Kangaroos Survive Dismal Second-Half Shooting To Defeat Centenary 57-46

Saturday, January 26

Kansas City, Mo. (Kemper)

4:00 p.m. CT

Kansas City

Centenary

Kangaroos Survive Dismal Second-Half Shooting To Defeat Centenary 57-46

1/26/2008 7:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

By: UMKC Athletics

Kansas City, Mo. -- Despite shooting just 16.7 percent from the floor in the second half, the UMKC women's basketball team picked up its second consecutive home win, downing Centenary by a 57-46 count on Saturday afternoon. The Kangaroos recorded 12 blocks in the game - eight in the first half - to set new single-game records.

UMKC opened the game quickly, with Chazny Morris finding the bucket off a Sierra Radke feed with less than 10 seconds gone, but it would be nearly three minutes before either team scored again. The Kangaroos missed their next six efforts from the floor, with Centenary clanging five.

With buckets just over a minute apart, Centenary managed to take a 4-3 lead with 16:02 left, but UMKC fired off six unanswered points to grab a 9-4 edge with 14:33 left in the half.

Four points from Karolina Zaloga allowed Centenary to pull within 11-8 with 13:06 to go, but it would be the closest the Ladies could come on the afternoon.

A Heather Wimberly layup with 11:26 on the clock sparked a 21-7 run for the Kangaroos, giving UMKC a 32-15 edge with just over five minutes in the half. Over the run, UMKC shot 9-of-13 from the floor, closing out the spurt with five consecutive baskets.

The Kangaroos cooled off down the stretch but coasted into the locker room with a 39-18 lead. Alysa Klein recorded four of UMKC's eight blocks in the first half, besting the previous best mark of six - last seen against Austin Peay during the 2001-02 season.

Coming out of the break, however, UMKC's shooting turned ice cold, with the Kangaroos able to muster just two field goals in 21 attempts over the first 11 minutes of the half. Centenary was able to pull to within 10, trailing 44-34, but a trey for Morris with 8:59 to go kept the lead in double digits.

The Kangaroos were able to keep Centenary at arm's length down the stretch, with Klein pulling down nine rebounds in the second half to record her first double-double of the season.

Morris led all scorers with 22 points on the night, with Klein adding 19 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Sierra Radke handed out eight assists for UMKC, her eighth consecutive game with five assists or more.

Freshman Ashley Jackson led the Ladies with 17 points, with Zaloga adding 11. Jackson came up just shy of the double-double, grabbing nine rebounds, with Leslie Forest and Anne Farrell each grabbing eight.

After a 50 percent first half performance, UMKC finished with a 32.9 percent (23-70) field goal mark, with Centenary hitting 16 of 59 attempts for a 27.1 percent clip. The Kangaroos won the battle of the glass, pulling down 55 to just 46 for the Ladies.

UMKC (9-10, 2-6 Summit) hosts Oral Roberts on Monday to close out a two-game home stand. The game is set for a 7 p.m. tipoff at Swinney Recreation Center.