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UMKC Returns To Swinney To Take On Lopes On Buck Night
1/28/2015 9:39:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos (3-16, 1-3) vs. Grand Canyon Lopes (7-10, 1-3)
ON THE AIR AND ON THE WEB
Date-Time: January 29, 2015 - 7 p.m. CT
Site: Kansas City, Mo./SRC
TV: ASN
Radio: 102.9 FM/1140 AM
Online Audio: KCXL.com
Talent: T.J. Jackson (p-b-p)
Live Stats: GoSeattleU.com
Webcast: AmericanSportsNet.com
Talent: Dave Armstrong (p-b-p)
Twitter: @UMKCWBB @TheUMKCRoos
Hashtags: #RooUp #WACHoops
Series: GCU leads 2-0.
Home: 0-1
Away: 0-1
Neutral: 0-0
Last Meeting: Grand Canyon won 67-63 on Feb. 27 in Kansas City.
The Game
The Missouri-Kansas City women's basketball team (3-16, 1-3) returns to Kansas City where it is set to take on Grand Canyon (7-10, 1-3) in a WAC contest on Thursday. Tip between the 'Roos and the Lopes is slated for 7 p.m. on Jan. 29.
The Opponent
Grand Canyon (7-10, 1-3)
PPG: 61.2
PPG Allowed: 61.2
Leading Scorer: Jessica Gajewski - 12.2
Leading Rebounder: Cheyenne Hedrington - 6.6
Assists Leader: Courtney Hayes - 4.8
The Series
Grand Canyon (0-2)
F1, 2014* (A) L, 63-74 Frese
F27, 2014* (H) L, 63-67 Frese
Last Time Out
Grace Mitchell finished with 16 points, her third straight game in double figures, on 8-of-11 shooting with six rebounds, a career-high three steals and two assists, but the effort was not enough as the Missouri-Kansas City women's basketball team fell 60-46 to Seattle U on Saturday night at the Connolly Center. With the loss, UMKC falls to 3-16 on the season and 1-3 in WAC play, while the Redhawks improve to 6-14 overall and 3-2 in the conference.
Samantha Waldron added 11 points, four assists, two rebounds a block and a steal in the effort, while Kiana Law grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, to go with five points and two blocks. Defensively, UMKC held the Redhawks to just 34.3 percent shooting, including 18.2 percent from long range.
The Coaches
Nationally known for her top-notch recruiting classes, Marsha Frese enters her third season as head women's basketball coach at UMKC. Frese brings 16 seasons of experience as a Division-I player and coach to the UMKC campus. During her first two seasons in Kansas City, Frese began to establish her vision for a championship culture while guiding the 'Roos toward excellence, both on the court and in the classroom.
Trent May is in his eighth season as head coach of the Grand Canyon University women's basketball program and is the program's all-time winningest coach. In 2013-14, the program's inaugural season in NCAA Division I, May led the Antelopes to an impressive 21-9 mark with a 10-6 record and third-place finish in the Western Athletic Conference. The team earned a berth into the Women's Basketball Invitational, giving May's teams four straight post season appearances and five in the last six seasons. It was also the program's fourth straight 20-plus win season.
Up Next...
The 'Roos will continue their two game homestand when they welcome in Utah Valley to the SRC on Saturday for a 2 p.m. contest.
A Win Would...
• Give the 'Roos their second WAC win
• Give the 'Roos their first WAC home win
• Be the 'Roos first ever over Grand Canyon
• Even the 'Roos WAC home record at 1-1
Last Time Against The Lopes
The 'Roos fell 67-63 on Feb. 27 to Grand Canyon in the final home game of the season where the 'Roos honored Eilise O'Connor, Kim Nezianya, Hailey Houser and Audrey Thrasher at the Swinney Recreation Center.
O'Connor led the 'Roos offensively tonight, finishing with 28 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Nezianya added 13 points and six rebounds and Houser finished with six points and two boards. Freshman Calli White, meanwhile, was the third 'Roos in double figure, scoring 10 points, including two threes which gives her the UMKC freshman record for three-point field goals in a season. As a team, Kansas City out-rebounded the Lopes 34-28, while limiting GCU to just 29.2 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
The PromotionThe 'Roos will be featuring Buck Night where they will be selling game tickets for $1. On top of that, drinks, hot dogs and candy will all be sold for $1 as well.
