Kansas City
7-16,4-6Summit League
North Dakota State
21-2,10-0Summit League
Kansas City Overpowered by North Dakota State
2/5/2026 9:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball
10 Roos found the scoring column Thursday night
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas City Women's Basketball (7-16, 4-6) competed hard against North Dakota State (21-2, 10-0) but fell 74-49 on Thursday night at the Swinney Center. The Roos found themselves down by just three after the first quarter,18-15, but allowed a 22-4 Bison run until halftime that dug KC in a 18 point hole that was too deep to climb out of. 10 Roos found their way onto the scoreboard with Zaire Harrell, Elauni Bennett and Emani Bennett all putting in nine points a pop.
Right from the gate the Roos and Bison found themselves in a physical affair as NDSU started on a 7-2 run two minutes into the game. Kansas City had a strong answer as Harrell and El. Bennett worked their way into the paint and produced a 6-0 run for KC to make it 8-7 at the 5:57 mark of the first quarter. Jamyah Winter helped calm another Bison surge, knocking down a three ball from the left wing proved to be the Roos final bucket of the first frame.
KC's last lead came at the 8:47 mark of the second quarter as Em. Bennett finagled her way into a nifty step-through jump shot that curled its way through the net, making it 20-19 Roos. From there, Kansas City struggled to put together an efficient offense while NDSU went on a 22-4 crusade and found themselves up 17 at the break.
Remarkably, Kansas City was able to hold NDSU's Avery Koenen scoreless in the first half, making it the first time she's been held to no points in a half all season. Koenen finished with seven points but grabbed 15 rebounds. Kansas City had no players crack double digits in scoring, making it the first time that's happened since 2021. NDSU led by as many as 26 points halfway through the third quarter with the final tally showing a 25 point loss for the Roos.
The Roos committed 13 turnovers which the Bison turned into 22 points. On the flip side, KC forced NDSU into 10 turnovers and scored 11 points off those miscues. Harrell had the most well-rounded game for Kansas City, scoring nine points off 50% (4-8) shooting from the floor, grabbing three rebounds and poking away three steals. KC was out-rebounded by 13 on the glass, 35-22 while getting doubled up in the offensive boards department, 8-4.
Kansas City has a quick turnaround before facing off with North Dakota in the Swinney Center at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
