Kansas City defeated North Dakota State 71-64 Saturday in The Summit League Tournament Quarterfinals. The Roos commanded the first half of play, leading 41-29 at the break. Manna Mensah and E’Lease Stafford tossed in 16 and 11 points, respectively, to lead the offensive effort for Kansas City. The defensive effort was also paramount in the first half, as the Roos held Abby Graham to five points and Heaven Hamling to just three. Kristina Ekofo Yomane led NDSU in the first half with six points.
The Roos went on an 8-4 run to open third quarter play, prompting Jory Collins to call timeout. After the break, NDSU outscored Kansas City 25-15 on the way to the end of the third quarter to leave itself down 54-56 heading into the fourth. Elle Evans contributed 12 points in the third quarter alone, with Hamling tacking on nine.
The game stayed close the rest of the way, with Kansas City holding a 67-64 lead with 26.5 seconds left and the ball in NDSU’s possession. Kansas City pulled off the win, despite being trapped by North Dakota State to the best of Bison ability.
Mensah added to her 30 point tournament total by 25 today, bringing her to 55 points on the weekend. Stafford tallied 17 points and six rebounds, while Tamia Ugass added nine points and 11 rebounds. Stafford, Mensah, and Machia Mullens played the full 40 minutes for the Roos today, while freshman Zaire Harrell contributed 29 minutes.
Kansas City will face the winner of Sunday’s No. 3 North Dakota/No. 6 Omaha in the tournament semifinals on Monday at 3 p.m.
The Bison were led by Heaven Hamling and Elle Evans who combined for 30 points and 10 rebounds. Ekofo Yomane and Graham netted eight points apiece for NDSU.
NDSU finishes its season 18-11 overall and 12-6 in the conference, but drops to 3-14 all-time in Summit League Tournament games.