Spring Break
Running toward the locker room clapping, UMKC freshman guard Reggie Hamilton and his Kangaroo teammates had the look of all business. There were 20 minutes down and in the 20 minutes that followed, the squad played Southern Utah to a 63-60 final score, their first Summit League victory of the season.
The Kansas City Star had an article last week which stated the "the honeymoon was over" for UMKC head basketball coach Matt Brown after a disappointing 5-12 start to the season. There are some who would beg to differ with this assessment. UMKC Athletics Director Tim Hall, for one, isn't concerned about his program's slow start out of the gate this year.
For 20 minutes on Tuesday night inside Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo., the UMKC Kangaroos (5-12, 0-4 in Summit league) held the Missouri (MU) Tigers (10-5) at bay. UMKC senior guard Dane Brumagin threw up a high-arching three-point shot at the buzzer to send the squads to the locker rooms tied, 35-35.
Playing with unusual intensity, the UMKC Kangaroos jumped out to an early 21-5 lead and never looked back. The return of senior guard Heather Wimberley and sophomore guard Chazny Morris seemed to coincide with a strong team performance as the basketball squad captured its first Summit League contest 80-48 over Southern Utah University Saturday afternoon in Municipal Auditorium.
The UMKC Kangaroos fell for the second time in three days on their home turf to the IUPUI Jaguars on Monday evening inside Swinney Recreation Center. The squad could not hold a nine point lead over the Jags as they watched IUPUI pass them by and win 56-51.
UMKC senior guard Sierra Radke seems as determined to pursue perfection on the court as she does off the court. She is a self-proclaimed perfectionist, something that becomes especially evident when it comes to her apartment. "My apartment is always spic-n-span," Radke said.
The Kangaroos didn't strike gold on Friday in Columbia, Mo., but they did make their presence felt at the 22nd Annual Missouri Invitational indoor track and field meet. Highlighted by junior speedster Anthony Boyer's second-place result in the men's 60-meter hurdles and senior high jumper Courtney Huber's third-place leap in the women's high jump, both squads left Hearnes Fieldhouse with a combined 22 top-ten finishes, including eight student athletes figuring in the top five.
