Preview: Women's Basketball Prepares for Battle with CSU Bakersfield

Thursday, January 16

Bakersfield, CA

9:00 PM

Kansas City

CSU Bakersfield

Awal Ajak brings the ball up the court vs. NM State

Preview: Women's Basketball Prepares for Battle with CSU Bakersfield

1/15/2020 11:46:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Full Game Notes

Season Highlights

Kansas City is back on the road for a trip to CSU Bakersfield for a matchup between the current #2 and #3 teams in the conference.
The Roos emerged with their first victory over New Mexico State since 2014 on Jan. 12. The Aggies held Ericka Mattingly to two points, but Emily Ivory dropped five three-pointers and Cristina Soriano posted a double-double en route to a 56-52 victory.
Kansas City has won their last two games, and four of their last five, their best five-game streak so far this season.
The Roos were selected third in the preseason WAC coaches and media polls, after placing fourth in the regular season last year.
The Roos played their first home conference game on Jan. 9, erasing a 14-point halftime deficit to emerge victorious over UTRGV. Kansas City held the Vaqueros to 26% second half shooting, Jonaie Johnson hit the go-ahead lay up and Ericka Mattingly pulled down a huge offensive rebound with 9 seconds remaining to seal the win.
After KC opened WAC play with an 11-point victory over Seattle U, Kansas City could not get shots to fall against Utah Valley, falling by 21.
Kansas City closed non-conference play with a seven wins, the most since 2011-12.
After falling to Pacific in the first round, Kansas City hosted its first-ever Preseason WNIT games on Nov. 15 & 16, defeating Portland State before falling to Davidson.
The Roos opened their season with a victory over Denver, who had previously been named to the Mid-Major Top 25.
Ericka Mattingly leads the Roos in scoring, averaging 15.2 points per game, third in the WAC.
Kansas City leads the WAC and are 40th nationally in blocks per game (4.7), and three Roos currently rank top 10 in the WAC in blocks per game. This is unchartered territory for the Roos, as last year the team finished fifth in the conference, averaging 2.7.

History vs. CSU Bakersfield

The Roos and 'Runners will be meeting for the 14th time. CSU Bakersfield rattled off a stretch of eight victories in the teams' first nine games and hold a 11-2 advantage over the Roos.
Jacie Hoyt won her first matchup as head coach against CSUB, but has fallen in the last three matches.
The Roos have had the most success when they play CSUB in Bakersfield. Both of their wins have come on the road.
Last season, Bakersfield swept the Roos in the regular season, winning 67-57 in KC and 85-71 in California.
In the meeting at Kansas City, it was a tight game through three quarters. The Roos had a three-point lead going into the final frame, but Bakersfield limited Kansas City to one fourth quarter field goal and took home the win.
Emily Ivory had a good game, shooting 6-of-8 from deep and finishing with a team-high 22 points.
Ericka Mattingly was limited to four points, but led the team with five assists and nine rebounds.
CSUB gave a balanced scoring output. Malaysia McHenry dropped 18 points off of the bench and Alexxus Gilbert and Jazmine Johnson added 14 and 13, respectively.
In the Feb. 16 matchup between the squads, Ashley Austin and Alexxus Gilbert took over. Austin dropped 30 points on 9-of-12 shooting with seven rebounds and six assists and Gilbert dropped 22.
Four Roos scored in double digits in that game, including 13 by Mattingly and 10 by Awal Ajak.
The teams took a tie into the half, but Bakersfield dropped a 34-point fourth quarter en route to the 85-71 victory.

CSU Bakersfield Scouting Report

The Roadrunners return eight players from their 2018-19 team, which went 14-17 overall, qualifying to the semifinals of the WAC tournament.
CSUB lost its number one scorer in Alexxus Gilbert (16.8 ppg), and have scored by committee to begin this year. Jayden Eggleston, Ashley Austin and Vanessa Austin all score between 10 and 11.5 points per game.
Vanessa Austin has been blazing from the field, connecting on 60% of her field goal attempts. This is the best mark in the WAC and is top 50 in the nation.
Bakersfield is 10-5 to begin the season, the best overall record in the WAC. They sit at 2-0 in conference play, behind only Utah Valley (3-0).
The Roos and 'Runners had one non-conference opponent in common, the University of the Pacific Tigers. Kansas City played the Tigers in the first round of the Preseason WNIT, falling 89-60. CSUB was able to best Pacific by a score of 80-70.