Kansas City
IUPUI
Kangaroos Get Overtime Win Over Jaguars In Summit League Action
1/5/2009 10:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Indianapolis, Ind. -- UMKC handed IUPUI its first Summit League loss on Monday night with an 80-75 overtime victory at The Jungle. Kalei Nance recorded her second double-double of the 2008-09 season with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Chazny Morris finished with 21 points and Simone Bridges had a career-high 10 points.
The Kangaroos balanced tough defense with a well executed offense to head into the locker room ahead by three, 27-24. Things wouldn't get interesting until the second half when both teams started to get into their grooves when the Jaguars threatened to hand UMKC its third league loss.
IUPUI took its first lead of the game at the 17 minute mark off of Nicole James three to make the score 30-29, but it wouldn't hold for long with Nance finishing a lay-up to put the Kangaroos back up by one, 33-32, with 14:44 remaining in regulation. On the following possession, the Jaguars would take back the lead and jump ahead by nine points (52-43) with 7:32 remaining.
Morris began to go to work, finishing the second half with 18-of-her-21 points, by sinking two free throws and a jumper to get the `Roos within three, 56-53 with 5:28 left in regulation.
James and Jernisha Cann countered the UMKC offense with free throws and field goals to put the Jaguars up by six (64-58) with just two minutes left in the game. Morris was able to get that down to four (64-60) with another jumper with less than two minutes on the clock.
A pair of Morris free throws with 54 seconds remaining would get UMKC within in two, 64-62. Both teams turned the ball over in the next 40 seconds but the sequence finally ended with a UMKC foul, sending James to the line with nine seconds on the clock. James missed the first and made the second, giving the Jaguars a three-point lead, 65-62. UMKC rebounded the ball and got across the court with head coach Candace Whitaker taking a timeout. With five seconds left on the clock, Morris threw the ball in to LeAndrea Thomas and with one second remaining, the freshman guard shot the ball from the top of the arch and drained the three, sending the game into overtime.
UMKC carried the momentum from regulation into the first overtime period, with Nance leading the way. IUPUI would tie the overtime period up three times before five made free throws by Nance would stop any shot the Jaguars had at the win.
Nance finished 7-of-8 from the free throw line, while Morris went 10-for-10. Bridges recorded a career-high five steals, leading the Kangaroos to 15 total steals. Thomas also finished the night in double figures, with 10 points. UMKC improves to 7-8 on the season and 2-2 in The Summit League, while IUPUI drops to 7-7 and 2-1 in the league.
The Kangaroos will look to take the momentum from the win over IUPUI to Southern Utah on Sat., Jan. 10. The two teams will battle it out in Cedar City, Utah, at 6:00 p.m.
