KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Jan 12 - UMKC's Alysa Klein shot a perfect 10-10
from the floor, becoming the second player in the Summit League to not
miss a shot this year, as Southern Utah fell to the Kangaroos 80-48 on Saturday
night. The loss drops the Thunderbirds to 3-13 on the year and 1-4 in
conference play. UMKC improves to 8-8 and 1-4 in the Summit League.
Southern Utah got out to a sluggish start in the first half as UMKC built its first double-digit lead of 16-5 with 11:53 showing on the clock. The deficit grew to as much as 22 (33-11) late in the half as Kangaroo shooters stayed hot. The teams traded baskets over the final four minutes of the half as UMKC retained the 22-point advantage going into the break (40-18).
UMKC's lead in first half was predicated on strong shooting from the floor (58.6 percent) and 14 points on 13 Thunderbird turnovers. Klein and sophomore Chazny Morris led the charge for the Kangaroos, shooting 5-of-5 and 4-of-4 from the floor, respectively.
In the second half, Southern Utah continued to find it difficult to cut into the lead, but improved its shooting from the floor from 25 percent during the first 20 minutes to 34.5 percent over the final 20 minutes. The Thunderbirds also neared doubling their first half point total with 30 points down the stretch.
In the end, UMKC held the strangle hold on the lead with the 80-48 victory.
Junior Anne Westwood led all SUU scorers with 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds. The Cedar City native also filled out the box with a career-high three steals and three blocks. Freshmen Kaila Goff and Jamie Sagers followed Westwood with eight points each as Sagers also recorded a pair of blocks.
UMKC's Klein led all scorers with 20 points on 10-of-10 shooting, followed by Morris' 16 points and Kalei Nance's 11.
Southern Utah will continue conference play on the road next weekend when the Thunderbirds travel to Summit League newcomers South Dakota State and North Dakota State Jan. 19 and Jan. 21. Tip-off in Brookings, S.D. is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. with the men following and the tip-off in Fargo, N.D. scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
