UMKC in control from opening tipoff

By: Nick Wells

Posted: 3/3/08

The Kangaroos won on the road in convincing fashion 80-72 against the Centenary College (CC) Ladies. UMKC led the entire game Monday night at the Gold Dome in Shreveport, La., and have taken nine of 10 games all-time between the schools.

The victory snapped a seven-game losing streak and marked only the second win for the Roos this season.

Senior center Alysa Klein led the charge, posting her second double-double on the year, with 18 points, 15 boards and four blocked shots. She continued her climb up the Kangaroo record books as she surpassed former Roo Stephanie Worthy for second all-time in rebounds.

Senior guard Brittny Picconi jump-started the Roo attack by hitting a three-pointer just over a minute into play. UMKC was stingy on defense, allowing only four Centenary points through the first seven minutes of the contest. But the Ladies countered with an 18-7 run of their own.

Led by seven points from senior forward Marta Waalen, the score was knotted up going into intermission.

UMKC sophomore guard Chazny Morris, an Oakland, Calif. native, opened up the scoring a minute and a half into the second period with a jumper. Klein extended the Kangaroo lead to eight with 14:04 remaining.

Centenary leading scorer Anne Farrell and her teammate Ashley Jackson kept the Ladies within two points down the stretch. But Morris, Klein and senior guard Sierra Radke provided the knockout punch UMKC has been lacking, to pull out the conference win.

For CC, Farrell and Jackson finished with 20 points each and guard Karolina Zaloga pitched in 16 in the losing effort. The Ladies shot the rock through the hoop just 31 percent in the second half, connecting on only 3-16 from three-point range.

Centenary shot exceptionally well from the charity stripe, knocking down 20 of 21 shots.

The Kangaroos man-handled CC inside, snagging 18 more rebounds than their opponents. UMKC also had solid production off the bench, with Waalen scoing 13 in only 22 minutes of action.

Morris led all Kangaroo scorers with 18 points and dished out six assists while Radke pumped in 13 points to go along with five assists herself. UMKC now stands 4-1 when scoring 80 or more with its lone loss coming at the hands of the North Dakota State University Bison.

nwells@unews.com