Kansas City Picks Up First Road Win Over Weber State

Saturday, January 6

Ogden, UT

1:00 PM

Kansas City

9-8,0-2Summit League

Weber State

3-12,0-2Big Sky

Kansas City

Weber St.

Photo by: Francie Wilson

Kansas City Picks Up First Road Win Over Weber State

1/6/2024 5:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

A career-high 20 points from Alayna Contreras gave the Roos an edge over the Wildcats

OGDEN, Utah —Kansas City Women's Basketball (9-8, 0-2) and Weber State (3-12, 0-2) went head-to-head in a defensive matchup. The Roos came out on top, winning 61-51. Weber State saw its lone lead of the day five minutes into the first quarter but stayed within striking distance of the Roos until the final minutes of the matchup. Alayna Contreras and Dominique Phillips both scored in the double digits. Contreras dropped a career-high 20 points and Phillips went 4-of-4 from the field and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.

In the first half, Contreras and Emani Bennett made the difference offensively for the Roos. Contreras put up 10 points in the first half and Bennett put up five, together accounting for more than half of Kansas City's first-half points. The Roos' defense, was crucial in the matchup, holding the Wildcats to just one field goal in the first quarter and five in the first half. The Blue and Gold outrebounded Weber State 20-18 and shot 38.2% from the field compared to Weber State's 22.7%. Kansas City's defensive showing allowed them to go into halftime up 28-23.

Following the break, the Roos struggled to find their rhythm at the beginning of the second half with a near four-minute field goal drought. Phillips had an explosive third quarter, putting up 10 points for the Roos with four free throws and three good field goals. An all-around effort in the fourth quarter allowed Kansas City to begin to pull away from Weber State and lock down their second victory in the Big Sky-Summit Challenge.

KEY MOMENTS

1Q — 8:32 / 2-0 | The Roos won the jump ball to start the game off and carried it down the court. After firing off a few shots, making their own rebounds, and knocking the ball away from Weber State on the Roos' end of the court, Phillips knocked down a layup to put Kansas City on the board.
1Q — 5:13 / 4-3 | A handful of successful free throws allowed Weber State to momentarily take the lead. Contreras fired off a jumper just outside the paint for her first points of the game and in turn, gave the Roos a one-point advantage over the Wildcats.
2Q — 6:17 / 19-14 | Kelby Bannerman came down with her first defensive rebound of the day, quickly finding her teammate to allow the Roos a bit of a fast break. Nariyah Simmons fired off a long two outside the paint to notch the Roos' first basket of the period.
3Q — 8:30 / 30–25 | Contreras drove the ball from the top of the key into the paint making a quick stop to lose her defender. She turned inside and knocked down another jump shot for her twelfth point of the game.
3Q — 2:59 / 37-32 | From outside the arc, Phillips drove the ball into the paint, picking up two Weber State defenders on her way. She bumped into the forward, and with her back nearly facing the net banked the shot to bring Kansas City's lead back to five.
4Q — 8:01 / 47-40 | Bennett got a hand on the Wildcat's ball just outside of their three-point line. She maintained control and made a break for the basket, converting her steal into two points with a layup. On the next Weber State drive Simmons got a hand on the ball and ran it back for another layup.
4Q — 2:29 / 56-50 | The Wildcats had brought the game back within three points, but Simmons was ready to fire back. Bennett passed the ball to Simmons near the baseline who immediately fired off the shot, notching Kansas City's sole three of the game.

STATS TO NOTE

Contreras made her first starting lineup appearance along with documenting a couple of career highs. She earned a career-high 20 points, besting her previous 19 points which she earned against Bradley in the season opener on Nov. 6. She also played a career-high 37 minutes in the matchup.
After shooting 100% from three in their last matchup, the Roos put up their worst three-point performance of the season. Kansas City went 1-7 outside the arc for a 14.3% three-point field goal percentage. One three-pointer is the fewest threes the Roos have made in any matchup this year. Prior to this game, Kansas City averaged 3.4 three-pointers per game with a season-high of six.
This starting lineup marks the Roos' tenth of the season and sixth consecutive game with a change to the starting lineup. Simmons is the only Roo to have started in all 17 games this season, Bennett is second on the team for most starts with 12.
For the second game in a row, three Roos brought down five or more rebounds. Kansas City outrebounded Weber State 38-35. Tamia Ugass led the team in rebounds with eight followed by Ifunanya Nwachukwu and Phillips with six a piece.

UP NEXT
The Roos travel to Fargo, N.D. to face North Dakota State (7-7, 1-0). The Roos and the Bison play Thursday at 7 p.m. in their first meeting of the season.