Kansas City
8-7,1-0WAC
Seattle U
6-8,0-1WAC
Women's Basketball Uses Size to Advantage in Win over Seattle U
1/2/2020 11:09:00 PM | Women's Basketball
SEATTLE, Wash. - The Kansas City women's basketball team opened its final season of Western Athletic Conference play with a bang on Thursday night, defeating Seattle U, 76-65. Ericka Mattingly dropped her fifth 20-point game of the season, Cristina Soriano and Tajah Foster-Walker each posted double-doubles, and the Roos used 50% three-point shooting in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Redhawks.
Both teams were sluggish offensively to begin the game; things went scoreless until the 7:51 mark of the first quarter, when Awal Ajak buried a three to open scoring. Mattingly opened with seven first quarter points, and the Roos denied the Redhawks at the basket four times.
The Roos opened their lead in the second frame, pulling down 14 rebounds to Seattle U's five. Soriano gave double-digit rebounding efforts for the second game in a row, while Foster-Walker posted the first double-double of her career.
"Cristina and Tajah gave us a great boost at the right time," Head Coach Jacie Hoyt said. "Their rebounding gave us the edge we needed."
After taking an eight-point lead into the half, the Roos conceded some ground to the Redhawks in the third quarter. Soriano opened the scoring to extend Kansas City's lead to double digits, but Seattle U began chipping away.
The Redhawks used a Joana Alves layup to knot things up at 38, but were never able to take the lead. The Roos took a four point advantage into the final quarter, but the game seemed far less certain than it had just ten minutes earlier.
Seattle U opened the fourth quarter on a 7-2 run to take a three point lead, and then lightning struck for Kansas City. Mattingly drained a three and came up with a block on the other end, Ajak added a triple of her own, and the Roos began their largest run of the game. Just two minutes and ten seconds later, the Roos had converted the deficit into a 10 point lead.
"Our team has a lot of weapons, and when everyone is striking at the same time we are capable of making big runs," Hoyt said.
Kansas City made four-of-six free throws down the stretch to ice the game, and begin conference play with a 1-0 record. The Roos will travel to Orem, Utah next for a game with Utah Valley on Saturday afternoon.
"Our goal every game is to go 1-0," Hoyt said. "It feels great to do that in conference, especially on the road."
Game Notes
After beating USAO on Sunday, the win gives the Roos their first back-to-back victories of the season … Tajah Foster-Walker's success has proven to translate into team success for Kansas City. They are now 3-0 when she scores over 10 points and 2-0 when she pulls down more than 10 rebounds … When Foster-Walker was on the court, the Roos outscored the Redhawks by 23 points … The Roos finished with nine blocked shots, tying a season-high previously reached against Loyola Chicago … Jonaie Johnson continued her hot play against the Redhawks, finishing with nine points and seven rebounds. Since entering the starting lineup, Johnson is averaging 8.0 ppg and 5.5 rpg