10+ Two Straight
In the games at Chicago State and Bakersfield, the 'Roos starting frontcourt of Kiana Law and Grace Mitchell each grabbed 10+ rebounds. Law finished with 13 against the Cougars and 10 versus the Roadrunners, while Mitchell grabbed 10 in each game.
Perfect At The Line
This season, Calli White has finished perfect from the line in 10 games, including one game each finishing 8-of-8, 7-of-7 and 6-of-6. Overall, White is second in the WAC at 85.7 percent mark.
White Lights Up Bakersfield
At Bakersfield, Calli White scorched the nets, going for a career-high and UMKC season-high 27 points. In the game, the sophomore tied her career-high with six made threes on 10 attempts.
Mitchell's Hot Stretch
Grace Mitchell turned up her game on the 'Roos opening three-game roadtrip in WAC play, as the sophomore averaged 14.0 points and 8.7 rebounds, while shooting 64.5% from the field. During the stretch, she scored a career-high 20, recorded her fourth career double-double and grabbed 10 rebounds in back-to-back games.
Double-Doubles
In the 'Roos game at Chicago State, the starting frontcourt of Kiana Law and Grace Mitchell each tallied double-doubles, marking the first time since Feb. 8, 2014 at Chicago State that two 'Roos notched double-doubles in the same season. This double-double was Mitchell's fourth of her career and second this season and Law's second this season. In her career, Taylor Leathers has two double-doubles as well.
Freshmen Contributions
This season, the 'Roos regular rotation has featured six freshmen, with the group averaging 31.0 points (53.7%), 20.1 rebounds (54.3%), 5.1 assists (44.6%), 2.7 steals (54.5%) and 1.9 blocks (70.8%). The players make up four of the top five scorers on the team.
Overall, the 'Roos second in the NCAA in minutes per game per player by freshmen at 50.6% of total minutes, trailing only Clemson.
Defensive Improvement
This season, the 'Roos have stepped up on the defensive end, as UMKC is allowing 9.4 less points per game (66.0 to 75.4) compared to last season. At the three-point line, meanwhile, the 'Roos are limiting teams to just 29.1 percent shooting, tops in the WAC.
On The Glass
The 'Roos are currently limiting teams to just 35.8 rebounds per game, the fewest amount in the WAC.
Good From Three
At the arc the 'Roos are third in the WAC in 3-pt. FG% at 33.1% and first in 3-pt. FG% defense at 29.1%.
White From Deep
Calli White has continued to be a top threat from long range as the sophomore has knocked down 41 threes this season, giving her 114 in her career, the fifth most in UMKC history. Her 37.1 percent clip, meanwhile, is also seventh best.
Law's Debut Campaign
In her first season in the Blue & Gold, Kiana Law is sitting fourth in the WAC in rebounds at 7.0 per contest, while ranking sixth in field goal percentage (46.9%), 12th in blocks (0.5), 13th in free throw percentage (59.4%) and 22nd in scoring (8.4).
White Against The WAC
Currently, Calli White ranks as the fifth best scorer in the WAC at 13.2 points, while sitting first in minutes (36.95), eighth in assists (3.00), second in free throw percentage (85.7%), fourth in three-point field goals made (2.16) and 10th in three-point field goal percentage (36.3%).
WA-WA WAC
In the WAC, Samantha Waldron is 11th in three-point field goal percentage (35.9%), sixth in minutes played (32.47), 15th in blocks (0.4) and 29th in scoring (7.4) and Aries Washington is seventh in field goal percentage (46.6%), 10th in free throw percentage (71.1%) and 25th in scoring (8.0).
Iron Women
Calli White and Samantha Waldron have been staples in the UMKC lineup this season as the duo have each started every game and is each topping the 30 minutes per game mark. White leads the WAC at 36.9 mpg, while Waldron is sixth at 32.5 mpg.
In the game against North Florida, meanwhile, Waldron (45), Lexis Hardiek (41) and Kiana Law (25) all played career-high in minutes, while White (42) and Taylor Leathers (37) all played season-high's.
40 Minute Beast
Kiana Law is averaging 8.4 points and 7.0 rebounds, but playing just 18.4 minutes, as the freshman is adjusting to collegiate defense. If her stats were pro-rated to 40 minutes, however, she would be on a pace to average 18.3 points and 15.2 rebounds per contest.
