?Roos Host Ospreys To Open Season
11/12/2015 9:22:00 AM | Women's Basketball
UMKC Kangaroos (0-0) vs. North Florida Ospreys (0-0)
ON THE AIR AND ON THE WEB
Date-Time: November 13, 2015 - 1 p.m. CT
Site: Kansas City, Mo./SRC
TV: none
Online Audio: UMKCKangaroos.com (Free)
Talent: T.J. Jackson (p-b-p)
Webcast: RoosTV (Subscription)
Talent: T.J. Jackson (p-b-p)
Live Stats: UMKCKangaroos.com
Twitter: @UMKCWBB @TheUMKCRoos
Hashtags: #RooUp #WACHoops
Series: Tied 1-1
Home: 1-0
Away: 0-1
Neutral: 0-0
Last Meeting: UNF won 63-62 on Jan. 6, 2015 in overtime in Jacksonville.
The Game
UMKC women's basketball begins its 2015-16 regular season when it welcomes in North Florida into the Swinney Recreation Center on Friday, Nov., 13 at 1 p.m.
The Opponent (Last Season)
North Florida (11-19)
PPG: 52.4
PPG Allowed: 62.2
Leading Returning Scorer: Amber Robinson - 4.6
Leading Returning Rebounder: Amber Robinson - 4.0
Returning Assists Leader: Sierra Shepherd - 2.8
The Series
North Florida (1-1)
N22, 2011 (H) W, 100-63 Whitaker
J6, 2015 (A) L, 62-63 (ot) Frese
Last Time Out
UMKC women's basketball dropped its exhibition contest on Friday night at the Swinney Recreation, 58-52, despite a near double-double from Kiana Law, as the sophomore finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and two steals.
The Coaches
Nationally known for her top-notch recruiting classes, Marsha Frese enters her fourth season as head women's basketball coach at UMKC. During her first three 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. Under Frese's guidance, the 'Roos have established a standard of excellence for classroom performance as UMKC earned top honors in back-to-back years with the highest team GPA in all of Division-I women's college basketball for both the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.
Darrick Gibbs was named the head coach for the North Florida Women's Basketball program in April of 2015. Gibbs, a coaching veteran with 17 years of experience in the collegiate ranks, took over the Ospreys after a 10-year stint as an assistant coach at the University of Miami. During his decade at Miami, Gibbs helped guide the Hurricanes to six consecutive postseason appearances including four trips to the NCAA.
Up Next...
The 'Roos will hit the road for the first time in 2015-16 when they head to Milwaukee, Wis., to take on the Milwaukee Panthers at 7 p.m. on Nov. 16.
A Win Would...
• Give UMKC a winning record all-time vs. UNF
• Give the 'Roos back-to-back opening game wins for the first time since 2006-07 and 2007-08
• Give the 'Roos their first win in the home opener since 2011-12
• Even the 'Roos record at 5-5 against teams from Florida
Washington Named WAC All-Newcomer
UMKC freshman Aries Washington was named to the Western Athletic Conference's All-Newcomer team in a vote by the conference's eight head coaches. During WAC play, the Kansas City native led the 'Roos in scoring at 11.9 points, to go along with 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists. At the line, Washington led the entire conference in free throw percentage in WAC contest, hitting at 89.5 percent, while she finished first among the conference's freshmen in scoring and third in rebounds. Nine times she reached double figures in scoring during WAC play, including scoring a career-high 26 against Bakersfield.
Young Guns' Contributions
Last season, the 'Roos regular rotation featured six freshmen and nine underclassmen, with underclassmen accounting for 167.9 minutes (86.2%), 52.1 points (90.1%), 29.1 rebounds (83.8%), 9.6 assists (86.4%), 4.3 steals (93.3%) and 1.8 blocks (83.6%). Among the group, freshman made up 104.5 minutes (51.4%), 32.3 points (56.4%), 19.3 rebounds (53.6%), 5.7 assists (48.7%), 2.5 steals (51.4%) and 1.3 blocks (62.3%)
Overall, the 'Roos were third in the NCAA in minutes played by freshmen at 51.4% of total minutes, trailing only Clemson and Miami (OH).
Compared to the WAC, both the 'Roo freshman and underclassmen accounted for more minutes, points and rebounds than any other WAC school.
Against the NCAA, the 56.4% of points that the 'Roos freshmen scored was the highest percentage and the 90.1 percent of points from underclassmen was second.
Freshmen Records
Last season's freshmen included their names in the UMKC freshmen annals with Kiana Law ranking fifth in rebounds (205) and third in free throws (74), Paige Husa 10th in blocks (15), Aries Washington 10th in field goal percentage (.488), scoring average (10.0) and field goals (105) and eighth in free throw percentage (.763) and free throws (61) and Samantha Waldron third in three-point field goals made (43), and 3-pt. FG% (.381) and tied for first in games started (30).
Doubling Up On Double-Doubles
Three times last season the 'Roos frontcourt duo of Kiana Law and Grace Mitchell recorded double-doubles in the same game. In both games against Chicago State they accomplished the feat, while also doing so in the game against Grand Canyon. Overall, Mitchell led the team with six double-doubles, while Law was second with five.
'Roos In The Classroom
For the second straight season, the UMKC women's basketball team has claimed the top spot on the WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll presented by AT&T after posting and cumulative team total of 3.726, making them the only Division I team to post a cumulative GPA above 3.7.
2015-16 Preseason Women's Basketball Media Poll
Rank Teams (1st Votes) Points
1. New Mexico State (9) 79
2. Bakersfield (1) 65
3. UTRGV 54
4. Seattle U 48
5. Grand Canyon 43
6. Utah Valley 40
7. UMKC 19
8. Chicago State 12
2015-16 Preseason Women's Basketball Coaches Poll
Rank Teams (1st-Place Votes) Points
1. New Mexico State (7) 49
2. Bakersfield 39
3. Seattle U (1) 33
4. UTRGV 30
5. Grand Canyon 27
6. Utah Valley 26
7. UMKC 13
8. Chicago State 7
Paul Named WAC Freshman of the Year by CSM
'Roos incoming freshman LaDerica Paul, meanwhile, was named Preseason WAC Freshman of the Year by College Sports Madness.
Last Season
UMKC finished the 2014-15 season 6-24 overall and 4-10 in WAC play, concluding the season with a loss to UTRGV in the WAC Tournament quarterfinals, with a majority of its production and minutes coming from underclassmen during the season. This year, the 'Roos will look to improve up their record with a four of five starters returning to the lineup.
Coaching Family
UMKC head coach Marsha Frese comes from a strong coaching family as her sister, Brenda Frese, serves as the head coach at the University of Maryland. Since her first season at the helm when the team won just 10 games, Frese has guided Maryland to a National Championship in 2006, 10 winning seasons, nine-straight 20-win seasons, five30-win campaigns and nine trips to the NCAA Tournament. In 2006-07, Maryland also received its first-ever No. 1 preseason national ranking, remaining in the top spot in the polls for 10-consecutive weeks. The duo represent the only sister combination to serve as head coaches in all of Division I basketball
