2008 Woodie Awards
Kangaroos lose four, win three
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Susan Fry
Issue date: 1/9/06 Section: Sports
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UMKC dropped a 73-51 contest to the University of Kansas on Dec. 7, 2005 at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan.
Alysa Klein, sophomore, scored the first two points of the game for UMKC. KU answered right back to tie up the game for the first of four occasions. The first eight minutes were close until the 11:41 mark, when the Jayhawks scored seven unanswered points to go up 15-8. UMKC fought back to within one point, 16-17, on sophomore Marissa Rivers' first career field goal.
KU had 17-point advantage, 40-23, at the end of the first half.
A three pointer gave the Jayhawks a 20-point lead on there first possession. The Kangaroos came within 16 points twice but KU built a game-high 27 point lead with 5:23 remaining.
KU won the game by 22 points.
Stephanie Brown, junior, scored 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting. Three of her 10 rebounds were offensive. Liz Obrecht, senior, finished with eight points and seven rebounds, four of which were offensive. Leigh Mead, junior, and Alysa Klein, sophomore, scored eight points apiece.
The Kangaroos fell to Kansas State University on Dec. 12, 2005 at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan. UMKC trailed by only two points at halftime, but the Wildcats outscored the Roos by 36 points. With five seconds left in the game Jowan Ortega, junior, sank a three to bring the final score to 75-42.
Klein led the team in scoring with 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Brown finished with 12 points and six rebounds.
Roos return home for disappointment
UMKC lost to Wichita State on Dec. 17, 2005 at Municipal Auditorium. A steal and a three pointer gave the Shockers an early lead they would keep through the first half. The Kangaroos came within two points on several occasions, but going into the locker rooms WSU had the lead, 27-23.
UMKC tied the game twice in the first seven minutes, but the Shockers took a ten-point lead with only five minutes to go and won the game, 74-62.
Brittny Picconi, sophomore, made her UMKC debut by scoring a game-high 29 points. Ortega was the only other Kangaroo in double figures; she finished with 13 points and five rebounds.
Roos hit the road; lose two
UMKC lost their final non-conference game Dec. 20, 2005 to the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) at the Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion in Greeley, Colo.
The score remained close during the first eight minutes of play, but the Bears then scored 13 unanswered points. UNC continued to build their lead, and the first half ended 43-27.
The Kangaroos could not narrow the gap any closer than 12 points and lost the game, 69-86.
Despite the loss, four UMKC players scored in double figures. Picconi surpassed the 20 point mark for her second consecutive game, finishing with 24 points on 7-of-20 shooting. She made the Kangaroos' only free throw attempts for the night as she went 5-of-6.
Ortega added 13, while Mead and Sammi Knapic, senior, each chipped in 11 points.
The Kangaroos dropped their Dec. 30 Mid-Con opener, 65-31, to Valparaiso University at the Athletics-Recreation Center in Valparaiso, Ind.
The Crusaders opened the game with a 6-0 run in the first four and a half minutes. UMKC then scored six of the next eight points to make the score to 7-8, but Valparaiso then took control of the game. The Crusaders ended the first half with a 20-point lead, and the halftime break did not stop them. The Roos made just seven second-half field goals as they fell by the 34-point margin.
Picconi led the team with eight points and four assists, while Brown contributed seven. Brown and Klein led the team on the board with seven rebounds apiece. The Kangaroos finished the night with just 11 field goals in 54 attempts and 2-of-15 three point attempts. UMKC had more success under the basket with 41 rebounds to Valpo's 38.
Roos start new streak, winning three
The team ended their six-game losing streak with a win against Southern Utah University (SUU) Jan. 2 at the Centrum in Cedar City, Utah.
A jumper by Knapic put the Roos on the scoreboard, but the Thunderbirds jumped out to the early 10-6 lead in the first three minutes. UMKC fought back to a three-point advantage with 10 minutes remaining in the half on a lay-up by Brown.
SUU chipped away at UMKC's lead to tie the game up at 16. The score went back and forth, tying twice before UMKC gained a nine-point lead, 29-20, on a three pointer by Picconi.
The Thunderbirds narrowed the gap to three before entering the locker room with the score at 26-29.
SUU made the first bucket of the second half, coming to within a point, but that was as close as they would come for the rest of the game.
