Kansas City Falls to UTEP in Close Matchup

Saturday, November 11

El Paso, TX

5:00 PM

Kansas City

1-1,0-0Summit League

UTEP

2-0,0-0CUSA

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Kansas City	13	21	12	14	60
UTEP	17	10	22	13	62

Kansas City Falls to UTEP in Close Matchup

11/11/2023 9:04:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

The Roos got ahead early, but UTEP’s hot streak in the third quarter gave them an edge in the fourth

EL PASO, Texas — Kansas City Women's Basketball (1-1) fell on the road 62-60 in a tight battle with the University of Texas El Paso (2-0). The Roos got to an offensive start, making it first to the scoreboard and eventually creating a five-point lead for themselves. The Miners, however, found a second wind, reclaiming the lead before the end of the first quarter.

The Roos put up a huge 22-point second quarter and held the Miners to just ten points, allowing them to go into halftime up 34-27. In the third quarter, UTEP found a boost of momentum that ultimately carried them to the end of the game.

Nariyah Simmons led the Roos offensively playing for 37 minutes and earning 15 points and eight rebounds. The Roos shot 37.7 percent from the field goal range compared to the Miners' 32.8 percent. Ifunaya Nwachukwu was a defensive force for the Roos, putting up a career-high four blocks.

In the final minute, UTEP was able to pull away, earning a basket and capitalizing on a free throw. Three Roos put up shots in the final ten seconds but none of them fell.

KEY MOMENTS

1Q — 8:05 / 4-1| The Roos held the miners scoreless for the first two minutes of the game. Simmons put Kansas City on the board with a jumper and Tamia Ugass continued the Roos scoring drive with a layup. UTEP was able to earn their first point of the game off a free throw.
1Q — 4:43 / 11-6| After making it to the scoreboard first the Roos stayed hot, going on a five-point streak. The Roos lost momentum in the final minutes of the first quarter allowing the Miners to go into the breakup 17-13.
2Q — 8:32 / 18-17 | Kansas City came out of the break ready to get to work. Zanna Cordis knocked down a jumper to open the second quarter and Simmons drained Kansas City's first three of the evening.
2Q — 2:49 / 29-25 | Jocelyn Ewell put up a shot clock-beating layup to extend the Kansas City lead to four. UTEP then responded with a basket on their next drive. Lisa Thomas nailed a jumper bringing the Roos to 16 points in the quarter.
3Q — 7:47 / 39 – 29 | Kansas City inbounded the ball to Simmons, she made a drive to the net, before flicking the ball back to Phillips who drove the ball all the way to the basket.
3Q — 2:33 / 42-46 | The Roos went scoreless for five minutes while the Miners went on a scoring run. UTEP earned a three-pointer to bring their lead to four with just over two minutes remaining in the quarter.
3Q — 1:08 / 44-48 | Simmons broke Kansas City's scoring drought, going in for a layup. Her basket brought the Roos to just ten points in the third quarter.
4Q —6:55 / 52-53 | Kansas City came out fighting in the fourth with Simmons knocking down a three early. On the next scoring drive for KC, Alayna Contreras knocked down another three for the Roos, bringing them within one of the miners. The Miners went over two minutes without a bucket.
4Q — 0:21 / 60- 62 | The Roos obtained possession with just 21 seconds remaining in the game. They put up a handful of shots, none of which fell.

STATS TO NOTE

Simmons, Dominique Phillips and Contreras all shot in the double-digits tonight. This is the second game in a row where three Roos had double-digit performances and second-straight double-digit performance for Phillips and Contreras.
It was a career-high night for Simmons who earned a career-high in three different categories. Simmons played for a career-high 37 minutes, earned 15 points and eight blocks. She also drained the first two threes of her career at the Division One level.
Along with earning a career-high four blocks, Nwachukwu went five-for-six shooting. She went one for two on field goals, one for one on threes, and three for four on free throws.
The two-point loss, was the smallest loss margin for the Roos since their Feb. 25 loss against South Dakota State 74-73 last season.

UP NEXT
The Roos return to Kansas City for a two-game stretch. They take on Utah State (0-2) Tuesday at 7 pm before facing Kansas (1-0) on Saturday at Municipal Auditorium.