Kansas City
2-1,0-0WAC
Portland State University
1-2,0-0Big Sky
Second Quarter Explosion Leads Women's Basketball over Portland State
11/15/2019 10:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Five Roos Finish in Double-Digits, Team Hits 11 Threes in Win
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - After a disappointing outing against Pacific in the Preseason WNIT opening round last Friday, the Kansas City women's basketball team wanted to reverse its fortune against Portland State on the consolation side of the bracket on Monday evening. A 35-point explosion in the second quarter helped them do just that, breezing past the Vikings, 87-69.
The Roos battled with Portland State throughout the first quarter, playing to a 10-10 tie in the first seven minutes. Freshman Tajah Foster-Walker, earning her first start of the season, stepped up and drew a charge, igniting the Kansas City bench and sparking a run that would put the Roos ahead for good. Foster-Walker became the first Roo to earn an in-game "charge chain," which was introduced by the Roos' coaching staff this off-season.
"We've been talking about this charge chain for a few weeks, and we haven't really gotten a chance to get it out," Foster-Walker said. "And Coach Jacie has also been talking about momentum and how it can swing games, so I just stepped up and took the charge."
Foster-Walker has provided a huge spark for Kansas City early in this season. The freshman from St. Louis scored a game high 19 points and added eight rebounds, and is averaging 13.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in the young season. She also provides the intangibles, bringing energy onto the court wherever she is.
"The passion that Tajah plays with is something that intrigued me from the very first time I saw her," Head Coach Jacie Hoyt said. "We just love her energy, her 'juice,' as we call it. She knows that her role every game is to bring that."
The Roos outscored the Vikings 35-13 in the second quarter alone, led by deadeye three-point shooting. They picked apart the Vikings' zone defense, finding open shooters on seemingly every possession. Emily Ivory knocked down five, Ericka Mattingly and Lauren West added one apiece and Kansas City knocked down seven of 10 attempts from long range in the second frame.
"We really worked hard this week on building our shooters up, knowing that we were going to face a zone team," Hoyt said. "We love shooters, we love players that can spread the floor, and that's the style that we want to play."
Five Roos finished in double-digit scoring, as Foster-Walker, Ivory and Mattingly were joined by Awal Ajak and Jada Mickens, who bounced back from a zero point performance against Pacific by dropping 16 points and eight rebounds in her third game as a Roo.
Kansas City earns its first win in program history in the Preseason WNIT, along with hosting its first Preseason WNIT game. The Roos will match up against Davidson tomorrow, who defeated UC Irvine in a 78-72 slugfest on Friday afternoon. The game will tip off after UC Irvine and Portland State play, starting at 1 p.m.
"It meant the world even to be invited into this tournament," Hoyt said. "I'm so thankful, our players are thankful, and I'm glad that we could get this 'dub."
