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Kansas City
North Dakota State
O'Connor Scores 1,000th Point, Knocks Down Game Winner In Win Over Bison
1/31/2013 10:18:00 PM | Women's Basketball
(Kansas City, Mo.) - Junior Eilise O'Connor continued to add to her spectacular season as the San Francisco native scored her 1,000th career point and buried the game winning jumper with 1.4 seconds left on the clock, sending the Kansas City women's basketball team (8-14, 4-5) to a 62-60 win over North Dakota State (7-14, 3-6) on Thursday night at the Swinney Recreation Center.
"I can't say enough about how this team continues to battle," Kansas City Head Coach Marsha Frese said. "Down the stretch, Eilise put them on her back and willed her team to a win. Scoring her 1,000th point will certainly be part of her legacy at UMKC, but she will remembered for much more than scoring points."
Overall, O'Connor finished with team-highs of 21 points, eight assists and six rebounds, while extending her streak of made free throws to 23 and playing all 40 minutes for the fifth straight game and 12th time overall.
Freshman Taylor Leathers, meanwhile, scored a career-high 14 points, with senior Emile Blakesley and freshman Kelsey Barnwell adding 11 and 10 points, respectively.
"Tonight's game definitely wasn't our best showing of basketball, but I'm ecstatic to get the W against a very talented North Dakota State team," O'Connor said. "I'm so proud of both Taylor Leathers and Kelsey Barnwell for stepping up huge in this game. It's not easy for freshmen to be so clutch in a tight DI contest, but I'm fully confident in both of them. "
In the contest, the 'Roos jumped out to an early 10-4 lead, their biggest of the game, when Barnwell drilled a three from the left corner, but a 15-5 run by the Bison gave the visitors their first lead of the night.
Kansas City answered with nine straight to retake the lead, but North Dakota State countered with a 9-0 run of its own later in the half to build its biggest lead of the game at 34-28.
Junior Hailey Houser would end the Bison run with a layup, sending the 'Roos to the locker room with a 34-30 deficit.
Coming out of the break, Leathers connected on a pair of field goals to tie the game at 36, but five straight by NDSU put the Bison back in front 41-36.
A three by O'Connor and a jumper by Leathers tied the game for a fifth time, and, after a basket by North Dakota State, O'Connor converted a three-point play and hit a layup on back-to-back possessions to put UMKC ahead by three.
The two teams would battle back in forth over the next seven minutes, as neither team built more than a three point lead until the 4:15 mark when back-to-back baskets by the Bison gave them a 60-56 lead.
Two minutes later, the 'Roos would begin to chip away at the lead when Barnwell knocked down a pair of free throws, before tying it for the 11th time two possessions later with a baseline jumper with just 42 second left to play.
On the ensuing North Dakota State possession, the Bison would get one more chance, but an offensive foul with 14 on the clock set up the 'Roos with a game winning opportunity.
On the final possession, O'Connor would take the inbound and drive to the left elbow where she buried the 15-footer with just 1.4 seconds remaining.
The Bison would not get a shot off in the final seconds and the 'Roos held on for the 62-60 win, their third straight game decided on the final possession.
"Reaching 1,000 career points is an awesome experience and definitely one I couldn't have accomplished without my team and coaches," O'Connor added. "I'm humbled by the reaction from my teammates. I don't want to overshadow Taylor's career-high of 14 and Kelsey's huge jumper to tie the game. The win would not have happened without them and every other member of our team. No matter what happens, we win and lose as a team and I'm pumped to come out on top tonight."
As a team, the 'Roos shot 55.3 percent from the field, including 43.8 percent from three-point range. Their 18 assists, meanwhile, were the second most this season.
The Blue & Gold will be back in action again on Saturday when they welcome in South Dakota State to the Swinney Recreation Center for a 2 p.m. tilt.
