Kangaroo Women Look For First Road League Win Monday At South Dakota State
1/20/2008 5:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The UMKC women's basketball team concludes a two-game road swing at South Dakota State on Monday night. The game is set for a 7 p.m. tipoff from Frost Arena in Brookings, S.D. Alysa Klein sits just five points shy of the 1,000-point plateau as the Kangaroos seek their first road league win.
About The Jackrabbits
In his eighth year at South Dakota
State, Aaron Johnston has put together a 182-61 career record, capped
by a run to the championship game of last season's WNIT tournament. The
final league newcomer on the slate for UMKC, the Jackrabbits are
currently sitting in the top half of the standings.
Maria Boever and Jenn Warkenthien lead the Jackrabbit offense, averaging 12.6 and 12.5 pts/gm respectively. Kristen Rotert also chips in 10.9 points per game for South Dakota State on the campaign, with six players averaging better than eight points per contest. Boever and Warkenthien are also the team's leading rebounders, averaging 6.6 and 6.5 each. From the guard slot, Andrea Verdegan hands out 3.5 assists per game and has grabbed 29 steals on the year.
By The Numbers
UMKC and South Dakota State are evenly matched in the overall shooting department, although the Jackrabbits hold nearly a five-percent edge from three-point range. Both teams are also shooting below 70 percent from the free throw line on the campaign, with nearly identical marks in rebounding, assists and turnovers as well. Defensively, UMKC turns away more blocks per game than the Bison and holds its opponents to a lower field-goal percentage, but South Dakota State has kept its opponents below 62 points per game while UMKC has allowed nearly 64 per contest.
fg% 3fg% ft% reb. ast to blk stl pts o pts o fg%
SDSU .403 .328 .697 37.3 15.4 18.8 3.4 10.7 68.8 61.4 .424
UMKC .406 .280 .667 37.7 15.7 19.0 4.1 9.2 65.3 63.8 .390
Last Time Out For The Kangaroos
Despite 26 points from Alysa Klein, UMKC fell short in its bid for a second Summit League win on Saturday afternoon. The Kangaroos pulled to within five in the second half but dropped an 80-62 result to North Dakota State.
UMKC got off to a bit of a slow start as North Dakota State opened with five unanswered points in the first minute and a 12-3 run over the first 2:51. The only points for the Kangaroos during the run came from Brittny Picconi, who hit a trey with 18:54 on the clock.
Klein sparked a 10-4 UMKC run with an easy jumper just outside the 17:00 mark. Marta Waalen and Sierra Radke converted back-to-back assists by Heather Wimberly to pull the Kangaroos to within three points, as UMKC trailed 16-13 with 14:02 left.
The Kangaroos' cold shooting touch combined with five turnovers in a five-minute span allowed North Dakota State to pull out to a 12-point lead at 29-17.
UMKC was able to find its shooting touch down the stretch, missing just three attempts from the floor over the final 7:45 to narrow the gap as close as three points. The Bison were able to hit a last-second three-pointer to take a 39-33 lead into the break.
After shooting better than 50 percent in the first half, the Kangaroos stumbled a bit out of the intermission, hitting just one of its first four shots. Klein and Waalen kept the game close, scoring 18 of 19 points for UMKC over the first 12 minutes.
With 5:34 left in the game and UMKC trailing 62-54, the Kangaroos hit a cold spell, hitting just one of four shots over a four-minute span and allowed the Bison to open up a 12-point cushion. Trying to pull back into the game, UMKC couldn't find its range as North Dakota State pulled away.
Klein led all scorers in the game with 26 points on 13-of-29 shooting, grabbing a team-high nine rebounds as well. Chazny Morris added 12 points with Waalen contributing 10 on the afternoon.
Recording her first career double-double with a game-high 12 rebounds, Jerri Penley led four scorers in double figures for North Dakota State with 23 points. Amanda Girodat, Lisa Bue and Brenda Slyt finished with better than 10 points as well.
