Kansas City
Seattle
All Five 'Roo Starters Reach Double Figures In WAC Win Over Seattle
1/4/2014 5:55:00 PM | Women's Basketball
(Kansas City, Mo.) – All five starters scored in double figures, led by senior Eilise O'Connor's 23, as the Kansas City women's basketball team (5-10, 1-1) knocked off preseason Western Athletic Conference favorite Seattle (6-9, 1-1) 77-65 on Saturday afternoon at the Swinney Recreation Center for its first ever WAC victory.
“This win was about a total team effort,” Head Coach Marsha Frese said. “They are beginning to understand that there are multiple people on this team who can make an impact and how to use each other's strengths to get this type of success. It's exciting to get the first win in conference play, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
O'Connor added seven rebounds and a pair of assists, while senior Kim Nezianya grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds to go along with 12 points and three steals for her sixth double-double of the season and her second straight.
“After last game Coach Frese showed us that we were first in the conference in scoring, but last in scoring defense,” Nezianya said. “We focused on our defense and getting stops today and we were able to get the win. Seattle is a good team, one of the best in our league, and knowing that we can beat them shows us that we can beat anyone.”
Sophomore Taylor Leathers, who finished with 11 points and six rebounds, got the 'Roos on the board first, drilling a three that kicked-off an 8-0 run to start the game.
Kansas City continued to dominate the opening half, building a 26-6 lead, after back-to-back baskets from sophomore Kelsey Barnwell, and limiting the Redhawks to just three field goals over the first 12:18 of the game.
During the opening stretch, the 'Roos freshman duo of Grace Mitchell and Calli White accounted for half the points, with Mitchell dropping in seven of her 11 and White adding six of her 11 on a pair of three balls.
Seattle would whittled the Kangaroo lead down to seven late in the half, but Leathers ended the first period with a baseline jumper to send UMKC to the locker room up 35-26.
Coming out of the break, Mitchell opened the second half with a jumper to push the lead back to 11, where it stood until the 11:37 mark when five straight by the Redahwks brought Seattle to within six at 56-50.
The lead would sit at six with the 'Roos leading 62-56, when UMKC reeled off the game's next seven points with all but two coming from the free throw line, giving them a 13 point advantage with just 5:20 left in the game.
Kansas City would go on to build the lead to 15 at 73-58 and Seattle would get no closer than 10 the rest of the way as the 'Roos came away with the 77-65 victory.
As a team, UMKC out-rebounded Seattle 42-37, while limiting the Redhawks to just 9.1 percent shooting from long range.
The Blue & Gold will be back in action again next Saturday when they continue WAC play at 2 p.m. against Chicago State at the Municipal Auditorium.
