Kansas City
Bethany College
Washington Nears Triple-Double As Kangaroos Pick Up Fourth Straight Win After Halting Swedes
12/19/2015 3:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball
(Kansas City, Mo.) – Aries Washington narrowly missed becoming just the second 'Roo ever to record a triple-double after tallying 16 points, a career-high 12 rebounds and a career-high tying seven assists as UMKC women's basketball won its fourth straight contest with a 64-51 win over Bethany on Saturday afternoon at Municipal Auditorium.
“We've been trying to execute game plans and play within ourselves,” UMKC Head Coach Marsha Frese said. “We have tremendous depth on this team. We try to put people in the right places where they can be successful and get better as we head to conference play.”
“We are dialing in on playing together and following the blueprint that the coaches give us during practice,” Washington said. “We are trying to keep coming together and be tough together. I just go out there and play. I'm thankful that I get to play basketball and that God has given me the talents to play. I just enjoy being on the court with my team. When we play team ball it's the best feeling in the world.”
The Kansas City, Mo., missed joining Kaycee Kapels as the only 'Roos with triple-doubles, but Washington did register her second career double-double as UMKC improves to 4-6 on the season. Kiana Law, meanwhile, tied her career-high with 20 points, to go with eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.
“Kiana and Aries are both maturing.” Frese added. “They are sophomores, but they are sophomores who get a lot of minutes and are both phenomenal players. They are starting to get older and understand what their jobs and roles are. It's no surprise by either one, but it's exciting that they are taking these steps so early in their careers.”
In the game, the 'Roos trailed by one, two minutes into the second quarter, but Taylor Leathers found Law for a three-point play and Kristen Moore immediately followed by finding Paige Husa for her own three-point play to put UMKC in front by five.
The Swedes would pull back to within three, but a Leathers' three and a Husa free throw pushed the lead to a first half-high of seven with 1:23 on the clock.
BC would close back to within three, but Washington beat the buzzer for Kansas City to send UMKC to the locker room up 32-27.
Coming out of the break, the Kangaroos extended the lead to nine at 38-29 on a jumper by Washington, but the Swedes closed the quarter on a 13-4 run to square the game at 42-42 heading into the fourth quarter.
In the game's final stanza, the 'Roos built the lead to three, before UMKC scored eight of the next nine points, including six from Law, to stretch the lead to 10. BC would close the gap to as little as eight over the final six minutes of play, but Washington's layup with 1:06 gave the 'Roos their largest lead of the game at the game's final score of 64-51.
Leathers added nine points, five rebounds, three assists and a block and Samantha Waldron chipped in seven points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Kangaroos, while Moore finished with four points, eight rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal.
As a team, the 'Roos limited the Swedes to just one made three-point field goal on eight attempts, while out-rebounding them 45 to 19. UMKC also finished with 30 points in the paint and outscored Bethany 16 to 4 on second chance points and 26 to 10 off the bench.
“Every game matters,” Frese concluded. “Every game plan and execution matter. You can't get too far ahead; they all count as one win or one loss. When we dial into a scouting report and game plan, this team has a lot of weapons and can be really successful.”
The Blue & Gold will gun for their fifth straight win when they head to Evanston, Ill., to take on Northwestern at 1 p.m. on Tue., Dec. 22.