After out-shooting the Bison in the first half, UMKC trailed off the pace in the second stanza to finish the contest hitting at a 42.6 percent (26-61) pace, while North Dakota State finished with a 52.6 percent (30-57) mark. The Bison also held a slight (34-32) edge on the boards.
Three-Point Play
Although UMKC has been slowly improving its accuracy from long range this season, they are still several points short of last year's mark. The Kangaroos hit at a 30.2 percent clip through 17 games last season compared to a 28.0 percent rate at the same point this season. They have hit just one fewer trey, however, draining 82 this year to 83 by the 2006-07 squad.
Ironically, success from distance has not been a significant factor for the Kangaroos, as UMKC has dropped three of the six contests that saw it outshoot its opponent and won five of the 11 contests where it was the poorer shooter on the evening.
Aiming For 1,000
Alysa Klein now sits just five points shy of becoming the eighth UMKC women's basketball player to score 1,000 points in her career and sits just 43 points behind Lauren Powers for seventh-best all-time. Klein has enjoyed two breakout seasons, averaging 11.9 points per contest as a junior and 14.6 points per game as a senior to push her close to the mark.
1. Penny Waggener 123 g 1475 pts 12.0
2. Katie Houlehan 115 g 1445 pts 12.6
3. Laurie Smith 123 g 1282 pts 10.4
4. Stephanie Worthy 67 g 1268 pts 18.9
5. Julie Nill 85 g 1166 pts 13.7
6. Darci Haas 106 g 1146 pts 10.8
7. Lauren Powers 103 g 1038 pts 10.1
8. Alysa Klein 104 g 995 pts 9.6
Home Sweet Home
Kansas City was a welcome home for UMKC during 2007, as the Kangaroos held a perfect 4-0 record at home through December. January, however, has not been so kind, as UMKC dropped consecutive games at home to Western Illinois and IUPUI after a win over Newman to open the year, although the Kangaroos returned to the win column against Southern Utah.
The Kangaroos' record as the visitor is a mirror image, with only two wins to UMKC's credit to go against six losses. UMKC is also 0-1 in neutral site contests on the year, although UMKC was listed as the away team against South Alabama at the USF/odwalla Classic.
Glamourous 30's
Holding Newman to 32 points was an amazing achievement for UMKC, marking the first time since the 2004-05 season that a Kangaroo opponent was held below 40 points and the 18th time during the Kangaroos tenure in Division I. The mark was the third-lowest in the Division I era and sixth best all-time. The most recent result came as UMKC downed IUPUI 76-36 on February 12, 2005.
The 49-point win also marked the fourth-best margin of victory in the Division I era. In each of the three big wins, UMKC victimized Chicago State (109-52 - Feb. 20, 1988; 100-48 - Feb. 20, 1995; 93-43 - Jan. 2, 1999) on three occasions. Chicago State also provided the most feeble offensive output by an opponent in the Division I era in a 56-25 loss on Jan. 6, 2000.
Going back to the NAIA era, the defensive showing is the sixth-lowest score for an opponent, but only the 18th-best margin of victory. In-town foe Park put up remarkably little opposition in a 101-19 win for UMKC on Dec. 11, 1981.
That 70's Show
UMKC is 6-1 when cresting the 70-point plateau, including three times hitting better than 80 points. Against Missouri, UMKC dropped a result in which they scored 70 points or more for the only time this season, finishing on 73 points for the third time this year. The Kangaroos downed Central Arkansas by a 73-63 count and bested Saint Louis by a 73-70 margin.
On the flip side, UMKC has lost four of the five contests that have seen its opponents score 70 points or more. The aforementioned win over Saint Louis marks the only time UMKC has allowed 70 points in a win. Saturday's loss at North Dakota State was the first time on the campaign that the Kangaroos allowed an opponent to hit 80 points.
50 Ain't Nifty
On the lower side of the ledger, UMKC isn't so much a fan of the 50's, having dropped all six contests where they ended the evening with fewer than 59 points. It has been kind on the defensive end, however, as UMKC has only lost one contest in which its opponent failed to score at least 59 points - vs. IUPUI.
