Spring Break
In what proved to be a tale of two halves - and then some - the UMKC women came from behind to defeat the Jaguars of Indiana University Purdue University-Indianapolis (IUPUI) 66-63 in an overtime thriller at Kemper Arena Saturday evening. "This is one of the best [wins] for us so far," said UMKC Interim Head Coach Candace White, "because I am so proud of [the team] coming from being down, not playing very well, and struggling offensively, to keep battling and then go into overtime and finally come out with a win.
Oral Roberts University (ORU) made it a conference sweep over the women of UMKC with a 62-53 besting of the Kangaroos last Monday night at the Mabee Center in Tulsa, Okla. The Golden Eagles, who thumped the Roos 66-45 at Municipal Auditorium in January, were aided in their effort by double-doubles from freshman forward Janae Voelker and senior forward Elisha Turek.
UMKC senior guard Quinton Day, and senior forwards Blake Crawford, Kyle Spears and Dee Ayuba, celebrated their last home game together with a scathing 85-72 defeat of Indiana University Purdue University- Indianapolis (IUPUI) Saturday night at Kemper Arena.
Playing bonus period basketball for the third straight home game, the University of Missouri-Kansas City took out the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies 80-76. Oakland, currently sitting in second place in Mid-Continent Conference play, lost for just the third time.
The 2006 St. Louis Cardinals World Series Trophy Tour truck rolled onto the UMKC campus Tuesday afternoon. Unfortunately for Card fans on campus, the vehicle was lost and was actually headed for the Rockhurst University campus. "They told me they got lost over there," said Rockhurst director of public relations and marketing, Katherine Frohoff.
The UMKC Kangaroos continued their indoor track-and-field season last Thursday at the Kansas State University (KSU) Open in Manhattan, Kan., with impressive showings in a host of events. Junior sprinter Stephanie Williams was fleet of foot in the Ahearn Field House on the KSU campus, placing third in the women's 400-meter dash at 58.
The University of Missouri-Columbia snatched both ends of a doubleheader from the UMKC Kangaroos in women's softball action Wednesday afternoon. The Tigers rolled over the Roos 12-1 and 11-0 at the Dan Devine Pavilion on Mizzou's campus. "This was a good series for [UMKC] to get our nerves out," said UMKC softball head coach Meredith Smith.
Projections UMKC softball Head Coach Meredith Smith kicks off her inaugural season as top Kangaroo with many more questions than answers. But don't think the fiery Tennessee native isn't up for the challenge. "The key this season for this team is that all 16 of us believe in each other," said Smith.
