UMKC women lose in opening round of WAC Tournament

In the end, UMKC’s women’s basketball team simply did not have enough firepower. But, the Kangaroos did show some heart.

Despite giving up 12 of the game’s first 14 points, UMKC managed to forge a narrow halftime advantage before faltering down the stretch and losing 61-50 to Texas-Pan American in the opening round of the Western Athletic Conference women’s basketball tournament late Wednesday in Las Vegas.

Pan American will face Bakersfield in one semifinal game on Friday, while top-seed New Mexico State and Seattle will square off in the other semifinal matchup. The championship will be determined on Saturday with the winner earning the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.

“We aren’t happy with the final score, but I’m really proud of our team this year,” UMKC coach Marsha Frese said. “I think back to where this team started this season, in particular our freshman class. We are a whole different team.”

Aries Washington’s layup with 18:25 left in the game gave UMKC its biggest lead of the night at 31-26.

That was when Pan American standouts Brittany Bush and Tonisha Walker, both seniors, began to take matters into their own hands.

Bush’s jumper with 17:47 to play pulled the Broncs to within 31-28 and began a rally that would see Pan American score seven of the next eight points to overtake the upset-minded Roos.

A free throw by Kiana Law, UMKC’s lone point during that stretch, put the Roos back in front by four at 32-28. But Walker’s three-pointer and a layup by sophomore Shawnte’ Goff less than one minute later gave the Broncs the lead at 33-32 with 15:05 to play.

Callie White’s jumper put the Roos in front at 34-33 at 14:31 as UMKC found itself in front one last time in the contest. Bush’s jumper eight seconds later put the Broncs in front to stay at 35-34. From the the Roos were outscored 26-16 to end the game.

UMKC held the Broncs to just seven-of-29 shooting from the floor in the first half and just two for 20 in the final 13 minutes of the opening half. That stingy defense allowed the Roos to stay within striking distance before finally taking its first lead of the game on a Taylor Leathers’ jumper with 1:30 left in the first half for a 26-25 advantage. Washington’s free throw with 10 seconds remaining in the half increased the UMKC lead to 27-25 at the intermission.

Bush finished with 17 points for the Broncs, who improved to 18-13 on the season. She also added seven rebounds and a pair of blocks. She now has 79 blocks in her career. The 79 blocks are the most for any player to play two or fewer seasons at Pan American and are the fourth most in program history.

Goff also finished the game with 17 points, while Walker also finished in double figures with 12 points of her own.

White led UMKC with 12 points and Law chipped in with 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds. She was just two rebounds short of notching her sixth double-double of the season.

“I’m really proud of how hard this team came to work every day and how much they wanted to learn,” said Frese, who completed her third season at the helm of the UMKC program. “I’m excited about where this program is going in the future.”

This story was originally published March 12, 2015 at 4:03 PM with the headline "UMKC women lose in opening round of WAC Tournament."