Kansas City
4-10,0-3Summit League
Denver
5-7,1-0Summit League
Roos Drop League Home Opener to Denver
12/29/2022 11:33:00 PM | Women's Basketball
A big first quarter was not enough for Kansas City, falling by double-digits
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas City Women's Basketball's (4-10, 0-3 Summit) strong first quarter was not enough as they fell to Denver (5-7, 1-0 Summit) this evening 73-60. RaVon Nero, Sanaa' St. Andre and E'Lease Stafford all tied as the leading scorers for the Roos with 12 points apiece.
Kansas City put together a 10-point scoring run midway through the first quarter to take a nine-point lead into the first break, but Denver outscored the Roos by 22 the rest of the way, claiming the 13-point victory.
The Roos forced Denver into 20 turnovers on the night, converting them into 22 points. It was not enough, as Denver knocked down 10 three-pointers and shot 42% from the field, holding KC to 32% shooting.
KEY MOMENTS
- 1Q – 6:32 / 5-4 | Stafford hits a deep three to give Kansas City its first lead of the night.
- 1Q – 1:34 / 14-6 | St. Andre drives to the rim and hoists up a floater to extend the Kansas City lead.
- 2Q – 7:52 / 20-9 | St. Andre attacks the paint and finishes at the rim to cap off a 6-0 Roos run.
- 2Q – 2:29 / 26-21 | Stafford kicked to Nero on the wing for her second-straight three, extending Kansas City's lead back out to five after a 12-point run by the Pioneers.
ANOTHER 3? by @MarieRavonn to extend the lead ?? pic.twitter.com/aNlS5QWUya
— Kansas City Women's Basketball (@KCRoosWBB) December 30, 2022
- 3Q – 6:26 / 37-30 | St. Andre drives to the basket yet again for a layup to give the Roos a bigger cushion.
- 3Q – 1:10 / 43-51 | Rain Green assists Machia Mullens on a turn away jumper to cut the lead to single digits.
- 4Q – 6:04 / 56-63 | Manna Mensah feeds off the crowd's energy for a driving layup to tighten things late.
- 4Q – 3:53 / 60-68 | Nero hits a floating jumper to give the Roos life, but Denver would lock up defensively and finish it off with a 13-point win.
STATS TO NOTE
- For the third-straight game, Mullens finished as the Roos' leading rebounder, pulling down eight boards.
- Nero gave the Roos 25 minutes off the bench, hitting 2-of-5 three-point attempts and pulling down four rebounds.
- The Roos out-scored the Pioneers in points from turnovers, the paint and second chance, but Denver scored 27 points from the bench and came away with 10 blocks on the night.
COACH DIONNAH JACKSON-DURRETT, QUOTED
"(Denver) is scratching for wins just like we're scratching for wins. So, you give it everything you have. You fight, you push and you shove. You have to do whatever it takes to get the win, and they did whatever it took."
"Everybody wants to be a hero, but you don't need heroes. You need people that will play hard and play together."
UP NEXT
The Roos turn around to take on Omaha in another Summit League battle at home on Saturday at 2 p.m.