In The Down Low
After working her way into the starting lineup, Marta Waalen has continued to set an example in the post, leading the Kangaroos with a 54.7 percent (29-53) shooting mark from the floor to lead the team on the year. Alysa Klein is also solid in the post, hitting at a 53.2 percent (107-201) clip.
Half's Fine, Thanks...
UMKC's loss against Western Illinois marked just the second time all season that the halftime result didn't stand up, as the Kangaroos fell after leading by two going into the break. UMKC has been the halftime leader in seven of its eight wins this season and has trailed in seven of its nine losses. In games that have seen a tie going into the locker room at half, the Kangaroos have split the spoils, winning against Texas State and dropping a contest against IUPUI.
Reaching For The Summit Of The Summit
After leading the league in blocks last season, UMKC has fallen off the pace slightly but is still second-best in the league with a 4.06 blk/gm average. Newcomers North Dakota State have done quite well, swatting 108 on the campaign. UMKC has rejected six more shots than third-place Oakland. The Kangaroos have also been the second-most stingy defensive squad, holding their opponents to a 39.0 percent shooting mark behind Oakland's 37.3 percent clip. The Kangaroos are also the second-best three-point defense team on the campaign, holding opponents to 30.5 percent beyond the arc to trail Centenary's 27.9 percent rate.
Individually, several Kangaroos are in the top 10 of the ranks, led by Sierra Radke (#3 ft% - 83.0 percent, #3 ast - 4.82/gm). Alysa Klein has the third-best block mark in the league, with 2.50 per contest to go with her fifth-best scoring mark (14.6 pts/gm) and second-best shooting percentage (53.2 percent). Chazny Morris holds down the fourth-best scoring average in the league with 16.9 pts/gm.
Best In The Association
Through January 13, 2008, Sierra Radke's 85.7 conversion rate from the free throw line ranked among the top 50 women's basketball players in Division I. Radke is tied with three players for the 35th-best mark in the country. The top hitter of Radke's cohort is Janielle Dodd of SMU, who has bagged 60 of her 70 tosses this season.
Alysa Klein is also among the top 50 players in blocks, rejecting 2.0 per contest to hold down 45th on the list, tied with Jayne Appel of Stanford and Morgan Patrick of Stony Brook. The senior also ranks as one of six players in Divison I to have a perfect ahooting night - minimum 10 field goals - from the floor
All For The Best
Sierra Radke has gone the distance in four games for UMKC this season. She played all 40 minutes against Saint Louis, following it up with back-to-back full games - 45 minutes at Missouri and 40 at Northern Colorado. She also played the full 40 against IUPUI. She set new career bests in all but two categories against Saint Louis, following that up with new career-best shooting, scoring and rebounding marks at Missouri.
Winning Unselfishly
UMKC has also made a habit of being unselfish on offense this season, holding a 268-226 edge in assists thus far. The Kangaroos have finished nine games with more assists than their opponents, winning eight. The only contest to see the Kangaroos finish with more assists in a losing effort was a 69-55 loss to South Alabama.
In its eight wins on the season, UMKC has averaged 19.5 assists per contest, dishing just 12.4 per loss.
Dime Time... Again... And Again... And Again...
UMKC posted a 20-assist night for the fourth time this season against Southern Utah with a season-best 28 helpers on the night. The mark was just four assists shy of the all-time best mark for the Kangaroos, a 32-assist effort against Emporia State on January 12, 1989. UMKC dished for 25 assists on 34 makes against Newman, 20 assists on 23 makes against Northern Colorado and 21 assists on 25 makes against Saint Louis.
Seeing Double
Alysa Klein and Chazny Morris are each averaging in double figures for UMKC this season, with Klein banking 14.6 points per game and Morris a team-best 16.9 per contest. Klein has scored 10 points or better in 14 of her 17 appearances this season and is coming off three-consecutive 20-point outings against IUPUI and Southern Utah. Morris has missed the 10-point plateau just once in her 14 appearances on the campaign, as she was held to just seven points at Oakland.
