For the fourth time in school history and the first time since Dec. 21, 2002 UMKC women’s basketball upset Kansas after taking down the Jayhawks 47-44 on Thursday night at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan.
“I’m excited about the win,” Head Coach Marsha Frese said. “They all count as one win or one loss, though. We’ve got another one on Saturday and they all count the same in your record. I’m happy for the team to get some confidence going forward and to see that when you execute a game plan, really good things can happen.”
For the ‘Roos, it is their first win on the road over a power five conference school since knocking off Iowa State 55-53 in Ames on Jan. 12, 1992 and their first win in Lawrence since Jan. 10, 1989 when they won 45-44.
“Our team is pretty young and there’s always an element of being blissfully ignorant of the battle you have ahead,” Frese continued. “We talked a lot this week about games like this. You can’t look at it like a 40-minute game, you look at as five-minute battles. You look at it all week as five-minute battles and we really were focused and dialed into that tonight.”
With just under a minute to play in the contest, the ‘Roos held a two point edge over the Jayhawks, when Sierra Bone found Samantha Waldron open for three with the shot clock winding down to push the lead to five.
The Jayhawks cut the lead to three, but three free throws down the stretch by Waldron kept the ‘Roos in front.
Kansas would pull to within one on a three with 11 seconds remaining, but Waldron found Law underneath for a layup to seal the win for the Kangaroos.
“Honestly, I didn’t look up to the clock a whole lot,” Frese added. “We asked our kids to stay focused in the moment. As they went into runs, we just tried to manage every minute of the last quarter from fatigue all the way down to execution. Coach Brandon made a ton of great adjustments and every time he made an adjustment, we tried to make one as well. I was just really proud of the kids executing down the stretch.”
Law led the ‘Roos in her best game of the year, as the sophomore finished with team and season-high’s of 20 points and 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season and the sixth of her career.
“It was a big night for us tonight, we executed the game plan the way we wanted,” Law said. “Tonight something clicked with us as a team and we realized how great we can be when everyone plays their role.”
The two teams started the game off slow with UMKC holding a 2-0 lead over four minutes in. Kansas would tie the score at 2-2, but that would be the last points the Jayhawks would score in the opening stanza as UMKC closed the quarter on a 7-0 run with Paige Husa and Aries Washington closing the quarter with back-to-back baskets.
In the quarter, UMKC held KU to just 1-of-18 shooting, a 5.6 percent clip.
UMKC opened the second quarter by stretching its lead to a game-high eight after a free throw by Kristen Moore, but Kansas answered with 10 straight to take their first lead of the game.
Law ended the rally with a jumper and Bone found Moore to put the ‘Roos back ahead by two before five straight from KU put the Jayhawks ahead 17-14. Kelsey Barrett, though, ended the half with a free throw to cut the deficit to 17-15 at the break.
Coming out of halftime, Kansas looked to put the ‘Roos away when they built their largest lead of the game at the 3:51 mark at 28-23.
Kansas City, however, had other ideas as Kiana Law quickly cut the lead to two when she converted a three-point play off a Bone assist.
On the following possession, Bone found Law again to tie the contest, while two Moore free throws put UMKC back in front by two.
Law then closed out the quarter when Taylor Leathers found her down low, putting the Kangaroos on a 9-0 run and giving them a four point advantage to start the fourth.
In the final period, UMKC continued to lead until the 3:03 mark when the Jayhawks knotted the score at 36-36. Kiana Law would answer with a layup to give the ‘Roos a two point edge and setting up the final minute of action where the Kangaroos held off the Jayhawks for the upset.
Waldron added 13 points, four rebounds, a block and an assist for the ‘Roos, while Leathers grabbed seven of Kansas City’s 40 rebounds. Moore, meanwhile, chipped in seven points and three rebounds and Bone tallied a team-best four assists.
“Tonight was special,” Kansas native Leathers said. “Everyone went out there and did their job with intensity and heart. It was truly a team win.”
Defensively, UMKC held the Jayhawks to just 27.6 percent shooting in their best defensive performance of the season. It’s the second straight game the ‘Roos have held their opponent under 50 points after giving up just 46 to Stephens College on Saturday.
With the win, UMKC improves to 2-6 on the season, while Kansas falls to 4-4 overall.
“These games are all one step on the journey to get to postseason play,” Frese concluded. “More for us, it gave our young team confidence that when we dial in and get focused on a game plan, we have a lot we can accomplish. We’re still pretty young. We’ve only got the one senior and this type of win is not something they’ve experienced yet. I guarantee they’re going to like how it feels.”
The Blue & Gold will look to make it three straight victories when they return to Kansas City for a doubleheader with the men at Municipal Auditorium on Sat., Dec. 12 at 1 p.m. against Denver for #OperationSellout