Kangaroos Set To Host Golden Grizzlies On Senior Night
2/26/2012 9:42:00 PM | Women's Basketball
On the Air and On the Web
Live Online Video: www.UMKCKangaroos.com (T.J. Jackson - p-b-p, Cindy Stein - color)
Radio: 1030 AM (T.J. Jackson - p-b-p, Cindy Stein - color)
Live Online Radio: www.kcwj.org (T.J. Jackson - p-b-p, Cindy Stein - color)
Live Stats: www.UMKCKangaroos.com
Opponent Preview
Oakland enters the contest with an 11-15 record overall and a 7-10 mark in Summit League play after falling at South Dakota on Saturday. Bethany Watterworth leads the Golden Grizzlies offensively with 18.9 points per game and 2.3 assists per game. On the glass, Victoria Lipscomb is averaging a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game, while Watterworth is chipping in 5.5. As a team, the Grizzlies are scoring 57.0 points per game, while allowing 59.2.
Series Records
Oakland holds a 26-6 record against the 'Roos, winning the last 13 meetings in the series. Last season, the Golden Grizzlies won 75-50 on Dec. 4 in Rochester before picking up a 63-61 win on Feb. 28 in Kansas City. Earlier this year, OU won 71-65 in overtime in Rochester.
Whitaker Against the Golden Grizzlies
Head coach Candace Whitaker has yet to beat Oakland in 12 meetings, including dropping a 71-65 contest on Dec. 1 earlier this season.
First Meeting
The UMKC women's basketball team dropped a heartbreaking overtime contest on Dec. 1 to Oakland, 71-65 after holding an 11-point second half lead.
In the contest, four 'Roos finished in double figures, including senior LeAndrea Thomas who finished with 16 points. Junior Kim Nezianya and sophomore Eilise O'Connor, meanwhile, each had 13, while senior Dayon Hall-Jones registered 11. On the glass, senior Brianna Eldridge posted a career-high 15 rebounds, including nine offensive.
As a team, the 'Roos shot 43.5 percent from three-point range, the fourth time they have shot better than 40 percent on the season.
Last Time Out
The UMKC women's basketball team (19-10, 10-7) clinched the No. 3 seed in the upcoming 2012 Summit League Women's Basketball Championship with a 79-62 win over IPFW (9-19, 6-11) on Saturday afternoon at the Swinney Recreation Center.
Senior Dayon Hall-Jones led the 'Roos offensive attack with 25 points, moving her into 10th place on UMKC career scoring list, just nine points shy of 1,000 for her career.
Junior Kim Nezianya added 13 points and a career-high 15 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the year, while sophomore Eilise O'Connor was the only other Kangaroo in double figures, finishing with 11 points, six assists, four steals and four rebounds. Senior Brianna Eldridge, meanwhile, finished with eight points and 10 rebounds in the win.
As a team, UMKC out-rebounded IPFW 51-32 and finished with 10 second chance points, while limiting the 'Dons to just three. At the line, UMKC shot 25-28, good for 89.3 percent.
The 19 wins by the 'Roos are the second most in school history, trailing only the 1991-92 squad's 24 wins.
With the No. 3 seed in the tournament, the 'Roos will take on the No. 6 seeded team at 2:30 p.m. on Mar. 4 in the Sioux Falls Arena.
Summit League Tournament Scenarios
The Kangaroos currently sit fourth in the league standings with a 10-7 record, but with South Dakota ineligible for the tournament, have clinched the three seed. Western Illinois, Oakland, North Dakota State and IUPUI currently hold the No. 5-8 spots in the league standings with 7-10 records, while IPFW sits at 6-11 with one game left to play.
Where The Season Ranks
With the 19 wins this season, the 'Roos have amassed the second most wins in school history, trailing only the 24 set by the 1991-92 squad. The six road wins, meanwhile, are tied with the 1991-92 team's for the most all-time and the 11 home wins rank third all-time.
The Seniors
On Monday night, the UMKC women's basketball team will honor the six members of its senior class, Simone Bridges, Dayon Hall-Jones, Brianna Eldridge, LeAndrea Thomas, Jade Tinner and Mariah Scaife. Combined the six members have played 22 seasons and 632 games with 281 starts, registering 3425 points, 1195 rebounds, 852 assists, 534 steals and 146 blocks, while taking part in 60 wins in the past four seasons.
Approaching 1,000
UMKC senior Dayon Hall-Jones has a shot to reach 1,000 career points. Currently, Hall-Jones is just nine points shy of becoming the 10th 1,000 point score in school history and would need to average just 4.5 points per game (12.7 less than she is currently averaging) over the final two games (min.) to reach the mark.
