Roos Snag Overtime Thriller Over Pios

Wednesday, January 15

Kansas City, Mo.

7:00 PM

Kansas City

6-13,2-2Summit League

Denver

7-11,0-5Summit League

OT 1

Denver

Kansas City

Photo by: Ryan Weaver Photography

Roos Snag Overtime Thriller Over Pios

1/15/2025 10:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Highlights Coach Jackson-Durrett/ Em. Bennett/ Contreras Postgame Interview

Contreras lifts Roos over Pios in career-best 30-point performance

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Women's Basketball (6-13, 2-2) rode the hot hand of Alayna Contreras to its first home win of Summit League play this evening, defeating Denver (7-11, 0-5) in overtime, 73-66. The Roos came out hot, using a 12-1 run to start the game. Contreras led the Roos in the first quarter going 3-for-3 from the field and didn't look back, notching a new career-high of 31. Emani Bennett made some big shots down the stretch, scoring 13 of her 21 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. KC's comeback victory marks their first win this season after trailing at halftime and the fifth comeback win of the Jackson-Durrett era.

KEY MOMENTS | HIGHLIGHTS
1Q — 6:26 / 12-1 | Kelby Bannerman inbounded the ball to an open Contreras. Contreras fired off the step-back three from the top of the arc to put KC up by 11 and force a Denver timeout. On the previous drive, Em. Bennett knocked down her first three of the night to put KC on an 9-1 run.
2Q — 8:38 / 18-16 | Trailing by one, Lisa Thomas connected with Contreras at the top of the key. Contreras once again nailed the step-back three to end a near ten-minute scoring drought for the Roos.
2Q — 3:20 / 24-23 | As Denver's Angelina Robles drove to the basket, Ana Oliveira Dias got her hand on the ball, coming up with block. Denver regained possession, but just momentarily as Zaire Harrell nabbed her second steal of the night. Harrell then found Oliveira Dias, who drove the ball back for a layup and drew a foul on the way.
3Q — 1:34 / 35 – 38 | Em. Bennett went 1-of-2 at the charity stripe for KC. On Denver's inbound Oliveira Dias got a hand on the ball to give the Roos another scoring opportunity. Oliveria Dias found Tamia Ugass who knocked down the layup for her first points of the game and forced a Pioneers timeout.
4Q — 9:39 / 41-40 | Oliveira Dias snuck a bounce pass over to Ugass. She went up with the hook shot to give the Roos their first lead since the second quarter.
OT1 — 4:09 / 61-58 | On her fifth assist of the night, Oliveira Dias connected with Em. Bennett who took the open three, giving the Roos a lead by the same margin. KC didn't look back holding on to its advantage for the remainder of overtime.

STATS TO NOTE

The Roos held the Pios to just one three in the first half and 10% shooting from beyond the arc. Denver went 3-for-22 from beyond the arc for their lowest three-point performance of the season. Prior to tonight's game, the Pios were averaging 7.1 threes per game and ranked third in the Summit in the same category.
Contreras put up 31 points, marking the first back-to-back 20-plus point games of her career. Tonight was her fifth 20-point performance of the season and her twelfth consecutive double-digit performance. She is the first Roo to score 30-points since Nariyah Simmons scored 34 against Kansas on Nov. 18, 2023.
At the end of regulation, Kansas City matched its season-high in threes with six. The Roos knocked down six threes against Idaho State on Dec. 7, and again versus North Dakota on Jan. 4. Em. Bennett's three in OT pushed KC to seven for a new season high.
Tonight's win marks the Roos' first overtime victory since Nov. 29, 2022, when they defeated Bradley 71-68. It marks KC's first comeback win of the season and its first win with a lower field goal percentage.

POSTGAME INTERVIEW
Coach Jackson-Durrett / Em. Bennett / Contreras

UP NEXT
The Roos continue their home stretch hosting North Dakota State (11-5,3-0) on Saturday at 2 p.m.