Valpo rocks the house as Roos continue swoon

By: David Cordill

Posted: 2/26/07

The UMKC women tumbled to 5-8 in the Mid Continent Conference, and 9-19 overall, after receiving a 66-48 thrashing at the hands of the Crusaders of Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Ind., Saturday afternoon.

The Kangaroos were dogged by poor shooting from behind the three-point arc, where they went a blustery 0-17 on the afternoon. Junior center Alysa Klein led UMKC scorers with 12 points. Senior forward Stephanie Brown contributed 11 in the loss.

During the first half, which doomed any chance the Roos had, UMKC shot 26.9 percent from the floor, going seven for 26.

Valpo went up by 10 due to a lights-out jump shot by sophomore guard Agnieszka Kulaga at the 8:51 mark. The Crusaders built a 19-point advantage by the intermission, highlighted by a Kulaga desperation heave - a half-court buzzer-beater - giving Valpo a 34-15 edge running into the locker room.

Second-half action saw the Kangaroos' fortunes improve somewhat in field goal percentage, with 39.3 percent. Valpo, which averaged only 33.3 percent from the hardwood for the game, shot 30.4 percent.

Throughout the second stanza, the Crusaders outscored UMKC 33-32, with more than half of those tallies from solid shooting at the charity stripe, where they knocked down 18 of 19 for a 94.7 percentage.

Steamrolling back onto the court after the intermission, Brown turned it on early for UMKC, scoring 10 points in the first seven minutes of action on the backside of the game. But Valpo kept pace. Senior forward Betsy Rietema, who along with Kulaga netted 12 points for the Crusaders, put Valpo up 44-27 with 12:34 left.

A jumper from UMKC senior guard Leigh Mead, points from Klein, free throws from sophomore guards Heather Wimberly and Tobey Beer, and a lay-up from freshman guard Chazny Morris were all part of a five-minute-and-17-second 10-6 run that shrunk the Valpo lead to 13.

At that point, the Crusaders shut the door on the Kangaroos, preventing UMKC from trimming the lead any further in the last seven minutes.

Valpo's bench production was good for 19 points, while Kangaroo support garnered seven. UMKC bested the Crusaders with points in the paint, 28-16.

UMKC continues on the road with a game against the Westerwinds of Western Illinois University in Macomb, Ill., Feb. 26. Currently, the Kangaroo women are in a fifth-place tie with Southern Utah University in the Mid-Con Conference standings. Final season conference rankings will determine seeds in the Mid-Con Championship Tournament to be held in Tulsa, Okla., March 3-6 at the John Q. Hammonds Arena.

dcordill@unews.com