The Kangaroos scored eight straight points to build the lead to nine, 37-28, at the 17:03. The Thunderbirds climbed back to within two with 14:42 remaining, but UMKC scored 16 unanswered points over an eight-minute span to take a powerful 17-point lead.
With 3:48 remaining, SUU cut the margin to seven, but UMKC made eight free throws to secure its first road win of the season, 63-53.
Picconi scored 19 points on 8-of-25 shooting, while Brown tied her career-high with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Brown also had 11 rebounds and two blocks.
Ortega was the third Kangaroo in double figures with 11 points. She finished with six rebounds and four assists.
The Kangaroos beat Chicago State University (CSU) Jan. 4 for their second on-the-road win. UMKC topped CSU by seven points at the Dickens Center in Chicago, Ill. The Roos limited the Cougars to just 10 points in the first half en route to the 56-49 victory.
UMKC started strong and jumped out to a 16-2 lead in the first six minutes. The Cougars cut their deficit to 10 points with 7:43 remaining in the half. But the Kangaroos then extended their lead to 16 points twice on a jumper by Klien and a layup by Brown. UMKC ended the half in the lead, 26-10.
CSU scored the first seven points of the second period to cut the lead to single digits, 26-17. Then back-to-back layups by Obrecht and Picconi put the Kangaroos up by 13. The Cougars cut the lead to seven with 13:48 remaining, but four straight points by Picconi put UMKC up by 11.
Both teams then continued to put up points as the Kangaroos' lead stayed between 7-9 points for a majority of the half. With 2:07 remaining, SCU got within five points, 48-43, but UMKC slammed 6-of-7 free throws to come away with the 56-49 victory.
Three UMKC players scored in double figures. Brown recorded her second straight and fifth double-double of the season with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting and 11 rebounds. Picconi contributed 13, four assists and rebounds. Ortega chipped in 10 points, five assists and three steals.
The Roos finished with a .458 (22-48), while the Cougars shot .367 (22-60) from the floor. The Kangaroos also held the advantage on the boards, 40-30.
"The biggest thing about us right now is that we are getting better. We are kind of hitting a stride now where we get to play some home games, and we're off the road from travel so much," said UMKC women's basketball coach Bo Overton. "We're excited about playing some home games in front of our friendly fans."
UMKC won their third straight game on Saturday at Municipal Auditorium over Centenary, 84-66. The Kangaroos are now 3-1 in the Mid-Continent Conference and 5-10 overall.
UMKC started strong and scored the first four points, but two three pointers put the Ladies ahead. Two made foul shots by Knapic tied the game up at six, but a three pointer and a jump shot have Centenary a five-point advantage.
With 11:51 remaining, the Kangaroos then went on a 9-0 run in a three-minute span. Mead made back-to-back three pointers to put the score at 26-22.
UMKC led for the remainder of the half and built their lead to seven with 3:06 remaining, but the Ladies fought back to cut the score to 40-36.
With four seconds on the clock, Knapic connected with a three-pointer at the buzzer, sending the game into halftime with the Kangaroos ahead 43-36.
The Kangaroos started the second half with an 8-3 run and built their lead to 13 points at 49-36. Over the next seven minutes UMKC stretched its advantage to 18 points with 10:16 remaining. Centenary would not give up; the team responded with a 14-2 run over the next three minutes to cut their deficit to eight. The Kangaroos answered back, finishing the game with a 20-10 run.
Four UMKC players scored in double figures. Brown led the team with a career-high of 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds. This is Brown's third straight and sixth season double-double.
Picconi scored 18 points on 5-of-18 shooting and seven rebounds, while Mead had 14 points. Knapic also had a strong night with 10 points, seven assists and four steals. Klein scored nine points and had seven rebounds.
For the game, UMKC shot .406 (28-69), while Centenary finished with a .338 (24-71) on the floor. The Kangaroos also had the advantage on the glass, 50-44.
Coach Overton summed up the team's season so far.
"In our program we haven't had a rough start; we have played some very good teams on the road and we have gotten better and better with every game to get to this point we are at right now," said Overton. "So we're excited about where we are and we are looking forward to the games that are coming up."
UMKC returns to action this Saturday at Municipal Auditorium. The Roos play Indiana University Purdue University-Indianapolis at 4 p.m.
sfry@unews.com
