2008 Woodie Awards
Kangaroos de'Klein' 'Winds second round
Ryan Ferguson
Issue date: 3/17/08 Section: Sports
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No. 7 UMKC's 6-foot-3-inch senior center put Western Illinois' post defense to the test early and often, as Klein racked up 14 first-half points. The second-seeded 'Winds were unable to stop the bleeding after halftime, and the Kangaroos pulled the 62-55 first-round upset.
"When you get to this conference tournament, it's an even playing ground, and it's everyone's game," said UMKC coach Candace White-Whitaker. "I think they really believed in each other, and they really believed they could come in here … and win this game. I think this showed from the tip."
In UMKC's first two meetings against Western this season, Klein scored a combined 20 points. The senior center exceeded that statistic by posting 25 points in the teams' third meeting Saturday afternoon.
"You're going to let Alysa Klein get 25 points; you're going to get beat," said Western coach Leslie Crane. "We knew that. We just didn't do a good job on her."
The two teams' shooting performances made Western ripe for the upset. UMKC, mainly on the back of Klein's points in the paint, connected on half of its shots.
"They were fronting me a lot tonight, so the lob was there," Klein said. "My teammates were able to see that, and we were able to score off that tonight.
"If the defense was looking for me, then my teammates were able to step up on the outside," she added. "It was a really good inside-outside game tonight."
On the other hand, the 'Winds could only muster 28 percent from the field. Of Western's 55 total points, 33 came from inside the paint or at the free-throw line after being fouled on a drive.
White-Whitaker gave kudos to her defense for holding Western to such a low shooting percentage.
"I think I was most proud of our defense," she said. "That's something we've struggled with all year."
UMKC senior forward Marta Waalen gave her team a third scoring option in the upset win, notching a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. The Kangaroos had only three players score in the opening half, and Waalen's seven first-half points were the difference at the break (28-21).
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