Women's Basketball Cruises into WAC Semifinals

Wednesday, March 11

Las Vegas, NV

2:00 PM CST

Kansas City

21-10,13-3WAC

Chicago State University

1-27,1-13WAC

Chicago St.

Kansas City

Women's Basketball Cruises into WAC Semifinals

3/11/2020 5:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Final Box

Top-Seeded Roos use first half run to stroll past Cougars

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Cristina Soriano dropped 11 points in the first quarter, the Roos exploded for 26 in the second and top-seeded Kansas City women's basketball (21-10) coasted through the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) quarterfinals with an 86-52 victory over No. 8-seed Chicago State. With the win, the Roos advance to their second WAC semifinal in a row, and third in the last four years.

FINAL | Dominant.#ROOUP | #DeclareKC | #KCcommitted pic.twitter.com/6lyxWWtLMc
— Kansas City Athletics (@KCRoosAthletics) March 11, 2020

"I thought that we not only did a great job in executing and making a statement with the way that we played, but also the way that we carried ourselves," 2020 WAC Coach of the Year Jacie Hoyt said. "I really challenged our team with making a statement that we are not, in any way, shape or form, satisfied with winning a regular-season championship and that we're here on business."

In the two regular-season games against the Cougars, Kansas City never found itself trailing. Today was no different, as Emily Ivory opened up scoring in the first minute and the Roos never surrendered. They found Soriano consistently on the inside, where she was an unstoppable force. She converted on 4-of-5 field goals in the first 10 minutes, pulling down three rebounds. Just two days after being named to the WAC All-Defensive team, she finished with 17 points and 10 boards, her team-leading ninth double-double of the year.

1Q | It's the Cristina show so far. You LOVE to see it ??#ROOUP | #DeclareKC pic.twitter.com/QTfDw33Nbo
— Kansas City Athletics (@KCRoosAthletics) March 11, 2020

"We've always viewed Cristina as a huge asset on offense. It's really not anything new that she scored," Hoyt said.

In the second quarter, the basket expanded for Kansas City. The team connected on five-of-nine three point shots, shooting 59% overall and posting 26 points. Ericka Mattingly, who did not attempt a single shot in the first quarter, attempted three triples in the second, connecting on each one. Mattingly finished with 15 points to go along with five rebounds, five assists and three steals.

3Q | Fun Fact: Ericka hasn't missed a field goal attempt today. This fact is only fun if you're cheering for the right team ??#ROOUP | #DeclareKC pic.twitter.com/6jYQ2zkLm8
— Kansas City Athletics (@KCRoosAthletics) March 11, 2020

"Ericka does so much for us outside of scoring. She can score, without a doubt, but it's everything else that she does," Hoyt said. "I challenged her to get everyone else involved early in the game, and I thought that she did that. Then, as the team got going, she was able to get into a rhythm and do her thing."

The Roos got great offensive production from Emily Ivory and Jonaie Johnson as well, who finished with 14 and 12 points, respectively. The Roos move to 10-0 on the year when Johnson breaks the 10-point mark.

4Q | They're too what, Emily? ??#ROOUP | #DeclareKC pic.twitter.com/RppohqttRp
— Kansas City Athletics (@KCRoosAthletics) March 11, 2020

Kansas City's bench also produced in a major way, while Chicago State's did not. The Roos got 23 points off of the bench, led by Tajah Foster-Walker, with eight points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting. Foster-Walker added a school tournament-best three blocks. The Cougars, on the other hand, did not receive a single point from their non-starters.

"Our bench was awesome. Our depth is one of the best things that we have going for us, everyone is playing their best basketball right now," Hoyt said. "I feel really confident that moving forward, our bench will continue to do what they've done."

The Roos are now on a six-game win streak, the program's longest since a seven-game stretch in the 2011-12 season. They will be tasked with facing No. 5-seed New Mexico State, a team that Kansas City swept in the regular season. The Aggies defeated No. 4 Utah Valley today in the second Quarterfinal by a 63-51 score. Semifinal tip-off is set for Friday at 2 p.m. CT.

"We always talk about focusing on the present, and we're just focused on going 1-0 every day," Soriano said. "We're so hungry, and we want to bring 100% every day."

Kansas City Team Notes:

The current six-game win streak is the longest since the 2011-12 program rattled off seven-straight victories (Feb. 13 – March 5).
The Roos advance to their second-straight semifinal round, and third in the past four WAC tournaments.
Today's 34-point margin of victory is the most for Kansas City in the WAC Tournament. The previous best for margin of victory was eight (77-69) in the 2017 tournament.
The 86 points scored is the highest total for the Roos in the WAC Tournament. The previous best was 80, done in last year's semifinals.
Kansas City's defense was again at its best today. The unit posted 10 thefts, which is a new program tournament-high in a single game.
Kansas City defeats Chicago State for the 10th-straight time in the overall series. Today marked the first occurrence the teams matched up in the WAC Tournament.
The Roos ended today shooting 50.8 percent (32-of-63), which is barely shy of setting a tournament school record. The team had a 50.9 field goal percentage, done in the 2014 quarterfinals.
The 10 made three-pointer's is the second-highest output in a tournament game for the Roos. In the 2019 quarterfinals, the team nailed 11.
With 41 rebounds today, the Roos have now had at least 40 in four out of their last six tournament games.

Kansas City Individual Notes

With 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals today, Ericka Mattingly now holds averages of 26.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 3.0 steals in her WAC tournament career (3 games).
Mattingly's four three-pointer's today is tied for second-most in a single-game in KC tournament history. The 80-percent long-range mark (4-of-5) establishes a single-game postseason school record.
The five assists by Mattingly ties a single-game tournament school record.
Cristina Soriano claimed her ninth double-double of the year with her 17 points and 10 boards. That also marked the seventh all-time double-double by a Roo in tournament history. Last year, two individuals collected a double-double.
With a trio of three-pointer's today, Emily Ivory has connected on nine total long-range bombs in three career tournament games.