Kansas City
7-15,4-5Summit League
Omaha
2-22,0-9Summit League
Emani Bennett Delivers Game-Winner; Roos Complete Season Sweep of Mavs
1/31/2026 3:46:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Down one with eight seconds left, Emani Bennett scored the games-winning layup to put the Roos up 60-59 and down Omaha for the second time this season
OMAHA, Neb. – It's every hooper's dream. Down a point with under 10 seconds to go and the ball in your hands. That's the situation Kansas City Women's Basketball (7-15, 4-5) found themselves in against Omaha (2-22, 0-9) on Saturday afternoon. Following a go-ahead three pointer from the Mavericks, KC was down 59-58 with eight seconds remaining on the clock.
Out of the timeout, the Roos put the ball in the hands of their go-to scorer Emani Bennett. The Lee's Summit, Mo. native caught the ball at the top of the key, drove through the right side of the lane and laid the ball up softly off the glass and in to put Kansas City in front 60-59. Omaha's half court heave fell short and the Roos pulled off a remarkable one-point victory and completed the season sweep of Omaha.
Kansas City's rewarding win was a testament to answering the bell in high-pressure situations as the Roos were up by as many as 18 points at halftime but allowed Omaha to climb back into the contest in the second half. The Mavs put together a 19-5 run out of the break to get within four, but Tierra Trotter had a big-time response, connecting on a left wing three pointer to pad Kansas City's lead up to 47-40 at the 2:37 mark of the third quarter.
Trotter had multiple key moments in the fourth quarter too as the graduate guard got fouled and had to go to the free throw line in a tie game on two separate scenarios. Trotter calmly went 4-4 from the foul line, giving the Roos a two-point lead both times at critical late-stage junctures. Trotter totaled a team-high 19 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals while shooting 50% from the floor (5-10), 75% from three (3-4) and 100% from the free throw line (6-6).
Elsewhere on the floor, Bennett finished with 17 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals while shooting 44% from the field and hitting the stunning game-winner. Jamyah Winter put down nine points, bagging a trifecta of three pointers to provide an outside spark for the Roos. Kelby Bannerman did the dirty work inside, scoring eight points and hauling in a team-high nine rebounds.
Kansas City out-shot Omaha 39-37% overall and 47-27% from downtown while making 11 more free throws than the Mavs at 15-21 from the charity stripe. Kansas City won despite committing 16 turnovers and being out-rebounded by four, 37-33. The Roos had 27 bench points and scored 19 points off 16 forced Maverick turnovers. Remarkably, until Bennett's late bucket, the Roos hadn't made a field goal in the fourth quarter, relying on their proficiency from the free throw line to sustain them until the end.
Kansas City flips the page to North Dakota State as the Roos host the Bison at 7 p.m. on Thursday night at the Swinney Center.
