Dave Eggen/Inertia

Women's Basketball

Alnatas carries Kansas City into semifinals as Roos rally to beat Bison

The Basics
Score: No. 3 Kansas City 81, No. 6 North Dakota State 74
Records: North Dakota State (11-18), Kansas City (23-7)
Location: Denny Sanford PREMIER Center - Sioux Falls, S.D.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Kansas City's Naomi Alnatas scored 26 of her game-high 32 points in the second half as No. 3-seed Kansas City rallied from a double-digit halftime deficit to defeat No. 6 seed North Dakota State 81-74 in the fourth quarterfinal of The Summit League Women's Championship played Sunday afternoon.

Alnatas scored 18 of those points in the final 10 minutes and her 4-point play with 21 seconds to play broke a 72-72 tie, lifting the Roos to their first semifinal appearance since they lost in the 2012 championship game -- a season before they left for a seven-year run in the Western Athletic Conference. 

All five KC starters reached double figures as that quintet played all but 19 minutes in the contest. Brooklyn McDavid had 13, while Paige Bradford and Kiara Bradley put up a dozen each and Mandy Willems went 8-for-8 at the charity stripe to finish with 11.

Abby Schulte scored a career-high 21 points to lead a trio of Bison in double figures. Heaven Hamling scored 14 of her 16 points in the first half and Emily Dietz chipped in with 14 as the Bison rode a wave of ups and downs throughout the contest.

The first quarter had a back-and-forth feel to it as NDSU held a 17-16 lead after 10 minutes and that feeling did not return until the closing minutes when Alnatas continued to make big plays for the Roos.

Before that though, both teams took turns putting together big swings. The Bison started those as a Dietz' layup just over three minutes into the second quarter capped an 11-2 run and NDSU would go on to outscore the Roos 25-12 to take a 42-28 advantage into halftime. 

The third quarter belonged to the Roos, who would cut the 14-point deficit down to three after Alnatas knocked home a 3-pointer with 1:43 to play in the frame. That bucket left NDSU with just a 57-54 lead going into the fourth quarter.

The Bison scored the first four points of the final stanza and Reneya Hopkins pushed the lead back to eight at 64-56 just over a minute into it with a 3-pointer, but the Roos would not let NDSU pull away.

Alnatas gave the Roos their first lead since midway through the first quarter with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it a 70-68 contest with 2:29 to go.

Alnatas made a layup next time down to put KC up by four, but Schulte would eventually square the game at 72-72 with a pair of free throws and 44 seconds to play.

KC's all-league first team had one more clutch basket in her and this one came following what was the Roos' tenth offensive rebound of the contest. She drilled a straight away triple and was fouled to convert the unusual four-point play.

The Roos made 5-of-6 free throws in the closing stretch to put the game away.

Kansas City will take on No. 2-seeded South Dakota in Monday's second semifinal at 3 p.m. CT.
 
Turning Point
With the score tied at 72-72, KC's Naomie Alnatas was fouled on a made 3-pointer and rattled home the free throw to give the Roos' their largest lead of the game with just 21 seconds to play.

Inside the Box Score
  • Held to six points in the first half, All-Summit League first teamer Naomie Alnatas erupted for 26 second-half points, including 18 in the fourth quarter to complete the KC comeback.
  • NDSU's Heaven Hamling scored 14 first-half points, which accounted for NDSU's halftime advantage (42-28). The Roos held her to just two points after halftime.
  • Abby Schulte went 6-for-11 from the field, 2-for-2 from 3-point range and 7-for-8 from the foul line to account for her career-high 21 points.
  • Kansas City turned 10 offensive rebounds in 17 second-chance points, while NDSU had 11, but could only manage 10 points off those extra possessions.
  • KC went 22-for-26 from the charity stripe (85 percent), while NDSU went 13-for-25 (56 percent).
News & Notes
  • Alnatas finished with 32 points and the Roos improved to 11-1 when she scores 20-plus in a contest in a contest this season.
  • Kansas City returned to The Summit League a season ago, but fell in the quarterfinals 60-59 to Western Illinois. This is the Roos' first trip back to the semifinals since a runner-up finish in 2012.
  • With their 23rd win of the season, the Roos are now within one of equaling the program record set by the 1991-92 squad.
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