Seeing Double-double
Double-doubles have been tantalizingly close in several contests for the Kangaroos this season, so it wasn't surprising that UMKC's first game to see a double-double saw two. Sierra Radke (14 pts, 11 a) and Kalei Nance (10 pts, 10 reb.) both hit the milestone for UMKC, although Nance gets credit for the first. Nance pulled in her 10th board with 2:31 left in the game, while Radke's 10th assist came at the 1:32 mark.
Although it's not a regularly-tracked statistical category, Alysa Klein leads the Kangaroos in near misses of the double-double mark this year, with six. Klein has recorded double-digit marks in either scoring or rebounding in all but two games this season, but hasn't found the mark in both categories yet. The senior finished just shy of the mark in three consecutive games, coming away with eight rebounds for the third time this season against Newman, followed by nine boards against Western Illinois and IUPUI. At North Dakota State, she also finished the night with nine rebounds. Chazny Morris has three near misses (24 p, 8 r at Cent. Ark.; 11 p, 9 r vs. Air Force; 30 p, 8 r vs. Texas State) with Radke and Marta Waalen each with one.
Season Double-doubles
Kalei Nance (10 pts, 10 reb) - vs. Saint Louis, 11/29/07
Sierra Radke (14 pts, 11 a) - vs. Saint Louis, 11/29/07
Helping Out Your Friends
Sierra Radke's 11-assist outing against Saint Louis was not just a career best for the senior, it marked the first time since the 2005-06 season that a Kangaroo dished out 10 assists or more in a single game. The previous double-digit dish night came against Oakland, as Jowan Ortega handed out 10 dimes in a 75-61 win on January 16, 2006. Ortega fell just shy of the double-double mark on the evening, however, finishing the night with eight points. The mark is also good for the second-best single-game outing in the league this season, behind Amanda Girodat's 12-point outing for North Dakota State against Wright State. Both marks fall just outside the 10 best single-game marks on the year NCAA-wide, however, as the cutoff is 13.
Block Party
Just three games into the 2007-08 season, Alysa Klein followed up on her record-setting performance from last year by capturing the top spot on the career blocks list at UMKC. Klein passed Lauren Powers, recording her 145th career swat with 7:09 left in the second half at Kansas. The Okoboji, Iowa, native's career average of 1.6 blks/gm is the third best in program history and 10th-best all time in The Summit League.
She hit a slight hiccup against San Francisco and South Alabama, as she failed to record a block in back-to-back games for the first time in better than a year. The last time Klein was without a rejection in consecutive games was on January 21 and 23, 2006, as she failed to register a block at either IUPUI or Oral Roberts. Against IUPUI, she recovered her pace, swatting five rejections and followed up that performance with a three-block night against Southern Utah. Through the remaining games on the schedule, Klein is projected to finish with 196 blocks, good for fifth best all-time in the league.
1. Alysa Klein 169 b 104 g 1.6
2. Lauren Powers 144 b 103 g 1.4
3. Joy Ommen 75 b 21 g 3.6
4. LaRonna Lassiter 63 b 103 g 0.6
5. Georgia Bivens 61 b 53 g 1.2
Inside Out?
Although she is a key inside threat for the Kangaroos, senior Alysa Klein can also hit the three ball when the opportunity presents itself. Klein is 3-5 from outside the arc in her career after swishing a pair of treys this season. She hit against South Alabama and at IPFW but her effort against Western Illinois was just slightly off the mark. The Okoboji, Iowa, native also drained her lone effort from distance during the 2006-07 season, hitting at Oakland on January 6. At North Dakota State, Marta Waalen threw her name into the hat, hitting one of two three-point efforts on the afternoon.
On The Glass
Against IUPUI, Alysa Klein passed Lauren Powers for the third time on a UMKC top-10 list, grabbing nine rebounds to move into fourth place all time on the rebounding list. Klein has 609 grabs on the year, sitting within 87 rebounds of nabbing second-best all time - surpassing Stephanie Worthy's monstrous two-season mark of 696. Pulling down a second top spot would require an equally monstrous effort by Klein, as she sits 261 boards behind Laurie Smith's 864 career grabs.
