Kansas City
Utah Valley University
Law?s Double-Double Not Enough As ?Roos Fall To Wolverines In WAC Tourney
3/9/2016 8:36:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Kiana Law notched her third double-double of the season with 12 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, but the effort was not enough as No. 5 UMKC women's basketball fell 61-53 to No. 4 Utah Valley on Wednesday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
“Coach was big on knowing your job and doing your job and my job is to rebound,” Law said. “That's the best way I can help my team out. I try to stay focused on rebounding and that's what I did.”
In her final game in the Blue & Gold, Taylor Leathers matched Law with 12 points to go along with two rebounds, two blocks and an assist, while Kelsey Barrett scored in double figures for the second straight game, scoring 10 points for the 'Roos off the bench.
“We are obviously not happy with the outcome today,” UMKC Head Coach Marsha Frese said. “I'm really proud of the fight we showed, especially in the fourth quarter when we were down and they continued to fight; fight for each other. Games like this always come down to who can execute and that's their style of play. Give credit to Utah Valley for executing what they wanted to run. Just very proud of our team for their fight.”
With the loss, UMKC ends its season at 10-18 overall, while Utah Valley improves to 16-14 on the season and advances to play top-seeded New Mexico State on Friday at noon PT.
The Wolverines struck first with the game's first points, but back-to-back layups by Law gave UMKC its first lead at 4-2.
UVU would retake the lead and build it to seven at 13-6, before two straight Leathers' jumpers cut the lead to one.
The Wolverines, however, struck last in the quarter to take a 15-12 lead into the second period.
UVU continued its run into the second quarter, extending the lead to 13 before four points from Law brought it back to single digits.
The final four points of the half, though, went to Utah Valley as the Wolverines entered the break leading 31-18.
In the third, the Wolverines continued to build their lead, going ahead by as many as 17, before settling for a 46-30 lead after three quarters of action.
To start the fourth, Utah Valley stretched its lead to a game-high 20 with just 3:45 left to play, but the 'Roos had one final run left in them, cutting the deficit all the way down to seven after a Barrett three, but the rally would fall short as the Wolverines came away with the win.
“We did a much better job of executing, especially in the third quarter,” Frese added. “We played a little bit tentative in the second quarter. We let their pressure off our ball screens impact us and we weren't rebounding early. We challenged them at halftime to attack hard on the glass. The second half was more of the style of play we are used to seeing and that gave us better opportunities on second and third possessions.”
Individually, Aries Washington chipped in nine points, five rebounds and four assists, while Samantha Waldron finished with eight points.
“I'm really proud of this young team,” Leathers said. “I'm looking forward to seeing everything they do in the future and it's been an honor to help lay the foundation for that.”
