Kansas City
Maryville
'Roos Pick Up Second Straight With Win Over Saints
12/4/2013 9:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball
“We did a great job sharing the basketball,” Kansas City Head Coach Marsha Frese said. “In particular, it was Eilise O'Connor's best floor game I've seen in my two years coaching her, understanding how to set up her teammates. Taylor showed up on the stat sheet tonight, but she always does the dirty work for us and we needed that tonight. She was a big part of our success.”
The 'Roos, who move to 2-6 overall with their second straight win, were led by senior Eilise O'Connor's 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists, while sophomore Taylor Leathers added 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
“Tonight we did a better job rebounding, which is our main focus right now,” Leathers said. “We have to rebound and get more possessions to win games. At the end we let it get close, but we are learning to play with a winning mentality and keep our foot on the gas to come away with the win.”
Lexis Hardiek, meanwhile, knocked down 5-of-8 shots from beyond the arc for 15 points, with Calli White and Kelsey Barnwell adding 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The 'Roos opened up an early 13 point lead over the Saints, going ahead 19-6 after a 10-0 run that featured back-to-back threes from Hardiek before two straight baskets from freshman Calli White and Leathers.
The Saints would close the margin to seven at 25-18 with 8:27 left in the first, but field goals from O'Connor and Barnwell pushed the lead back to 11.
UMKC again extended their cushion to 13 with 4:58 on the clock, but Maryville closed out the half on a 12-6 run to cut the lead to 44-37 heading into the locker room.
Kansas City began the second half hot, scoring the first 10 points, before back-to-back threes from White and Hardiek pushed the margin to 19, just over four minutes into the period.
The 'Roos would extend the lead to a game-high 21 at 65-44 on a pair of Grace Mitchell free throws with 13:10 to play.
The Saints then trimmed their deficit to 17 at 79-62, before using a 17-4 run over the final 2:02 to bring the final margin to 83-79.
As a team, the 'Roos shot 50.8 percent (31-61) from the field with 18 assists, while out-rebounding Maryville (4-3) 37 to 32.
The Blue & Gold will be back in action on Saturday when they head to Livonia, Mich., to take on Eastern Michigan at 11 a.m.
“We have to be ready for Eastern Michigan's pressure,” Frese added. “Their defense is their offense. We know they are going to press for 40 minutes, but we have to keep our composure and be ready to take better care of the basketball.”
