Kansas City women’s basketball falls to Omaha in Summit League semifinals

The Kansas City women’s basketball team’s magical run through the Summit League tournament ended Monday night.

Under first-year coach Dionnah Jackson-Durrett, the Roos became the league’s first ever 10 seed to qualify for the conference championship semifinals. They defeated No. 7 Denver and No. 2 North Dakota State before falling to Omaha 69-60 Monday night.

“I’m so proud of this team and what they accomplished, and the history that they set in this league,” Jackson-Durrett said in a release. “For E’Lease (Stafford) and Manna (Mensah), I’m grateful that they trusted me enough to come and play for me for a short period of time. Hopefully I helped them grow their game, because they definitely helped me to grow as a coach.”

Mensah finished with 27 points to lead the Roos in the loss and Stafford finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. She finished the conference tournament averaging 27.3 points per game. Before February, Mensah had never scored more than 16 points at the Division I level, but she tallied at least 20 points seven times in her final 10 games.

Tamia Ugass also had 10 points, nine rebounds and four steals.

While Kansas City (9-23, 3-15) only lost by nine points, the team never led in the contest. KC pulled within four points in the final quarter but could not complete the comeback. The Roos were dominated in the paint, getting outscored 36-18.

While the Roos will not make the NCAA Tournament, this could bring momentum into year two.

“(This year) was challenging,” Jackson-Durrett said. “My faith never wavered, and it can’t, and it never will … These are the things that I had to learn early.”