Women’s Basketball Midseason Analysis
February 3, 2023
The 2022-2023 Roos Women’s Basketball season has been a less-than-stellar campaign up to this point. As we approach the latter half of the Summit League competition, here’s how the Roos have performed during their first half of the season.
Less Than Typical Non-Conference Action
Under first-year head coach Dionnah Jackson-Durrett, Kansas City started the season off with a 4-7 record, a rather disappointing display after their amazing 11-1 start in non-conference competition just a season ago.
Their worst performance of the season occurred on Nov. 22, with an abysmal 95-60 defeat to Santa Clara on the road, a team whom they defeated last year at home. The Roos never held a lead in the game as they were decimated from the 3PT line, with Santa Clara shooting 15-27 (55%) from behind the arc. Kansas City couldn’t match their shooting prowess, as they shot an abhorrent 1-6 (16%) from the 3PT line, allowing the game to become completely out of reach.
Their most impressive performance, however, came just one week later against Bradley on Nov. 29, where the Roos won on the road in OT by a score of 71-68. Despite them blowing a 12-point 4th quarter lead, the Roos survived with clutch FTs by star guard junior Sanaa’ St. Andre in order to seal the victory.
Although their season started off to a rather shaky start, the Roos appeared battle-tested and ready to take on the formidable task of playing in the Summit League. However, the team found themselves in a rut early on to begin conference play.
A Team In Disarray
To close out 2022, Kansas City began Summit League competition with four consecutive losses, all by double-digit deficits. Not only were their losses in the stat sheets brutal, but they also lost St. Andre with a facial injury as well, completely altering an already thin Roos lineup.
With St. Andre absent from the lineup for the foreseeable future, along with the mid-season departure of junior forward Dani Wilson impacting the culture within the team locker room, the program endured much adversity over the last two months up to this point.
They opened up the start of the new year on a solid note however, as they earned their first Summit League victory of the season in a 65-54 home victory over Oral Roberts. Sophomore guard Rain Green took control of the game, tallying a game-high 20 points in the contest, giving Dionnah Jackson-Durrett her first conference victory as a head coach.
This momentous win for the program looks to have given the Roos locker room just the motivation they needed, as they have now gone a respectable 3-3 to begin 2023.
Looking Ahead
With the Roos having regained their composure to begin the new year, they now look to turn their season around and finish it off on a more positive note.
Sitting with a current record of 7-14 (3-7 SUMMIT), Kansas City would have to win their remaining eight games in order to achieve an above .500 season, a near-impossible task for any team in the Summit League (unless you’re the first place South Dakota State Jackrabbits, perhaps).
With the 2023 Summit League Tournament quickly approaching, Kansas City must stay poised over these final games if they have any hopes of changing their fate in becoming possible first-round exits. Otherwise, they should start booking one-night hotel stays in the Sioux Falls area to save money on the team’s travel costs.
