 64-51 behind a double-double by Sharniece Williams and a balanced scoring attack.

That victory moved CCRI into the quarterfinals, the same round that’s marked the end of the line for the Lady Knights in each of the past three seasons.

The opponent would be the same, too.

Kirkwood Community College of Iowa beat CCRI in 2007 and 2008 on its way to back-to-back national championships, and in this year’s tourney, CCRI drew Kirkwood once more.

Again, it was a tough match-up. The Eagles came in with a No. 1 national ranking and a 33-1 record. They left Thursday’s game against CCRI with a 61-40 victory, and they went on to win their third consecutive title.

For the Lady Knights, the loss was deflating. They still had a consolation bracket game remaining, but they fell short against Genesee Community College, losing 64-55.

Still, head coach Kevin Monagle said the trip and the season should leave the Lady Knights feeling pretty good about themselves. This year’s sophomores finished their careers with a 49-16 record, believed to be the best two-year mark in school history.

“We had a great season,” Monagle said. “It was a lot of fun, and we had a real nice group of kids. When you start practice in October and the season goes until March, you’re together a long time, and we had fun. We did some great things this season, and the sophomores have had great careers. For them to get 49 wins, that’s pretty good.”

CCRI’s season included a little magic. To get to nationals, the Lady Knights had to beat undefeated Union County College in the district championship. They did it in style, rallying from a big deficit in the second half to win on a last-second basket by Taylor Simmons.

Earning a ticket to nationals with a win like that made the ticket a little more special.

“We had a very good win just to get there,” Monagle said. “Union was a great team and we had to come back late in the second half. It was really a special afternoon for our team.”

The Lady Knights kept the good times rolling once they got to Illinois. As they sized up Allegany, who boasted a 28-0 record, the Lady Knights knew they’d have a chance. They had a little experience with undefeated teams, and based on some common opponents, they liked how things stacked up.

The game went better than they could have imagined. The Lady Knights limited Allegany to 21 percent shooting in the first half, shot 42 percent themselves and raced to a 41-20 halftime lead.

“You don’t go into a game against an undefeated team expecting to do that,” Monagle said. “We came out and took it to them in the first half.”

The second half wasn’t quite as clean, but the Lady Knights managed to hold on for the 64-51 victory. Williams posted a double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Taylor Simmons added 15 points and Nicole Girard scored 12 with six assists. Jackie Murray added seven points and six rebounds.

“It was a lot of fun to have a game like that,” Monagle said. “We wanted to go out there and proved we belonged, and I think we did that.”

Their reward was a match-up with Kirkwood, and though it presented a tough task, the Lady Knights were geared up for it.

“One of our goals at the beginning of the year was to have another shot at them,” Monagle said.

Unfortunately for the Lady Knights, Kirkwood came out firing. The Eagles hit seven of 11 three-pointers in the first half and jumped to a 33-17 halftime lead.

“They just shot lights out,” Monagle said. “They’re a very good basketball team, and they were firing away in the first half.”

CCRI cut into the lead in the second half but couldn’t get over the hump.

“It was much tighter in the second half, but they did some ball control things to kind of keep us from really making a push,” Monagle said. “It was a tough loss. The girls were upset.”

Girard led the Lady Knights with 13 points. Rachel Murray added seven to go with eight rebounds, and Simmons also scored seven.

The Lady Knights went on to a consolation-round game with Genesee, a regional rival. They lost by nine points despite 17 from Simmons and double-doubles from Williams and Rachel Murray.

“I think the loss to Kirkwood really took the air out of the balloon for us,” Monagle said. “We weren’t able to come back from that.”

Williams was named to the all-tournament team, part of a long list of postseason awards for the Lady Knights. Girard, Simmons and Rachel Murray were named first-team all-region, while Williams and Lauren Harrington were tabbed for the second team. Simmons, a pre-season All-American, finished fourth on CCRI’s all-time scoring list.

CCRI will bid farewell to eight seniors: Girard, Simmons, Harrington, Williams Rachel Murray, Jackie Murray, Kaityln Rachiele and Tonisha Tate.

“They’ve had great careers,” Monagle said. “It was big for the team to get another trip to nationals, and hopefully a lot of the kids will be moving along to bigger things next year. We’ll miss them. Next year, we’ll have a whole different look, but we’ll be up for the challenge.”