Senior forward Stephanie Brown lays up a shot against Southern Utah University.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Women cruise past Southern Utah U.

By: David Cordill

Posted: 1/8/07

The UMKC women's basketball team opened up Mid-Continent Conference play with a decisive 64-48 victory over Southern Utah on Saturday afternoon at Municipal Auditorium.

Freshman guard Chazny Morris led the Kangaroos with 13 points in a game that UMKC controlled from the opening tip. Senior center Stephanie Brown netted 12 points on the afternoon for the Roos, while junior center Alysa Klein contributed 10 in the home-court effort.

The 4-11 Kangaroos, playing in their first game since a Dec. 31 loss at Texas Christian University, led by as many as 24 points before halftime and 19 in the second half. The win gave UMKC Interim Head Coach Candace White her second victory.

"It was a lot of fun," White said. "We were getting a lot of people into the game. We practiced for a week ... we were ready to get out on the floor and show how we knew we could play."

UMKC shot 51.7 percent from the floor in the first half. Junior guard Brittny Picconi connected on her first three trey attempts, and Klein went five for seven during the first 20 minutes. The Kangaroos were up 35-18 at the intermission.

Southern Utah closed the gap quickly in the early stages of the second half with an 8-0 run. Field goals from SUU sophomore forward Emily Mothershed and sophomore guard Heather Hillock, along with consecutive baskets from sophomore forward Anne Westwood, brought the Thunderbirds within nine points at the 17:00 mark.

Coach White called a timeout for the Roos before things got out of hand.

"[Southern Utah] came out ready to play in the second half," White said on the Thunderbird's quick second-half start. "We didn't quite meet their intensity. They were getting open looks."

The Kangaroos responded by scoring 10 unanswered points of their own, including back-to-back three pointers from Morris and sophomore guard Tobey Beer to start the run.

The Thunderbirds answered right back with a pair of treys from Hillock and freshman forward Aubrey Mackintosh, bringing Southern Utah to within 10 at the 13:03 mark.

The firestorm of three pointers continued and UMKC increased its lead to 16 as sophomore guard Heather Wimberly and Morris connected from behind the arc, putting them ahead 51-35 with 11:57 remaining in the game.

The Kangaroos kept the Thunderbirds at bay for the remainder of the game with points off the bench from junior guard Sierra Radke, junior forward Marta Waalen, and junior guard Lindsay Fields. Brown, with nine rebounds to her credit, just missed a double double.

"I thought we came out and played hard," said Brown. "I was surprised, they usually double team me. We were able to get all of our shots."

Defensive play on the Roos end was exemplified by a blocked shot effort from senior guard Jowan Ortega late in the game. The rejection brought the UMKC bench and several in the crowd to their feet.

"I went for the steal, "Ortega said. "I probably should have held back, but it put me in a position to make the block. I'll take any credit I can get for blocked shots."

Next up for the Kangaroos are a Monday home match up with Chicago State at Swinney Recreation Center and an important conference game versus Oral Roberts University this Saturday at Municipal Auditorium. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m. for both contests.

dcordill@unews.com