Kansas City
Morgan State
UMKC Tops Morgan State in Plaza Lights Classic Finale, 64-56
11/26/2016 7:27:00 PM | Women's Basketball
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – UMKC women's basketball defeated Morgan State 64-56 on Saturday evening in the 2016 Plaza Light Classic in Swinney Recreation Center. The Roos shot 54 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Bears 44-19 to pick up their second win of the season.
UMKC (2-3) was led offensively by Samantha Waldron (Omaha, Neb.), Kristen Moore (Chicago, Ill.), and Aries Washington (Kansas City, Mo.), who each scored 11 points in the win. Junior Kiana Law (Pittsburgh, Pa.) notched 13 boards to lead the Roos in rebounding, and Paige Husa (Fairbury, Neb.) contributed seven rebounds.
“We were much more focused today with getting on the glass,” head coach Marsha Frese said. “Kiana Law always does a great job for us on the boards, but if you look down our stat sheet at how many different people contributed, and Paige Husa did a phenomenal job for us this weekend.”
The Roos led Morgan State (1-4) by seven at the end of the first, with Waldron and graduate transfer Lyndsay Leikem (Tucson, Ariz.) each scoring five points.
UMKC stretched the lead to 11 in the second quarter, thanks to a 7-0 run that was sparked by a big offensive rebound and put-back from Ceidra Coleman (Bryan, Texas). India Johnson (Overland Park, Kan.) hit a layup and Waldron knocked down her second three of the game to make the score 27-16 with 7:03 left in the half.
The Roos cooled off from the field, falling in a scoring drought that lasted 4:12 as the Bears chiseled away at the lead to bring it within five. With 33 seconds remaining, Coleman got the Roos out of the funk by making a layup. Morgan State hit a jumper with nine seconds remaining, but UMKC pushed the ball down the court and Waldron hit a clutch three from the corner, her third of the game, as time expired in the half to give the Roos a 34-26 lead.
Morgan State outscored UMKC 15-14 in the third, coming within two points of the Roos with 3:09 left in the quarter. Washington score five-straight points in just over a minute to extend the lead back to seven, and after a three pointer from Leikem and a jumper with six seconds on the clock from senior Kelsey Barrett (Kansas City, Mo.) the Roos looked to have a double-digit lead heading into the fourth, but a buzzer-beating half-court shot from the Bears made it 48-41 heading to the fourth.
UMKC held its largest lead of the game with 4:41 remaining, leading 60-47 over the Bears, and the Roos never looked back, topping Morgan State 64-56.
“We built this team to have great depth,” Frese said. “I think we are still finding out roles and how different lineups work with each other. We are by no means a finished product right now, but I thought we took a big step forward today in just seeing how different pieces fit together.
“Rebounding has always been our identity. We know it has to happen from multiple people, but they set the bar for themselves today and it something we hope to see continue as the year goes on.”
Waldron was named to the 2016 Plaza Lights Classic All-Tournament Team after averaging 10 points over the two games.
UMKC is back in action on Tuesday, Nov. 29 against Central Christian College (Kan.) at Swinney Recreation Center. The game is scheduled to tip at 7 p.m. CT.
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