?Roos Head West For Showdown With Wolverines
1/20/2016 3:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UMKC Kangaroos (6-11, 1-3) at Utah Valley (7-11, 0-3)
Date-Time: January 21, 2016 - 6 p.m. CT
Site: Orem, Utah/PE Building
TV: --
Online Audio: UMKCKangaroos.com
Talent: TJ Jackson
Webcast: WAC Digital Network
Live Stats: WolverineGreen.com
Twitter: @UMKCWBB @TheUMKCRoos
Hashtags: #RooUp #WACHoops
Series: Series tied 2-2
Home: 2-0
Away: 0-2
Neutral: 0-0
Last Meeting: UVU won 61-51 in overtime on Feb. 26, 2015 in Orem.
The Game
UMKC women's basketball returns to the road when they head to Orem, Utah for a WAC matchup on Thursday with Utah Valley. Tip between the 'Roos and the Wolverines is slated for 6 p.m. CT on Jan. 21.
The Opponent
UTRGV (7-11, 0-3)
PPG: 66.9
PPG Allowed: 67.0
Leading Scorer: Rhaiah Spooner-Knight - 13.8
Leading Rebounder: Rebecca MaWhinney - 5.8
Assists Leader: Georgia Agnew - 3.9
The Series
Utah Valley (2-2)
J23, 2014* (H) W, 83-66 Frese
F22, 2014* (A) L, 43-49 Frese
J31, 2015* (H) W, 61-58 Frese
F26, 2015* (A) L, 51-61 (ot) Frese
Last Time Out
Taylor Leathers finished with 12 points and seven rebounds and Aries Washington chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds as UMKC women's basketball fell 62-53 to UTRGV on Saturday afternoon at the Swinney Recreation Center.
The 'Roos continued their hot shooting from the line, finishing a perfect 12-of-12 from the charity stripe, while outscoring the Vaqueros 20 to five off the bench with Sierra Bone accounting for eight and Kristen Moore for six.
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.
Cathy Nixon enters her 21st season with the Utah Valley women's basketball program in 2015-16, over the last 20 years, Nixon's teams have consistently displayed hard work and character, on and off the court. Last season, the Wolverines finished 11-19 overall in their second season as members of the WAC. The Wolverine finished sixth overall in WAC standings behind a 5-9 conference record, and were edged out by Seattle U in the first round of the WAC Tournament. Rhaiah Spooner-Knight was named second team All-WAC, while Mariah Seals was named WAC Freshman of the Year.
Up Next...
The Blue & Gold will head to Phoenix, Ariz., on Sunday for a 4 p.m. CT WAC showdown with Grand Canyon.
A Win Would...
• Give the 'Roos back-to-back road conference wins since Feb. of 2012.
• Give them a winning record in WAC road games.
Balanced Attack
The 'Roos have had seven different leading scorers with only Aries Washington and Kiana Law leading the team more than twice, while Taylor Leathers and Kristen Moore have each led twice. Ceidra Coleman, Daijane Dillard, Samantha Waldron and Taylor Leathers are the others to pace the team.
'Roos On The Glass
Early in the season, the 'Roos have been impressive rebounding as they lead the WAC in both offensive (.415) and defensive (.700) rebound percent. Their 29.5 rebounds allowed per game, meanwhile, is tops in the WAC by nearly nine a game, while their +8.5 rebound margin is the best in the conference by over 6.9 per game.
Shooting It In Conference
The 'Roos have been hot offensively in WAC play as the lead the conference in both FT% (85.3%) and FG% (41.9%).
Top-15
Both Aries Washington and Kiana Law rank inside the top-15 in the WAC in both scoring and rebounding as Washington is 8th in scoring (11.2) and 11th in rebounding (5.9) and Law is 15th in scoring (10.2) and fourth in rebounding (7.5). Law, meanwhile, is tops in the WAC in FG% at 49.3% and Washington is .1 off the lead in FT% at 88.9%
National Ranks
UMKC sits in the top-25 in the NCAA in a pair of categories, including Free Throw Percentage (8th - 77.5%) and Rebound Margin (25th - +8.5). Aries Washington, meanwhile, is 13th in the nation in free throw percentage at 88.9%.
Senior Prowess
In her four year run with the 'Roos, senior Taylor Leathers has appeared in all 107 games, starting 91 contests. In her career, she has scored over 600 points, grabbed over 400 rebounds and handed out over 130 assists, while shooting 45.5 FG%, 32.2 3-pt. FG% and 75.4 FT%.
