Monday, December 3
Kansas City, Mo. (Municipal)
5:00 p.m. CT
Kansas City
80
vs
68
Texas State University
Kangaroos Bounce Texas State, 80-68
12/3/2007 9:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Kansas City, Mo. -- The UMKC women's basketball team hosted Texas State on Monday night in its last non-conference tuneup. After a closely-fought first half, Chazny Morris exploded - scoring 17 of her game-high 30 points in the second - to pace the Kangaroos to a 80-68 win.
UMKC controlled the tip and took the first lead of the contest, at 5-2, but the teams would trade the lead back and forth nine times over the course of the first stanza. The Kangaroos were able to stretch the lead as high as four, leading 15-11 with 11:16 left in the half.
Texas State was able to wrest the lead back, pushing its cushion as high as three, holding a 25-22 margin with 5:35 left in the half.
Although the teams combined for 71 attempts in the first half, neither team was able to score over the final minute of the stanza and went into the half tied, 31-31.
The second half started out much like the first, as Taushelle Rushing opened with a pair of free throws for UMKC before Texas State answered for the 10th tie of the game, but the Kangaroos hit a cold stretch, coughing up the ball twice and missing on four straight attempts.
Texas State was only able to stretch its margin out to four, leading 37-33 with 17:56 left behind field goals from Marie Moser and Ashley Cole.
Morris fired immediately back with a trey to cut the deficit to one, hitting a jumper at the 16:35 mark to re-take the lead for UMKC.
The Kangaroos traded leads with the Bobcats nine more times over the next five minutes, before Texas State stretched its lead back out to four. Joyce Ekworomadu atoned for a turnover at the 11:19 mark, nailing a three to give the visitors a 50-54 lead with 10:50 left.
An unconventional four-point play with just over seven minutes left in the game sparked a 15-0 run for UMKC. Alysa Klein dropped in an easy layup off a feed from Sierra Radke, picking up a foul on the attempt. Klein missed on her trip to the line, but Marta Waalen cleaned up the board and laid the ball in to give UMKC a 59-58 lead. Morris and Klein each chipped in four during the run.
Texas State fired back with a six-point spurt, but couldn't close the gap as UMKC connected on eight of its nine trips to the free throw line over the final 2:19, rolling to a 12-point win.
Morris led all scorers on the night with 30, pulling down eight rebounds as well. Klein and Radke finished in double figures for UMKC as well, with 15 and 13 points respectively. Radke also dished a game-high six assists, as UMKC piled up 16 helpers to just nine for Texas State.
Ekworomadu and Brooke DeGrate each finished with 18 points for Texas State, with DeGrate grabbing 11 rebounds. The Bobcats outrebounded the Kangaroos 43-40 on the night and also held a 12-9 edge in steals.
The Kangaroos moved to 5-3 on the year, hitting at a 45.8 percent (27-59) success rate from the floor on the night. UMKC held Texas State to a 38.2 percent (29.76) mark on tne night and outshot the Bobcats by a 37.5 percent to 18.8 percent rate from distance. The Kangaroos took advantage of the charity stripe, connecting on 71.9 percent (23-32) of their efforts to just seven makes in nine tries for Texas State.
UMKC opens play in The Summit League on Saturday, taking on debutantes IPFW in a contest scheduled for a noon tipoff.
UMKC controlled the tip and took the first lead of the contest, at 5-2, but the teams would trade the lead back and forth nine times over the course of the first stanza. The Kangaroos were able to stretch the lead as high as four, leading 15-11 with 11:16 left in the half.
Texas State was able to wrest the lead back, pushing its cushion as high as three, holding a 25-22 margin with 5:35 left in the half.
Although the teams combined for 71 attempts in the first half, neither team was able to score over the final minute of the stanza and went into the half tied, 31-31.
The second half started out much like the first, as Taushelle Rushing opened with a pair of free throws for UMKC before Texas State answered for the 10th tie of the game, but the Kangaroos hit a cold stretch, coughing up the ball twice and missing on four straight attempts.
Texas State was only able to stretch its margin out to four, leading 37-33 with 17:56 left behind field goals from Marie Moser and Ashley Cole.
Morris fired immediately back with a trey to cut the deficit to one, hitting a jumper at the 16:35 mark to re-take the lead for UMKC.
The Kangaroos traded leads with the Bobcats nine more times over the next five minutes, before Texas State stretched its lead back out to four. Joyce Ekworomadu atoned for a turnover at the 11:19 mark, nailing a three to give the visitors a 50-54 lead with 10:50 left.
An unconventional four-point play with just over seven minutes left in the game sparked a 15-0 run for UMKC. Alysa Klein dropped in an easy layup off a feed from Sierra Radke, picking up a foul on the attempt. Klein missed on her trip to the line, but Marta Waalen cleaned up the board and laid the ball in to give UMKC a 59-58 lead. Morris and Klein each chipped in four during the run.
Texas State fired back with a six-point spurt, but couldn't close the gap as UMKC connected on eight of its nine trips to the free throw line over the final 2:19, rolling to a 12-point win.
Morris led all scorers on the night with 30, pulling down eight rebounds as well. Klein and Radke finished in double figures for UMKC as well, with 15 and 13 points respectively. Radke also dished a game-high six assists, as UMKC piled up 16 helpers to just nine for Texas State.
Ekworomadu and Brooke DeGrate each finished with 18 points for Texas State, with DeGrate grabbing 11 rebounds. The Bobcats outrebounded the Kangaroos 43-40 on the night and also held a 12-9 edge in steals.
The Kangaroos moved to 5-3 on the year, hitting at a 45.8 percent (27-59) success rate from the floor on the night. UMKC held Texas State to a 38.2 percent (29.76) mark on tne night and outshot the Bobcats by a 37.5 percent to 18.8 percent rate from distance. The Kangaroos took advantage of the charity stripe, connecting on 71.9 percent (23-32) of their efforts to just seven makes in nine tries for Texas State.
UMKC opens play in The Summit League on Saturday, taking on debutantes IPFW in a contest scheduled for a noon tipoff.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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