Kangaroos Tripped Up By Oral Roberts, 67-63

Monday, January 28

Kansas City, Mo. (Swinney)

7:00 p.m. CT

Kansas City

Oral Roberts

Kangaroos Tripped Up By Oral Roberts, 67-63

1/28/2008 11:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

By: UMKC Athletics

Kansas City, Mo. -- For the second game in a row, UMKC shot better than 50 percent from the floor in the first half before trailing off in the second stanza, but offensive rebounds would spell the difference in Monday night's contest as the Kangaroos fell by a 67-63 margin to Oral Roberts.

UMKC was able to frustrate Oral Roberts on the first possession of the game, with Alysa Klein coming up with the block and finding Marta Waalen on the other end of the court. The teams battled over the first four minutes, with the Kangaroos holding an 8-7 lead with 16:14 left.

Back-to-back jumpers by Rachel Watman wrapped around the first media timeout gave Oral Roberts an 11-8 lead. The Golden Eagles continued the push, stretching out to a nine-point lead with a 17-5 run.

Klein stopped the run with a pair of old-fashioned three-point plays - the first coming with 9:26 in the half - to bring UMKC to within a 19-22 margin. And despite a Watman trey and a jumper from Mariana Camargo, UMKC re-took the lead with 5:42 left as Brittny Picconi closed out a 15-5 run for the Kangaroos, draining a triple off an assist from Sierra Radke.

The teams traded the lead twice more down the stretch, with UMKC taking a 37-33 cushion into the intermission.

UMKC pushed out to a seven-point lead, but during a 48-second stretch, Oral Roberts pulled down offensive rebounds on four consecutive missed attempts - three from the floor and one from the free throw line - but couldn't find the mark. The Kangaroos finally got the ball back as Lindsay Fields came up with a steal with 17:51 left.

Neither team was able to score for a span of better than two minutes, before a pair of free throws by Leanne Robinson pulled Oral Roberts to within 43-38 with 14:35 to go. The Golden Eagles finished out the 8-0 spurt at the 12:28 mark, reclaiming a 44-43 lead.

Morris took the lead back for UMKC at the 11:08 mark, hitting a trey from the left wing as she was falling away to give UMKC a 46-44 edge, but she couldn't connect on the Kangaroos' next possession.

The teams traded the lead back and forth down the stretch, with Oral Roberts eventually able to stretch out a five-point cushion. Morris banged home a three with 52 ticks left to pull UMKC to within 65-63, but a turnover on UMKC's next possession would turn the contest.

With a two-point lead, Oral Roberts tried to run as much time off the clock as possible before firing up a trey that missed the mark. Klein came away with the rebound and handed the ball off to Morris, who broke for the basket. As she was nearing the time line, Morris and an Oral Roberts player got tangled up and the ball dribbled out of bounds.

UMKC still had a chance to win the game, however, as Watman missed both of her free throws with 12 seconds left, but Krystal VanHook couldn't come down with the rebound on the second miss. Although the Kangaroos fouled Janae Voelker as quickly as possible, she rattled home both tosses for a 67-63 final margin.

Both teams finished above 40 percent from the field on the night, with Oral Roberts holding a slight edge - 40.9 percent (27-66) to 40.4 percent (23-57). UMKC also dropped the battle of the boards by a 49-33 margin, with Oral Roberts claiming 22 offensive rebounds.

Leanne Robninson had 12 rebounds for Oral Roberts to lead the team, while Camargo topped the offense with 18 points on the night. Watman added 16 points and Voelker finished with 10.

Morris led all scorers in the game with 21 points, just missing a double-double with nine rebounds. Klein added 20 points and eight rebounds on the night, turning away five first-half blocks to equal a school record.

The Kangaroos (9-11, 2-7 Summit) are back in action on Saturday, traveling to IUPUI to take on the Jaguars. The game is set for a 3:30 p.m. CT tipoff from Indianapolis, Ind.