Kangaroos Head To The Northwest For WAC Opener At Seattle
1/6/2016 9:58:00 AM | Women's Basketball
UMKC Kangaroos (5-8, 0-0) at Seattle U Redhawks (6-9, 0-0)
Date-Time: January 7, 2016 - 9 p.m. CT
Site: Seattle, Wash./Connolly Center
TV: none
Online Audio:UMKCKangaroos.com
Talent: TJ Jackson (p-b-p)
Webcast:WAC Digital Network
Live Stats:GoSeattleU.com
Twitter: @UMKCWBB @TheUMKCRoos
Hashtags: #RooUp #WACHoops
Series: UMKC leads 3-2
Home: 2-0
Away: 1-1
Neutral: 0-1
Last Meeting: UMKC won 62-61 on Feb. 19, 2015 in Kansas City.
The Game
UMKC women's basketball opens up WAC play on Thursday when they head to Seattle, Wash., to take on the Redhawks. Tip between they 'Roos and Seattle U is slated for 9 p.m. CT on Jan. 7.
The Opponent
Seattle U (6-9, 0-0)
PPG: 63.9
PPG Allowed: 70.5
Leading Scorer: Taelor Ross - 14.0
Leading Rebounder: Ashlyn Lewey - 6.6
Assists Leader: Delanie Parry - 3.1
The Series
Seattle (3-2)
J4, 2014* (H) W, 77-65 Frese
M6, 2014* (A) W, 73-71 (OT) Frese
M12, 2014+(N) L, 76-81 Frese
J24, 2015* (A) L, 46-60 Frese
F19, 2015* (H) W, 62-61 Frese
Last Time Out
Taylor Leathers scored a career-high 18 points in her final non-conference game in the Blue & Gold to lead UMKC women's basketball to a 59-50 win over Morgan State in the 2016 opener on Saturday afternoon at Hill Field House in Baltimore, Md. Leathers finished the game shooting 8-of-12 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line, to go along with five rebounds, while Aries Washington grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds, including six on the offensive end, and added eight points, four assists and a steal.
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.
Joan Bonvicini completed her sixth season at Seattle University in 2014-15 behind an all-time 692-400 record and is currently 10th on the NCAA Division I wins list for active Division I women's college basketball coaches. She is also the 18th winningest coach all-time among Division I women's basketball coaches. She became the 18th coach in NCAA Division I women's basketball history to reach the 600-win mark in February 2007. The Redhawk head coach also boasts 22 20-win seasons over her historic coaching career.
Up Next...
The Blue & Gold will conclude their five game road trip when they head to Bakersfield, Calif., on Saturday to take on the Roadrunners in WAC play on Jan. 9 at 5 p.m. CT.
A Win Would...
• Give the 'Roos six wins in their last eight games.
• Be the first conference opening win since 2009-10 against Southern Utah.
• Give the 'Roos back-to-back wins in their conference road opener.
Sharing The Rock
Last season, the 'Roos finished with 15 or more assists just six times all season, including four times with just 15 assists. This season, the 'Roos have already handed out 15 or more assists in six games, including four times above 15.
Dishing It Out
On the 'Roos swing through Maryland, Sierra Bone set her career-high and UMKC's season-high in back-to-back games, first handing out eight at Towson and following it up with 10 at Morgan State. Bone becomes the first Kangaroo with 10 assists since Eilise O'Connor on Feb. 8, 2014 against Chicago State.
Balanced Attack
The 'Roos have had six different leading scorers with only Aries Washington leading the team more than twice, while Kiana Law and Kristen Moore have each led twice. Ceidra Coleman, Daijane Dillard 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 (.705) rebound percent. Their 29.9 rebounds allowed per game, meanwhile, is tops in the WAC by nearly nine a game, while their +8.3 rebound margin is the best in the conference by over 7.2 per game.
Top-15
Both Aries Washington and Kiana Law rank inside the top-15 in the WAC in both scoring and rebounding as Washington is 11th in scoring (11.2) and rebounding (5.7) and Law is 15th in scoring (10.5) and fifth in rebounding (7.1).
National Ranks
UMKC sits in the top-35 in the NCAA in a pair of categories, including Free Throw Percentage (30th - 74.6%) and Rebound Margin (33rd - +8.3).
Senior Prowess
In her four year run with the 'Roos, senior Taylor Leathers has appeared in all 103 games, starting 87 contests. In her career, she has scored nearly 600 points, grabbed nearly 400 rebounds and handed out over 125 assists, while shooting 44.9 FG%, 32.4 3-pt. FG% and 75.2 FT%.
