Monday, November 6
Kansas City, Mo.
11:00 AM
Kansas City
vs
Bradley
Photo by: Julia Kapros
Women’s Basketball Home Opener Tomorrow
11/5/2023 10:43:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Roos take on Bradley before heading to UTEP on Saturday
Starting Five
- Kansas City opens the second year of the Dionnah Jackson-Durrett era with a home game against Bradley on Monday. Last season, the Roos defeated Westminster in the season opener, 91-49.
- The Roos are a new-look squad, boasting 11 new student-athletes alongside three returners. Among the newcomers are three freshmen and eight transfers, including four transfers from other Division One programs.
- In KC's exhibition matchup against Ottawa on Oct. 28, four different Roos scored in double-digits, led by Lisa Thomas and Alayna Contreras with 13 points each.
- In addition to the new players in jerseys, KC also has some new help on the sidelines. Associate Head Coach Velaida Harris comes to Kansas City after spending the past five seasons as head coach at Weber State. Assistant Coach Alexis Lawrence was the 2019 WBCA NAIA Assistant Coach of the Year and most recently was at Northern Illinois.
- The Roos will play 15 non-conference matchups this season, including eight at home, four on the road and three at neutral sites.
Bradley Notes
- Bradley enters the second year under Kate Popovec-Goss looking to improve upon last year's 4-28 record.
- The Roos and Braves met last season on Nov. 29 with KC coming away with an overtime victory. Tamia Ugass scored 12 points, her first-ever double-digit game.
- The first time these two teams played in KC was on Nov. 24, 2000, with Bradley winning, 59-55.
- The Braves were selected for a 12th-place finish in the Missouri Valley Preseason Polls.
UTEP Notes
- Keitha Adams makes her return to UTEP after previously spending 16 years with the Miners from 2001-17.
- KC played UTEP at home on Nov. 13 of last year, falling, 68-59. Kansas City blocked 13 shots in that game.
- Before last year, the teams had not met since the 1995-96 season. KC is 1-0 in El Paso.
- The Miners were picked fifth in the Conference USA Preseason Poll.
Winning Pedigree
- Head Coach Dionnah Jackson-Durrett is no stranger to success, coming to KC in 2022-23 with five-straight trips to the Elite Eight under her belt.
- In 2021-22, as an Associate Head Coach at Texas, the Longhorns won the Big XII Championship and earned an Elite Eight bid in the Spokane Region.
- In 2020-21, the Longhorns upset #3 UCLA and #2 Maryland en route to an Elite Eight bid.
- Throughout her final three seasons at Mississippi State, the Bulldogs made back-to-back National Championship appearances in 2016-17 and 2017-18, and an Elite Eight showing in 2018-19.
- Jackson-Durrett also had success as a player, making four NCAA Tournament appearances during her Oklahoma career and making an NCAA runner-up finish as a freshman.
Hometown Heroes
- Of the 14 players on the Kansas City roster, seven are from the states of Kansas or Missouri.
- Of those seven, three are from the Kansas City metro area. Emani and Elauni Bennett are from Lee's Summit, Mo. and attended Lee's Summit North HS. Lisa Thomas hails from Kansas City, attending Center HS.
- Coach Jackson-Durrett put an emphasis on recruiting in the local areas, as six of the seven players from Kansas and Missouri are newcomers in the 2023-24 season.
- Three players are also from the St. Louis area, which is Jackson-Durrett's home town. Raychel Jones and Nariyah Simmons both attended Vashon HS, while Zaire Harrell went to Mary Institute and Saint Louis County Day School
Fresh Faces
- Entering the 2023-24 season, 11 of the 14 players on roster will be making their first-ever appearances in the Kansas City Roo blue and gold.
- Three of the newcomers are freshmen: Elauni and Emani Bennett and Raychel Jones.
- Kansas City brings in eight transfer students. Four of those transfers are coming from the community college ranks: Alayna Contreras, Nariyah Simmons, Dayshawna Carter and Lisa Thomas.
- The other four transfers are coming from other Division One schools: Dominique Phillips comes from Grand Canyon, Kelby Bannerman comes from Davidson, Ifunanya Nwachukwu comes from Missouri State and Zanaa Cordis comes from New Orleans.
March Madness
- After a disappointing regular season, Kansas City made noise in last year's Summit League Tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D.
- Entering the tournament as the bottom seed, the Roos defeated seventh-seeded Denver in the first round, 66-65, on a buzzer-beating three-point shot by Sanaa' St. Andre.
- Kansas City then moved on to the quarter final round, taking on second-seeded North Dakota State. The Roos led wire-to-wire to take down the Bison, 71-64.
- The Roos became the first 10th seeded team in Summit League history to qualify for the semifinal round, falling to Omaha in the semis.
- Manna Mensah earned All-Tournament team honors, averaging 27.3 points per game in the Roos' three-game run.
Block Party!
- Last year's team was one of the best in the nation at protecting the paint, averaging a league-leading 4.5 blocks per game, which ranked 29th in Division One.
- In KC's Nov. 13, 2022 game againt UTEP, the Roos blocked 13 shots, setting a program record.
- The previous record came on Jan. 26, 2008 against Centennial, as the Roos blocked 12 shots.
- It was Kansas City's first time blocking 10-plus shots since Nov. 29, 2018.
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