UMKC Free Throw Trips Sink Trojans in Jacksonville

Sunday, December 19

Jacksonville, FL

1:00 p.m. (EST)

Troy University

University of Missouri - Kansas City

Photo by: Troy University

UMKC Free Throw Trips Sink Trojans in Jacksonville

12/19/2010 4:42:13 PM | Basketball (W)

The Kangaroos shoot 31 free throws to just 13 for Troy

By: Travis Jarome

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Troy University women's basketball looked to bounce back from their loss on Saturday against the University of Missouri-Kansas City on Sunday, but free throw shooting proved to be their undoing in a 62-55 loss to the Kangaroos in the final game of the Comfort Inn Osprey Holiday Invitational at UNF Arena.

The Trojans did everything right for the majority of the game, leading by as many as three in the second half before UMKC went on a run to take a 14-point lead midway through the second half. Although the Kangaroos built a big lead, they did so with the clock stopped.

The game was tied seven different times, and the lead changed hands 11 different times throughout the night. But it was the one statistic on the stat sheet that took away from all of that at the end of the day.

“We scored four more baskets, took 12 more shots, forced them into seven more turnovers,” Troy head coach Michael Murphy said. “We just couldn't defend the free throw line. They shot 31 free throws and we shot 13, it is just hard to defend the free throw line.”

Troy (2-9) dominated every statistical category with the exception of free throws and rebounding, and the Kangaroos made twice as many free throws as Troy attempted in the contest. It took nearly 12 minutes in the second half before the Trojans were able to get to the line, and by that time UMKC (5-7) had all ready been nine times in the second half and had built an 11-point advantage.

Although the Trojans couldn't defend the free throw line, they were able to do some things right that caught the attention of Murphy and the rest of the coaching staff.

Junior DeAngela Sword (Montgomery, Ala./Pensacola JC) led three Trojans in double figures with 17 points before fouling out, while junior Donette McNair (New London, Conn./New London HS) and sophomore Sophie Kleeman (Newcastle, Australia/Newcastle HS) each scored 10 points in the loss.

“We did a much better job this afternoon in the second half than we did yesterday,” Murphy said. “We are still struggling getting production off the bench which is hurting us, but for the most part I was pretty pleased with how hard we played. We had better balanced scoring, and I thought we executed some things in the half court far better than we did yesterday.”

UMKC jumped out early in the game, taking a 13-8 lead just five minutes into the contest; before the Trojans outscored them 9-1 over the next six minutes to take a 17-14 lead on a jumper from Sword. From there, UMKC took a three-point lead with 6:09 to play, at 20-17, and the two teams traded baskets.

The game was tied at 27-all with just 13 seconds remaining, but the Trojans missed a free throw that would have given them the lead. UMKC was able to get the rebound and, after a timeout, pushed the ball up the floor before missing a shot. They were able to get the offensive rebound, and Jade Tinner knocked down both free throws with just 0.3 seconds remaining to give the Kangaroos a 29-27 halftime lead.

The second half started out quickly for the Trojans as they took a 32-29 lead on a three-pointer from Kleeman and a jumper from Sword. But then UMKC went on a 22-5 run over the next nine minutes, taking a 51-37 lead with 9:20 remaining in the contest. During that run, the Kangaroos made just six field goals; with the remaining eight points coming from the free throw line.

The Trojans fought back from the 14-point deficit and closed within single digits with 60 seconds remaining in the contest, 58-49. A layup by Dominique Ross (Covington, Tenn./Covington HS) closed the gap to 58-51, before four free throws at the end of the game pushed the game out of reach.

The Trojans did have a couple of scary moments as Kleeman, McNair, Sword and Jamesha Blake (Atlanta, Ga./SW DeKalb HS) all went down from contact or injuries. All four were able to return to the game.

“We can't afford to have anyone else hurt,” Murphy said. “We are all ready missing three players who are major contributors, and to have someone else go down would be devastating.”

UMKC was led by Jade Tinner off the bench, one of 13 players to play for the Kangaroos, with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor and 5-of-6 shooting from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Elilise O'Conner added 10 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the free throw line.

The Trojans return to action Wednesday night in the nation's capital as they face American University in Washington, DC. The game tips at 7 pm (EST).

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