Kansas City
3-2,0-0WAC
Rockhurst
0-3,0-0GLVC
Women's Basketball Pulls Away from Rockhurst in the Second Half
11/19/2019 9:51:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Mattingly Stuffs Stat Sheet with 22 Points, Seven Assists, Four Rebounds and Four Steals
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - As Ericka Mattingly goes, the Kansas City women's basketball team goes. It is something that Head Coach Jacie Hoyt tells Mattingly, and it proved true tonight as the Roos took on Rockhurst. Mattingly finished with 22 points, seven assists, four rebounds and four steals, and the Roos used a second half push to pull away from the Hawks, 78-60.
"Ericka is (Western Athletic Conference) Preseason Player of the Year for a reason," Hoyt said.
Part of that reason is her sheer ability to take over games. After a shaky first half that ended in a two-point Kansas City lead, the Roos needed a spark. It came in the form of Mattingly, as she dropped seven points and took away three steals in the first 2:40 of the third quarter.
"She knows that she's our leader," Hoyt said. "I was happy to see her really step up to the challenge that we gave them at halftime."
Cristina Soriano was second in line for the Roos, finishing with 11 points and nine rebounds. She finished with a +/- of +31, second only to Mattingly's +31. When the two were on the floor together, the Kansas City outscored the Hawks by 50 points.
"When (Soriano) is getting boards and finishing at the rim, it's always a positive thing for our team," Mattingly said. "That's what she did tonight."
Soriano's presence on the inside forced second thoughts for the Hawks all night. She did not finish with any blocked shots, mainly because the Hawks did not give her a chance. Rockhurst only attempted two two-point field goals in the first quarter, missing both.
"I'm just trying to stay focused the whole possession, the whole 30 seconds," Soriano said.
The Roos wreaked havoc on Rockhurst's offense, forcing 25 turnovers, which the Roos converted into 37 points. Sixteen of those turnovers came by way of a Kansas City steal, a season-high and the most steals for the Roos since Jan. 5 of last season, when they took 18 possessions away from Chicago State.
"We love forcing turnovers, that's been our bread and butter the last couple of years," Hoyt said. "We don't want to go away from that."
With the win, Kansas City moves to 3-2 on the young season, and will be tested against Loyola-Chicago on Friday. The Roos defeated the Ramblers 88-74 last season, but Loyola is off to a 4-0 start to this season after defeating Chicago State 98-53 earlier tonight.
Game Notes
Mattingly came within one point of her season-high of 23, reached in the season opener against Denver … Soriano came within one rebound of double-digits for the second time this year. No Roo has broken 10 rebounds in a game yet this season … The Roos blocked five Hawk shots on the night, a tie for the season-high … Kansas City pulled down 38 rebounds, making four out of five games that the Roos have eclipsed the 35 rebound mark … Jada Mickens finished in double-digit scoring for the second time in the last three games, finishing with 13 tonight
