UMKC Looks For Third Straight Win, Season Sweep Of Lopes On Thursday
2/17/2016 9:22:00 AM | Women's Basketball
UMKC Kangaroos (9-14, 4-6) vs. Grand Canyon (13-13, 5-5)
ON THE AIR AND ON THE WEB
Date-Time: February 18, 2016 - 7 p.m. CT
Site: Kansas City, Mo./SRC
TV: --
Online Audio: UMKCKangaroos.com
Talent: TJ Jackson
Webcast: RoosTV
Talent: TJ Jackson
Live Stats: UMKCKangaroos.com
Twitter: @UMKCWBB @TheUMKCRoos
Hashtags: #RooUp #WACHoops
Series: GCU leads 4-1
Home: 0-2
Away: 1-2
Neutral: 0-0
Last Meeting: UMKC won 63-57 on 1/24/16 in Kansas City.
The Game
UMKC women's basketball hosts Grand Canyon in a WAC showdown on Thursday in Kansas City. Tip between the 'Roos and the Lopes is slated for 7 p.m. on Feb. 18 at the Swinney Recreation Center.
The Opponent
Grand Canyon (13-13, 5-5)
PPG: 60.9
PPG Allowed: 59.6
Leading Scorer: Jessica Gajewski - 12.1
Leading Rebounder: Cheyenne Hedrington - 7.1
Assists Leader: Courtney Hayes - 6.8
The Series
Grand Canyon (1-4)
F1, 2014* (A) L, 63-74 Frese
F27, 2014* (H) L, 63-67 Frese
J29, 2015* (H) L, 59-65 Frese
F28, 2015* (A) L, 57-42 Frese
J24, 2016* (A) W, 63-57 Frese
Last Time Out
Samantha Waldron scored 16 points and Taylor Leathers chipped in 12 in UMKC women's basketball's 59-57 upset of UTRGV on Saturday afternoon in Edinburg, Texas. Waldron finished the day knocking down 6-of-10 from the field, including 2-of-4 from long range, to go with team-bests of five rebounds and four steals, while Ceidra Coleman paced the team with a career-high eight assists and five rebounds.
First Meeting
UMKC women's basketball wiped out an 11-point deficit to take down Grand Canyon 63-57 in WAC play on Sunday afternoon at GCU Arena in Phoenix, Ariz., outscoring the Lopes 23-13 in the fourth quarter. Aries Washington led the UMKC attack with 18 points, shooting 8-of-10 from the field, eight rebounds and three assists, while Kristen Moore added seven rebounds and matched her career-high with 14 points of the bench as the Kangaroo reserves outscored GCU's bench 26-0.
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.
Trent May is in his ninth season as head coach of the Grand Canyon women's basketball program in 2015-16 and is the program's all-time winningest coach. To date, May owns a career record of 291-126 entering his 14th year as a head coach, including a 151-55 mark in eight seasons guiding the Lopes.
Up Next...
The Blue & Gold welcomes in Utah Valley to Kansas City for its penultimate home game of the year and Senior Day on Sat., Feb. 20 at 2 p.m.
A Win Would...
• Give the 'Roos their second winning streak of three or more games this season.
• Give the 'Roos a season sweep of GCU.
• Be the third ever against a team from Arizona (1-1 NAU, 1-4 GCU).
Waldron Heating Up
Over the past four games, Samantha Waldron has turned up her game, averaging 16.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 3.0 steals, while shooting 52.9% from the field and 34.6% from three and playing 40 minutes a contest. Three times she has led the team in scoring, including notching a career-high 19 against Bakersfield, while twice she has reached her career-high with four steals.
