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UMKC women can’t complement individual accolades with wins

By Derek Helling

DALLAS, TX - DECEMBER 12: A generic basketball photo of the Official @NBA Spalding basketball going through the net during the San Antonio Spurs game against the Dallas Mavericks on December 12, 2017 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - DECEMBER 12: A generic basketball photo of the Official @NBA Spalding basketball going through the net during the San Antonio Spurs game against the Dallas Mavericks on December 12, 2017 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Two members of the UMKC women’s basketball recently surpassed significant career milestones, but unfortunately for the Roos, the final scores of three of the team’s four tournament games weren’t as remarkable.

Senior guards Samantha Waldron and Aries Washington are the two newest members of the 1,000 career points club for the UMKC women’s basketball program. Although those individual achievements are worth celebrating, the celebration would have been much sweeter if those accomplishments had been secured in winning efforts.

The Roos (3-11) have played in four games spanning two different holiday tournaments since December 19th, and in three of those contests, ended up on the short end of the score.

The tournament action began at Swinney Recreation Center, with UMKC’s own Roo Holiday Classic. The Roos faced Northern Colorado to begin the tourney, and despite Waldron scoring a season-high 21 points, lost the game 87-73.

Just about 24 hours later, UMKC was back in action again against Denver. Waldron’s 18 points in that game put her over 1,000 for her career, but the Roos fell short on the scoreboard 77-68. Waldron’s combined 39 points in the two games earned her a spot on the event’s All-Tournament team.

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After nearly a week and a half break, the Roos traveled to Boca Raton, Fla., to take part in the FAU Holiday Tournament. UMKC was able to advance to the tourney championship game with a 67-50 win over Stetson, in which Washington put herself over 1,000 career points.

Although the Roos entered the next day with the momentum of the win and having two guards over 1,000 points for their careers, UMKC was unable to build on that momentum and fell to the host school 65-55. Like Waldron in the Roo Holiday Classic, Washington’s milestone helped her nab a spot on the FAU Holiday All-Tournament Team. She was joined there by junior forward Kristen Moore, who scored 33 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the two games.

The Roos now have one final non-conference game, against Kansas City’s Central Christian, scheduled for January 2nd. After that, UMKC will embark on the mission to win the Western Athletic Conference regular season title and thereby secure the top spot in the conference’s end-of-season tournament. The Roos start the conference season at UT Rio Grande Valley on January 6th, before playing their WAC home opener against Utah Valley on January 11th.

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The next time UMKC will take the court in a tournament game, it will be in the WAC tourney looking for an automatic bid to the field of 64. How those games will go remains to be seen, but the Roos can set themselves up nicely for those contests if they can string together some wins now.

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