1. Laurie Smith 864 r 123 g 7.0
2. Stephanie Worthy 696 r 67 g 10.4
3. Darci Haas 654 r 106 g 6.2
4. Alysa Klein 618 r 104 g 5.9
5. Lauren Powers 600 r 103 g 5.9
6. Mary Michalski 524 r 55 g 9.5
Making It Count
With her 27-point explosion against South Alabama, Alysa Klein moved into her third top-10 list at UMKC - career field-goal makes. She continues to climb the charts, passing Darci Haas with 10 buckets against Southern Utah. At her current clip, Klein should finish her career in third place with 502 buckets.
1. Penny Waggener 123 g 613 fg 5.0
2. Stephanie Worthy 67 g 540 fg 8.0
3. Julie Nill 85 g 497 fg 5.8
4. Katie Houlehan 115 g 490 fg 4.3
5. Laurie Smith 123 g 474 fg 3.9
6. Alysa Klein 104 g 433 fg 4.2
7. Darci Haas 106 g 418 fg 3.9
8. Meredith Wilcox 104 g 401 fg 3.9
Reaching The Century Mark
At North Dakota State, Alysa Klein appeared in her 103rd game for UMKC, putting her tied for 10th all-time. Barring injury, she should become the Division I era leader for the Kangaroos at 117 games. Katie Houlehan currently holds that mark with 115 games, good for fourth overall. Four players from UMKC's NAIA tenure have each recorded 120 games or more, with Laurie Smith and Penny Waggener recording an amazing 123 games over a four-year span.
Reining In The Charitable Giving
On the 2007-08 schedule, UMKC has been generous with regards to the charity stripe, dropping seven of the eight contests that saw its opponents take more trips to the free throw line on the afternoon. Against Southern Utah, the Kangaroos went to the line 11 times to 23 for the Thunderbirds to pick up the lone victory of the year.
Unfamiliar Territory
UMKC finds itself in an unfamiliar position with five games gone on the 2007-08 league slate, tied for eighth in The Summit League. The last time the Kangaroos started their league schedule without a win through the first four games was the 2001-02 season, the second of Dana Eikenberg's tenure. The Kangaroos turned the corner with a three-game winning streak, although those three wins would be the only victories of the season for Eikenberg.
Rushing Out
Taushelle Rushing will miss the remainder of the 2007-08 season after being declared academically ineligible.
Morris From Three
Chazny Morris set a freshman record last season, nailing 37 of 84 attempts from three-point range, a 44.0 percent mark, also good for the third-best all-time single-season mark, just three tenths of a percent behind Veda McNeal.
Morris has struggled from distance this season, slipping from the top five, but has increased her scoring average despite a falling shooting clip.
1. Eve Barry 28-61 .459
2. Broda Dickerson 31-73 .425
3. Julie Jenson 98-232 .422
4. Kelly Walden 95-243 .391
5. Veda McNeal 174-452 .385
Chazny Morris 60-173 .349
UMKC In League Openers
With the loss at IPFW, UMKC fell to 6-8 overall in league openers. The Kangaroos are 2-3 when opening the league slate on the road and 4-5 in home openers. Candace White-Whitaker captured a win to open league play last season, downing Southern Utah 64-48. Overall, UMKC is 6-7 in league openers, with a 2-2 record when opening the league slate away from home. The last time the Kangaroos opened the conference slate with a road win came in the 2002-03 season, when UMKC downed Southern Utah by a 61-54 margin.
Short But Sweet
After missing the entirety of her first season at UMKC with a knee injury, Tarah Cullen has been struggling to get fully healthy and make a mark in the lineup. The redshirt sophomore picked a spectacular time to do just that at Missouri, as she checked into the game with just seven seconds left on the clock, as UMKC filled its lineup with three-point specialists. With 1.1 ticks left on the clock, she was fouled, sinking all three efforts from the line coolly to send the game to overtime.
