Dave Eggen/Inertia

Women's Basketball

Roos roll into semifinals with another upset

The Basics
Score: No. 10 Kansas City 71, No. 2 North Dakota State  
Records: Kansas City (8-23, 3-15 SL), North Dakota State (19-10, 12-6 SL)
Location: Denny Sanford PREMIER Center - Sioux Falls, S.D.
 


SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No. 10 Kansas City did it again. This time the upset-minded Roos stunned No. 2 seed North Dakota State to advance to the semifinals of the Summit League Women's Basketball Tournament Saturday at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.

Manna Mensah backed up her 30-point performance from the first round to pace the Roos once again with 25 in this victory. E'Lease Stafford added 17 points and six rebounds for Kansas City as the squad reached the semifinals for the second straight year.

Kansas City led from start-to-finish, including 41-29 at halftime, but things got a little shaky towards the end of the third quarter. The Roos pushed their lead to its peak at 52-35 with 6:02 to play, but NDSU outscored them 19-4 from that point to close with two going into the final quarter.

Heaven Hamling, who led the Bison with 16, had nine of those during the third quarter to make things interesting. Summit League Freshman of the Year Elle Evans added 14 to give the Bison a pair in double figures.

Stafford would hit a pair of early triples for the Roos to give them a little breathing room before NDSU pulled back within three in the closing minutes. The Bison had a couple of opportunities to get even closer but the Kansas City defense withstood those chances and had Sanaa' St. Andre and Mensah make four free throws down the stretch to close out the victory.

The Roos move on to play the winner of Sunday's North Dakota-Omaha matchup in Monday's second semifinal at 3 p.m. CT. 
 
Turning Point
Kansas City saw its 17-point advantage trimmed down to two to start the fourth quarter, but Stafford connected on a pair of key fourth-quarter triples to keep the Roos ahead the rest of the way.
 
Inside the Box Score
  • Kansas City never relinquished the lead after jumping out to a 7-2 advantage. 
  • The Roos went 22-for-34 on two-point field goals (64.7 percent) while limiting NDSU to a 17-for-44 effort (38.6). Both teams made five 3-point field goals.
  • NDSU went just 15-for-23 from the foul stripe, while Kansas City went 12-for-15.
News & Notes
  • The Roos advanced to the semifinals  
  • The last No. 2 seed to lose in the tournament quarterfinals was Oral Roberts in 2012 when the Golden Eagles fell to seventh-seeded Western Illinois 83-71.
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