Klein's effort wasted in loss to Thunderbirds

By: David Cordill

Posted: 2/12/07

Junior center Alysa Klein's fourth double-double of the season - which included 16 points, 17 rebounds and three blocked shots - proved to be not enough for the University of Missouri-Kansas City women's basketball team as they dropped their third straight game.

The Southern Utah University (SUU) Thunderbirds were victorious over the Roos 57-48 in Cedar City, Utah, on Feb. 5.

UMKC had soundly beaten Southern Utah 64-48 in a home game earlier this year. The loss marks the Kangaroos' fifth Mid-Continent Conference loss of the season.

Their conference record currently stands at 3-5. UMKC has won only two of their last seven games, and their overall mark has fallen to 7-16 in that span. Their road record fell to 3-9.

Stoked by a pair of treys from freshman guard Chazny Morris, UMKC jumped out to an early four-point lead. However, the Kangaroos were outscored 19-8 over the next seven minutes and found themselves behind 21-14 at the 9:06 mark of the first stanza.

Southern Utah increased its advantage to 13 with points from sophomore guard Heather Hillock, who hit a free throw; senior forward Charmaine Piula, on a lay-up; and freshman forward Aubrey Mackintosh, whose three-pointer put the T-Birds up 27-14.

Late in the first half, Klein had the hot hand for the Kangaroos. Scoring her first points of the game, Klein made three straight baskets in the final 2:41, including a lay-up as time expired. Southern Utah went to the locker room with a 29-22 lead.

UMKC went to work in a hurry after the intermission, going on a 13-5 run and re-taking the lead on junior guard Sierra Radke's successful attempts from the charity stripe. Senior forward Stephanie Brown got into the act, hitting a couple of jumpers. Morris scored on a free throw, Klein pumped in four more, and Radke put in a lay-up to put the Roos in front 35-34 with 10:38 left in the contest.

Unfortunately for UMKC, the lead was short lived. A T- Bird three-point shot from sophomore forward Cash Connors was answered by a Klein lay-up. Connors responded in kind with another trey, and Southern Utah was back on top 40-37.

The T-Birds extended their cushion to seven with 7:26 remaining after Mackintosh hit a pair a free throws. Morris cut the lead to four with her third bomb from behind the arc on the afternoon. Then UMKC sophomore guard Heather Wimberly went to the line for one and scored.

The Roos, down 44-41 with 5:24 left, failed to convert on scoring opportunities down the stretch. They missed their next six shots and turned the ball over three times before scoring again.

By then, it was too late. They found themselves down by nine with under a minute remaining.

Senior guard Jowan Ortega's trey with 28 ticks left made matters a little more interesting as the Roos were only behind by five, but Southern Utah's senior guard Silvia Da Silva knocked down four free throws in the last 16 seconds to seal the win for the T-Birds.

dcordill@unews.com