Preview: First-Place WBB Ready to Close First Round of WAC Play

Saturday, February 1

Kansas City, MO

2:00 PM

Kansas City

Chicago State

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Preview: First-Place WBB Ready to Close First Round of WAC Play

1/30/2020 9:35:00 AM | Women's Basketball

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Season Highlights

The Roos finish their first round of Western Athletic Conference play in the Swinney Center on Saturday as they take on Chicago State in an attempt to keep their hold on the top spot in the WAC.
The last time the Roos took the court, Cristina Soriano led the team in points, rebounds and assists and gave the Roos a 75-65 victory over California Baptist.
The Roos were selected third in the preseason WAC coaches and media polls, after placing fourth in the regular season last year.
On Feb. 13, Kansas City used a career-high scoring day by Jonaie Johnson to run past Grand Canyon. After scoring just 10 points in the first quarter, the Roos scored 20+ in each of the final three frames.
Kansas City could not slow down CSU Bakersfield in the lane on Jan. 16, allowing 36 points in the paint and 46.6% shooting.
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.
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.
The Roos defeated the SEC's Missouri 59-56 on Dec. 8, the program's first victory against a Power Five opponent since the Roos' 47-44 victory over Kansas on December 10, 2015
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 15.0 points per game, third in the WAC.

History vs. Chicago State

With 49 games played between these two squads, Chicago State is Kansas City's most common foe all-time.
Along with this, the 40-9 record that the Roos hold against the Cougars is the best winning percentage against a single team in the program (min. 15 games played).
The Roos have rattled off seven straight wins against Chicago State, winning each matchup by an average of 30.9 points.
The last time the Cougars took a game against Kansas City was in January of 2016, a 77-72 overtime decision.
Last year, the Roos took both games against the Cougars, winning 111-58 on Jan. 5, 2019 and 100-50 on March 9.
When the teams met on Jan. 5, Emily Ivory produced a record-breaking night. She connected on eight-of-15 three-point attempts, finishing with 24 points. The eight threes were the most in program history in a single game.
Ericka Mattingly also connected on eight field goals, finishing with 19 points to go along with seven assists and eight steals.
Three Cougars reached double-digit scoring, led by Destinee Porter with 14, but the Roos shot 56.8% on the day to run away with the victory.
On March 9, six Roos reached double-digits in scoring led by Mattingly with 19. Ivory and Ajak chipped in 10 and 13 points, respectively.

Chicago State Scouting Report

The Cougars got their first victory of the season on Jan. 18 against CSU Bakersfield, a 60-58 decision.
The win snapped a 22-game losing streak for Chicago State. In the last four seasons, the Cougars have won four games, all in WAC play.
Three Cougars score in double-digits, led by Tyeshia Bowers, who puts up 13.8 per game.
Ines Mata Boix is Chicago State's leading rebounder, pulling down 9.5 per game, second-best in the WAC.
Bethany Carstens is a three-point deadeye, knocking home 38.1% of her attempts. That mark is good for third in the conference.
As a team, the Cougars put up 58.6 points per game, lowest in the conference and 295th in the nation.