Utah Valley cut a 19 point deficit down to one with under a minute to play, but Aries Washington and Samantha Waldron combined to go 7-of-8 from the free throw in the final minute of play as the UMKC women’s basketball team knocked off the Wolverines 61-58 on Saturday afternoon at the Swinney Recreation Center in a game in which it never trailed.
“I’m really proud that our team finished off this win down the stretch,” Head Coach Marsha Frese said. “With so much youth and inexperience they have had a difficult time getting over the hump at the end of games. Credit to our players on how composed they were at the end today and at the free throw line. ”
With the win, UMKC ups its record to 4-17 overall and 2-4 in the WAC, while Utah Valley falls to 7-14 on the season and 1-5 in the conference.
As a team, UMKC connected on 22 of its 24 free throw attempts, led by Washington who knocked down all 10 of her attempts en route to a career-high 22 points, to go along with seven rebounds, three assists and a steal.
“At the line I’m thinking about my teammates,” Washington said. “I’m thinking about God and knowing that he will carry me through it.”
Grace Mitchell, meanwhile, narrowly missed her second straight double-double after finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds, while Waldron was the final ‘Roos in double figure, as the freshman notched 10 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The ‘Roos jumped all over the Wolverines in the early going, doubling them up at 16-8 at 12:46 with Mitchell and Washington combining for 12 points during the opening stretch.
UMKC extended the lead to 10 midway through the half when Mitchell buried a jumper and closed the half out on a 10-4 run, giving them a first half-high lead of 14 at 32-18 heading into halftime.
The ‘Roos continued to hit on all cylinders to start the second half when they built a game-high 19 point lead less than five minutes in after Waldron nailed a three.
The lead would remain in double figures until 4:09 when UVU cut it to eight at 50-42, but a Calli White jumper pushed the lead back to 10 with 2:49 to play.
The Wolverines, however, continued to chip away, scoring the game’s next eight points to pull to within two with just 57 second on the clock.
The ‘Roos would answer with a pair of Aries Washington free throws, but twice the Wolverines closed the gap to just one including with 18 second left to play.
Washington continued her clutch play on the ensuing UMKC possession, hitting two more free throws to push the lead to three.
On the final possession of the game, with one final chance to tie for Utah Valley, the ‘Roos stepped up the defensive pressure, forcing a tough baseline three that missed of the back of the rim with Mitchell collecting the rebound to secure the win for the ‘Roos.
On the glass, the Kangaroos dominated UVU, outrebounding the Wolverines 34 to 21, while finishing with 13 assists on its 19 field goals.
“Execution and taking care of the ball are big things for us,” Frese added. “We’ve done a really good job on the boards the last several games, it’s a strength of ours. The more we can take care of the ball and value possessions, the more success we can have.”
The Blue & Gold will be back in action again on Thursday when they continue WAC play in Edinburg, Texas, against Texas-Pan American at 7 p.m.
“The win today is just a small step for us,” Washington said. “It’s one of many bricks for us that we plan on making a big castle with. We have to take each day to get better and progress as a team.”