by VERMILLION, S.D. – Kansas City Women’s Basketball (10-12, 1-6 Summit) fought for the full night and took South Dakota (15-7, 4-3 Summit) into the final minutes, but could not get over the hump and fell to the Coyotes, 72-62. A career day for Alayna Contreras kept the Roos in the game, scoring a game-high 24 points and knocking down multiple big shots along the way.
South Dakota consistently held on to the lead, but the Roos would not go down easily, battling back time and time again. Kansas City never allowed the Coyotes’ lead to surpass 10 points, tying the game or drawing within a point multiple times, but never coming up with the go-ahead bucket.
Contreras’ career-high 24 point night was spurred by 8-of-16 shooting, including 5-of-12 shooting from three-point land, the most three-point makes by a Kansas City player this season. Dominique Phillips was the only other Roo to surpass the 10-point mark, scoring 13 points. Ifunanya Nwachukwu pitched in with a near double-double, contributing nine points and nine rebounds.
STATS TO NOTE
- Contreras’ performance surpasses her previous career-high of 20 points, reached against Weber State on Jan. 6. It is also the second-highest single game scoring output by a Roo this season, trailing only Simmons’ 34-point game against Kansas.
