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Kansas City
10-8,3-1WAC
New Mexico State
5-11,2-1WAC
Women's Basketball Defeats New Mexico State for First Time Since 2014
1/12/2020 5:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Emily Ivory Finishes with 17 Points, Jonaie Johnson Posts Career-Best Defensive Day
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - In a 14-point comeback victory over UTRGV on Thursday, the Kansas City women's basketball team showed its grit and toughness. While that level of comeback was not needed against perennial Western Athletic Conference powerhouse New Mexico State, the same level of toughness was necessary, and was displayed in the Roos' 56-52 victory.
"I am so proud of the things that I heard in the timeouts, the things that I heard on the bench, the things that I heard in the huddles," Head Coach Jacie Hoyt said. "I've always said that player-led teams win, and that's what we had today."
The win came despite an off game from WAC Media Preseason Player of the Year Ericka Mattingly. Mattingly finished with just two points, a season-low, and fouled out of the game with 5:44 remaining and the Roos trailing by a point. She still provided value for the Roos, ending the game with six rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes, but the point production had to come from somewhere else.
Enter, Emily Ivory. The sophomore entered the game in a rut, averaging just 1.7 points over Kansas City's previous three games. However, she made her presence felt immediately today. She poured in a team-high nine first half points, draining a trio of three pointers.Â
She added two more triples in the second half, with perhaps the biggest coming with 1:41 remaining in the game. The Aggies were on an 8-1 run and held their biggest lead since the first quarter, 52-47. Kansas City had a play queued up, setting a pair of screens for a dashing Ivory, who came around the corner and nailed a three to bring the Roos back within one and energize the bench.
"My teammates and coaches never lost confidence in me when maybe I was feeling a little down," Ivory said. "It was up and down a lot, but I stayed the steady route and it paid off."
Ivory's final bucket of the game sparked a 9-0 run for the Roos that they would end the game on. Following a big defensive stop with the score at 52-51, Tajah Foster-Walker hauled in a rebound through contact and went to the line with 17 seconds remaining. Foster-Walker, a 61% free throw shooter entering the game, calmly lined up and nailed both shots to give the Roos the lead. Kansas City would come up with two more big defensive stops, and Cristina Soriano and Jonaie Johnson combined to hit three-of-four free throws to ice the game.
"Without a doubt, (defense) was the difference today," Hoyt said.
Johnson was one of the biggest contributors on defense, ending with a career day. Since entering the starting lineup on Dec. 8 against Missouri, she has increased her scoring output by seven points per game. However, tonight her defense shone through. She blocked four Aggie shots and picked New Mexico State's pocket four times, both career-highs. To go along with that, she finished with 10 points, her fifth double-digit scoring game in the last nine opportunities.
"The coaches, from the beginning, wanted me to hone in defensively, so I made that my task this game," Johnson said. "I wanted to be at my best defensively and then just let the rest happen."
Then, there was Cristina Soriano. She entered the game on a four game double-double streak, and showed that facing the WAC Preseason favorite was not going to slow her down. She dropped 15 points and 10 rebounds for her fifth consecutive double-double, adding three blocks.Â
"It's a tremendous amount of fun watching (Soriano) dominate in the paint," Johnson said.Â
With the win, the Roos have won four of their last five, moving to 3-1 in WAC play. They will travel to CSU Bakersfield and Grand Canyon next week.
"It's a long season, it's a marathon," Hoyt said. "Today was a snapshot. It was a great snapshot, a fun snapshot, but we're really just focused on our final destination, which is the conference tournament."
Game Notes
The win snaps an 11-game losing streak at the hands of the Aggies, dating back to 2014 … The Roos ended the game on a 9-0 run, their largest of the game … For just the second time this season, Kansas City won while being out-rebounded … For the first time this season, the Roos won while shooting at a lower percentage than their opponent (previously 0-8) … Fifty-two points was NM State's lowest scoring output of the season … Jonaie Johnson finished with four blocks. Prior to today, she had six blocks in her career … WAC Coaches Preseason Player of the Year Gia Pack finished with just 11 points, seven below her season average
