Stomps were felt throughout the court. Redhawk fans were alive Saturday afternoon yelling with racing hearts “DEFENSE” when UMKC’s offense was sweating for a field goal and yelling proudly, “WE ARE, SU! WE ARE, SU!” during the remaining five seconds of the game.
No. 24 Alexis Montgomery defends the UMKC guard.
With motivation behind the Play4Kay pink game and bleachers full of fans on sight, Seattle University women’s basketball team won the University of Missouri Kansas City, UMKC, women’s basketball team on Saturday afternoon at the Connolly Complex with a striking 74-52. With this win, the Redhawks remain second in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), 8-1.
“I think you grind out wins, and that was a grind out. I look at the score and you’re thinking it was a comfortable win and it wasn’t a comfortable win at all for us,” said first season Head Coach Suzy Barcomb. “We had to grind it out all the way through it and make some plays, key stops, down to the end.”
No. 2 Kaylee Best pushes the ball down the court.
The Redhawks’ senior players led the way. Senior Alexis Montgomery, scored 22 points and had seven assists. Kaylee Best had 19 points and three assists.
“The biggest challenge was going hard 100 percent [of] the time. I mean, [UMKC] is a good team,” Montgomery said. “So just pushing through mentally and playing hard the whole time was a big part.”
UMKC’s first quarter lead heightened the Redhawk’s grit for the remainder of the game as the Redhawks began to dominate during the second period of the game. They were now up eight points, 32-24.
“[We] came out so strong in the second quarter, holding them to 8 points, that was great,” Best said.
No. 1 Claire Metoyer shoots over 2 UNKC defenders.
Time was running out for UMKC to make an astonishing comeback. As the clock ticked to its final minutes, the ‘Roos fell further behind.
Continuing their fight against UMKC’s restless defense, the Redhawks were able to score another 26 points along with another three assists by Metoyer.
With an overall staggering 18 assists, teamwork was apparent in the Redhawks tactics for another win in the conference plays.
This game was especially important for the ‘Hawks to win as it was their annual Play4Kay game. Donations during the game were raised for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, a fund founded in December 2007 and dedicated to fighting women’s cancers. This game hit home for some of the student- athletes and for Barcomb.
“I’m here because I had a really strong mom who died of cancer,” Barcomb said. “So it’s another way to say thanks for bringing me into this world.”
“Our young women want to play for a packed house every single time,” concluded Barcomb. “We want our community, we want everybody to be proud of what we’re putting out here on the floor and our product.”
The Redhawks play Grand Canyon University, 4-5 in the WAC standings, once more on Feb. 16 at 6 p.m.
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