Kansas City
Western Illinois
UMKC Comes Up Short Against Western Illinois, 61-57
1/3/2009 9:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Macomb, Ill. -- UMKC suffered a disappointing loss to Western Illinois on Saturday night, 61-57. The Kangaroos drop to 1-2 in Summit League action and 6-8 overall on the year, while the Westerwinds improve to 1-1 in league play and 3-10 overall. UMKC was led by freshman LeAndrea Thomas, who finished with 11 points while Chazny Morris finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Both teams got out to a slow start, as the Westerwinds led 8-2 with 13:49 to go in the first half. Following a timeout by head coach Candace Whitaker, UMKC went on a 6-0 run to even the contest at eight all. Freshman Mariah Davis opened the spurt with a three-point play to get the Kangaroos to within three points (8-5) before Morris followed with a three to tie the game with 12:45 remaining in the half.
The Kangaroos took over the lead following another Morris field goal before extending their advantage to seven (15-8) following a Davis jumper. UMKC led for the middle minutes of the half but while the clocked ticked down, the Westerwinds began to battle their way back. With 1:06 remaining, Lyndi Thorman sunk a pair of free throws to tie the game at 23-23, and Western Illinois took the lead into the locker room at 25-23 following an Ashley Lord lay-up.
UMKC would struggle in the second half as Western Illinois jumped out to a 38-27 lead with 16:15 left in the game. The `Roos hit a spurt with back-to-back three-pointers from Jessica Halsig at the 14 minute mark and then pulled to within three (38-35), following a Thomas jumper.
The spurts wouldn't last long and were few and far in between and with Davis landing her fourth personal foul with 10 minutes remaining, things didn't look good for UMKC.
UMKC would make one last run with one minute remaining, as a pair of Brianna Eldridge free throws got the 'Roos to within two at 55-53. But with time running out, UMKC was forced to foul Western Illinois to regain possession of the ball, and the Westerwinds went 6-of-8 from the free throw line in the last 30 seconds of the game to seal the win.
Despite forcing Western Illinois to commit 22 turnovers, the Westerwinds had four players land in double figures in scoring.
UMKC will look to get back on track in The Summit League on Monday night against IUPUI. The Kangaroos will take on the Jaguars in Indianapolis beginning at 6 p.m.