Debuting With Panache
Freshman Sarah Stewart made her collegiate debut against Kansas looking like anything but a true freshman. Entering the game with just under four minutes left in the first half, she scored eight points, hitting three of her first four shots. She finished the night with a team-best 14 points, adding two rebounds.
Seward County Connections
With her success as a player at Seward County (Kan.) Community College, it is only reasonable that head coach Candace White-Whitaker would look close to home on the recruiting trail. Senior Sierra Radke and junior Taushelle Rushing both come to the Kangaroos following successful careers with the Lady Saints.
Kangaroo Recruiting Class Ranked 38th In The Nation
UMKC's 2007 recruiting class was ranked the 38th-best in the nation by the Dan Olson Collegiate Girls Basketball Report. This is the first time that a UMKC women's basketball recruiting class has been recognized by a national publication.
Youth Is Served
Sophomore Chazny Morris made an immediate impact after winning a spot in the starting rotation a third of the way through the 2006-07 season. She finished the year averaging 8.9 pts/gm, good for third on the team and enough to earn a spot on the all-Newcomer team and win the 2007 Mid-Con Newcomer of the Year award - marking the second consecutive season that a Kangaroo laid claim to the honor. She finished with a .440 mark from beyond the arc, the best-ever single-season freshman (and third-best overall) mark in program history.
After capping her season with a 21-point performance against in the Mid-Con Tournament, Morris looks to grow into a leadership role as an underclassman this year for the Kangaroos.
Youth Is Served Again...
Currently the youngest head coach at the Division I level, Candace White-Whitaker is also one of the youngest head coaches in recent women's basketball history. At the time of her appointment as the interim head coach last year, White-Whitaker was just 26 years, 239 days old.
She comes from a strong background of young coaches, as her mentor at Valparaiso, Keith Freeman, made his entry into the profession at the tender age of 19. Freeman helmed the women's basketball team at Huntington (Ind.) College during the 1983-84 season.
Although impressive, White-Whitaker isn't even the youngest head coach at her own institution. That honor belongs to Meredith Smith, head softball coach, who was a mere 25 years, 166 days old at the time of her appointment.
UMKC has a history of taking a chance on young coaches, as no fewer than nine coaches have been appointed before their 30th birthday. Angela Garbe was the youngest, taking the reins of the women's tennis team in September 1991 at the age of 22 years, 264 days.
Going The (Extra) Distance...
UMKC certainly had to like its chances going into the extra frame at Missouri, as the Kangaroos have had considerable success in overtime in recent history. They were victorious in extra time on two consecutive season-ending trips to Western Illinois, also picking up an overtime win over IUPUI in 2007. Prior to this season, the last time the Kangaroos were defeated in overtime came during the 2003-04 season, as Dana Eikenberg's squad dropped a result at West Virginia. UMKC is 9-14 all time in overtime contests, with Western Illinois and Oral Roberts the most frequent foes. The Kangaroos hold a 3-0 record in extra frames against the Westerwinds and just a 1-3 record against the Golden Eagles.
Starting Fast
In her first full season at the helm for UMKC, head coach Candace White-Whitaker jumped in with both feet, as her squad opened the regular season with four games over a span of eight days. The Kangaroos opened the 2007-08 campaign with a road contest at Central Arkansas on November 9 before returning home to face the Lady Falcons of Air Force on Sunday. After a mid-week jaunt to Lawrence to take on Kansas, UMKC wrapped up the busy stretch with a home game against Northern Colorado on November 17.
The last time UMKC was not scheduled to play a game during the holiday break was on the 2004-05 campaign, Bo Overton's first season in charge. The Kangaroos finished that season with a Championship run, becoming the first UMKC squad to play for a conference title in basketball.
Back To Back AAaack...
