Kansas City
11-17,7-6Summit League
St. Thomas
14-12,6-7Summit League
Offensive Explosion Rockets Roos Past Tommies
2/20/2025 4:13:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Trio of Zaire Harrell, Alayna Conteras and Emani Bennett combine for 63 of Kansas City’s 91 points
KANSAS CITY – The only place that wasn't freezing cold in KC on Thursday afternoon was the Swinney Center as Kansas City Women's Basketball 10-18 (6-7) caught fire and stayed hot in a 91-82 win over St. Thomas 15-11 (7-6). The Roos put on a scintillating showcase of offense, scoring 25-plus points in three of the four quarters. KC's 91 points marks the most the Roos have scored against a Summit League opponent this season. KC also shot the ball at a 60% or better clip in three of the four quarters against the Tommies.
The Roos saw a huge game from Zaire Harrell, who notched a career-high 22 points on 9-10 shooting from the field and grabbed nine rebounds to turn the tide in Kansas City's favor. KC's leading scorer had a big game, totaling 22 points and six assists on 8-16 from the floor. The Bennett twins excelled as Emani Bennett notched 19 points and five rebounds while Elauni Bennett provided 16 points, six rebounds and two steals.
KEY MOMENTS
- 1Q – 8:12 / 5-4 | Kansas City wasted no time getting hot offensively as Contreras cut through the Tommies defense following a missed shot and found Em. Bennett for the Roos first of four made three pointers in the first half.
- 1Q – 2:15 / 21-15 | Holding a four point lead, Em. Bennett drove to the basket and fed her twin sister El. Bennett who backed down her defender, spun over her left shoulder and flipped the layup off the glass and in to put the Roos lead up to six.
- 2Q – 2:00 / 37-41 | In the midst of a Tommies scoring run, Contreras took over the Roos offense, coming off a screen and knocking down an open three ball to keep Kansas City in the fight just before halftime.
- 3Q – 6:45 / 50-50 | Coming out of the halftime break, Harrell kept the pedal to the medal, scoring four straight baskets across the first four minutes of the second half. Harrell's last one saw her scoot across the floor, driving by multiple Tommie defenders and getting up to double figure scoring for the game.
- 3Q – 3:42 / 58-54 | Harrell took over in the third quarter, backing down her defender one on one and finishing through contact for another tough bucket in the paint for the junior guard out of St. Louis, Mo.
- 3Q – 2:04 / 62-54 | With the shot clock dwindling, Contreras had her jump shot on automatic, spinning to her left and hitting a ridiculous fadeaway jumper to put the Roos up eight in the midst of a 12-0 run by the Roos.
- 4Q – 8:22 / 72-58 | Coming off a missed shot and excellent defensive possession, the Roos pushed the pace in transition as Lisa Thomas played the two on two game beautifully, passing the rock to Em. Bennett for the and-one finish to put the Roos up by 14 points.
STATS TO NOTE
- Kansas City scored 91 points against the Tommies, the most the Roos have scored versus a conference foe this season. The Roos 91 points is also the most KC has scored against a Summit League opponent since January 23, 2021 where the Roos beat Oral Roberts 103-91.
- The Roos shot the leather off the basketball, going 35-63 from the floor against St. Thomas. KC shot 55.6% all together, the highest field goal percentage the Roos have notched against an opponent this season and the fifth time they've recorded a field goal rate of 50-plus percent this season.
- The Roos shared the ball beautifully, reaching the 17 assist mark on Thursday afternoon, the most in a game against a D-1 opponent this season.
- Harrell surpassed her previous career high and then some against the Tommies, scoring 22 points, giving her the first 20-plus point game of her career. Harrell did it on 9-10 shooting from the floor and hauled in nine rebounds.
- Contreras 22 point outing is the junior's 10th game of 20-plus points this season and the third time in the last six games the Minneapolis, Minn. native has reached the 50% shooting mark.
- Em. Bennett extended her double digit scoring streak to 16 games in a row with 10 points or more after scoring 19 points against St. Thomas.
- El. Bennett notched her seventh double figure scoring game this season with her 16 point performance on Thursday afternoon.
JACKSON-DURRETT/HARRELL/CONTRERAS | HIGHLIGHTS
UP NEXT
Kansas City stays at home this weekend as the Roos host South Dakota State on Saturday for their last home game of the regular season.
