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Kansas City
Western Illinois
?Roos Knock Off Western Illinois In Summit League Thriller
1/26/2013 7:02:00 PM | Women's Basketball
(Macomb, Ill.) - The Kansas City women's basketball held a one point lead with less than 15 seconds left on the clock, needing a stop on the defensive end to head home with a Summit League road win over Western Illinois. The Kangaroos would answer the call, keeping the Leathernecks without a shot attempt on the game's final possession to come away with a 51-50 win on Saturday night at Western Hall.
"I'm so proud of how our team battled down the stretch," head coach Marsha Frese said. "Every game is meaningful this time of year and we didn't quit despite not playing our best basketball. Eilise continues to prove why she's the most valuable player in our league. When you think she can't give anything more, somehow she finds a way."
The win gives the 'Roos a 7-14 record overall and 3-5 mark in league play, while Western Illinois falls to 10-10 overall and 3-5 in The Summit League.
"We knew we needed to get this win after Thursday's game," senior Emile Blakesley said. "It is tough to win on the road in any league and with both games being so close we are glad to get this win and not go home 0-2 on this trip. We can see the progress we are making and we want to continue to build on it as we head into the second half of the league season."
For the 'Roos, junior Eilise O'Connor led the team with 20 points and a career-high tying nine rebounds to go along with two assists, two steals and a block, while senior Emile Blakesley and junior Ashli Hill each chipped in 10 points in the win.
The Leathernecks opened with the game's first nine points, before junior Hailey Houser ended the rally with the Kangaroos' first basket at the 15:30 mark.
O'Connor followed with the next five points and Hill added a rebound put back to put the 'Roos on a 9-0 run and tie the game at nine.
WIU would end its 7:23 field goal drought with four straight to reclaim the lead, but Houser again answered for the 'Roos, this time drilling a jumper from the left wing.
Two possessions later, O'Connor tied the game with a jumper in the lane, but back-to-back threes from WIU pushed the lead to 19-13 with 4:23 left in the first half.
Senior Emile Blakesley came back with back-to-back layups and a three from the left wing to cut the lead to one, while four straight free throws by O'Connor put the 'Roos in front for the first time and extended the advantage to 24-21 at the half.
Coming out of the break, Blakesley hit a three from the left baseline before finding Houser underneath for an easy layup on the ensuing possession to stretch the lead to a game-high 29-21.
Western Illinois scored the next five to snap their 5:32 scoreless drought and pull to within three at 29-26.
A Hill jumper ended the rally and two free throws by freshman Taylor Leathers extended the margin to seven, but a 7-2 stretch by WIU sliced the deficit to just two with 10:54 on the clock.
The 'Roos advantage would hold at two until the 4:07 mark when a Western Illinois field goal and free throw gave the Leathernecks their first lead of the half at 46-45.
Two more free throws on the ensuing possession stretched the lead to three, but a Lexis Hardiek three from the left wing tied the game with just under two minutes remaining.
After a defensive stop at the other end, O'Connor drove the left side, hit the layup, was fouled and hit the free throw, giving the Kangaroos a three point lead at 51-48, but a layup by Western Illinois cut the margin to one with just 30 seconds left to play.
The Leathernecks would foul Leathers on the 'Roos next possession, sending the freshman to the line for a one-and-one.
After missing the front end, Western Illinois would gather the rebound, setting up one last possession for the home team.
The 'Roos defense, though, would hold and Kansas City would come away with a 51-50 win over Western Illinois.
"After games like this, we can see we are as good as the rest of the teams in the league," Blakesley added. "If we focus on taking care of each other on and off the court and have each other's backs we can be where we want at the end of the season."
The Blue & Gold will be back in action again on Thursday when they return to Kansas City to take on Summit League foe North Dakota State at 7 p.m. in the Swinney Recreation Center.