The first weekend of league play was a bit harsh, as the Kangaroos set season lows in back-to-back contests for the first time this season. UMKC hit a season-low 51 points at IPFW before landing at a new low of 50 at Oakland on Monday. The Kangaroos also set new low marks in free throws and attempts in both contests (8-9 followed by 3-8) and tied a season low in steals at seven in both games.
Summer Camp Dates Set
The UMKC women's basketball team has set the first series of dates for its 2008 summer camp schedule. The Kangaroos will host a three-day camp for individuals from June 9-11, 2008. The Lil' Joey and Kangaroo camps are designed for players in grades 1-5 and 6-8 respectively, and run from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The Elite camp, structured for high-school age players, runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
From June 12-14, the Kangaroos will host a team camp, open to teams at all levels. Contact associate head coach Brett Schneider at 816-235-1033 or via e-mail at schneiderbr@umkc.edu for more information or to register.
Texas Home Cooking
In addition to his local ties - he served as an assistant coach at the University of Missouri from 1998 to 2000 - associate head coach Brett Schneider claims the same hometown as head coach Candace White-Whitaker. A strong recruiter, Schneider has a strong family background in basketball, as his father Bob claimed over 1,000 victories over a 43-year career. His brother, Brandon, currently serves as head women's basketball coach for Emporia State University, while his sister, Brooke, was a letterwinner at West Texas A&M.
Klein, Morris Tabbed As Preseason All-Summit Stars
UMKC landed two players on all-conference teams during the preseason polling of coaches, media and sports information directors in The Summit League. Alysa Klein was tabbed as a first team honoree, while Chazny Morris was named to the second team.
The Kangaroos fell two spots in this year's preseason rankings, as they were predicted to finish seventh out of the league's 10 teams. Oral Roberts was again selected as the preseason favorite despite garnering only 10 first-place votes to 14 for debutantes South Dakota State University.
Kangaroos Add Two During Early Signing Period
UMKC head coach Candace White-Whitaker announced two additions to the Kangaroo roster for the 2008-09 season during the early signing period. Heather Davis and Mariah Davis (no relation) will both continue their playing careers and education at UMKC.
Heather Davis, a 5-7 guard from Muskogee, Okla., earned preseason second-team all-state honors from Oklahoma Tipoff magazine this year, following up on a second-team all-conference season as a junior.
Mariah Davis, a 6-0 forward from Hercules, Calif., averaged a double-double (13.5 pts, 10.4 reb) last season for Hercules High School, adding 94 blocks, 31 assists and 29 steals to pace her team to a second-place finish in the North Coast Section Division III tournament. Davis was tabbed as a first team all-league selection as well as earning all-tournament team honors at the River City Classic.
Kangaroos On The Web
New for the 2007-08 season, fans can now watch all of the action of UMKC women's basketball via Summit TV. All of UMKC's non-conference home games as well as every game of the inaugural season in The Summit League will stream live through the World Wide Web as part of the Summit TV package. For more information or to subscribe, visit www.thesummitleague.org and click on the “Summit TV” icon. A full-season package is just $49.95, with individual game purchases also available. As part of the full-season package, fans will also have access to “On-Demand” games, allowing fans to watch any game from the 2007-08 season. Listen to T.J. Jackson - the voice of the Kangaroos - as he brings you all of the action from courtside.
And Live Stats Too...
After some technical difficulties to start the season, UMKC is now able to offer live stat streaming for all home games. Check the schedule page at www. umkckangaroos.com for links to each game.
Reaching For New Heights
The 2007-08 season marks the first for The Summit League, formerly known as the Mid-Continent Conference. The name change is part of a larger initiative, called The Summit Plan, launched by the league's President's Council in June 2007. The initiative looks to improve the overall athletic image of the conference and bring a more intense focus to the overall welfare of the student-athletes at the member institutions.
In addition to the name change, the league welcomes three new schools to the mix for the 2007-08 season. IPFW, North Dakota State University and South Dakota State University join the conference to push its ranks to 10. Valparaiso, a founding member of the conference, departed for the Horizon League at the conclusion of the 2006-07 academic year.
