No. 8 Central Missouri Jennies (6-1, 0-0 MIAA) vs. Fort Hays State (5-0, 0-0 MIAA)
Next up for the Jennies
The eighth-ranked Jennies will host MIAA rival Fort Hays State on Thursday, December 5 for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off at the Multipurpose Building. The Jennies enter the game with a 6-1 record, while Fort Hays State looks to stay undefeated, entering the contest at 5-0. UCM is off to its second-consecutive 6-1 start after responding to their loss at Harding with a come-from-behind 82-68 victory at Arkansas Tech on Dec. 1. Last season, the Jennies went 1-1 against the Tigers, losing 95-50 on Dec. 5, 2012 in Hays and then eliminating FHSU in the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament with an 87-78 victory.Â
Last Time Out
Central Missouri split the two games on its most recent road trip against Harding and Arkansas Tech last weekend. After losing to Harding, 96-67, the Jennies responded with an 82-68 win at Arkansas Tech, after trailing by 10 points with 17:42 left in the game. UCM closed out the game on a 41-17 run to get back on the winning track, shooting 46.9% from the floor in the second half. The game saw 13 ties and 10 lead changes. Flax opened the second half converting on a layup, but missed the ensuing free throw to miss out on a three-point play to cut Arkansas Tech's lead to eight.
Shelby Winkelmann would hit a three, followed by another layup by Flax to pull UCM to within 51-48.Â
Following a turnover by the Golden Suns, Winkelmann found
BreAnna Lewis who sank a three to knot the game at 51 apiece with 15:50 left in the game.Â
Central Missouri re-gained the lead at 58-55 with 11:41 remaining, but the Golden Suns worked to take a 61-60 lead with 8:06 remaining. Â
Brielle Wattley hit a three-pointer with 7:47 left to give the Jennies a 63-61 edge, but Arkansas Tech responded on the ensuing possession with a layup by Cara Neighbors. Â
The Jennies took the lead for good with 6:57 in the game thanks to a layup by
Danielle Barry. The lead reached double-figures nearly five minutes later when
Breonna Embray nailed a three-pointer as the shot clock expired, providing UCM with a 79-67 lead.
Coach Slifer Honored
Last season, Jennies head coach
Dave Slifer was named the WBCA Central Region Coach of the Year last year, guiding the team to a 24-6 record and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. UCM recorded its first undefeated season at home for the first time since 1988-89. The 24 victories were the most in a single season for the program since 1989-90. The team's second-place finish in the MIAA regular season standings was their best since 1999-00.Â
Slifer By The Numbers
 Slifer is 34th on the all-time wins list for all division coaches with 559.Â
Slifer is sixth among all Division II coaches with 559 wins and is eighth among all Division II coaches with a .739 winning percentage.
Slifer will go for his 560th career win on Thursday night against Fort Hays State.
Offensive Output
This season, the Jennies are averaging 81.3 points per game with a scoring margin of plus-14.3 through seven games.Â
Last season, the team averaged 71.5 points per contest with a scoring margin of plus-6.4.
The Comeback Kids
In the Jennies last game at Arkansas Tech, UCM faced a 10-point hole with under 13 minutes left in the game and came back to win, 82-68. It was the largest second-half deficit the team has overcome and won since Jan. 23, 2013 vs. Missouri Western when they were behind by nine with 10:19 remaining. The Jennies came back to win the game in overtime, 74-71.Â
Flax Leading The Charge
Through the first seven games this season,
Keuna Flax is leading the Jennies with 20.4 points and has 6.9 rebounds. She is shooting .655 from the field (55-of-84) and is shooting 65.9% from the free-throw line (27-of-41). She has led the team in scoring in six of seven games this season, reaching double-figures in points in each contest.Â
Last season, the 5-11 Haltom City, Texas native led the Jennies to their second consecutive NCAA Tournament, finishing first in the MIAA in scoring at 19.7 points per game in 23 contests, earning All-America honors.
She finished tied for second on the team with 22 double-figure scoring performances (one behind
BreAnna Lewis).Â
Senior guard
BreAnna Lewis registered 88 three-pointers during the 2012-13 season. The 88 shots made from beyond the three-point arc placed her second on the Jennies' single-season list (four behind Jessica Burkholder in 1996-97 season).Â
After seven games this season, Lewis has converted 16 three-pointers, including a season-high of five against Harding. The 16 three-pointers bump her three-point career total to 104 – eighth on the Jennies' all-time list and 24 behind Ashley Millham.Â
Winkelmann Playing Strong
After leading the Jennies offense during the first eight games of the 2012-13 season, freshman
Shelby Winkelmann suffered a season-ending injury during the win over Dixie State on Dec. 18, 2013. Winkelmann was averaging 17.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, the Jennies' leading scorer at the time.Â
Last season, Winkelmann recorded the third-highest scoring output in a game in Jennies history with 42 against Emporia State on Dec. 8.
Winkelmann is tied for second on the team with an average of 12.3 points (33-of-78 from field) through seven games this season. She has reached double-figures in scoring in six of seven games this season.Â
She also leads the team with a 2.09 assist-turnover ratio (23 assists, 11 turnovers).
Defensive Spark Off The Bench
Junior-transfer
Justina Prairie Chief has made her presence felt on the team's second unit, leading all bench players in rebounds with 32 (10 offensive). She tied her season high with six rebounds at Arkansas Tech on Dec. 1.Â
Big Shoes To FillÂ
Junior transfer
Revonnia Howard has started this season at forward as the team replaces the graduated
Nicole Caddell, the program's eighth all-time leading rebounder (704).
Howard is averaging 9.6 points and 9.0 rebounds through seven games this season (including a season-high 13 against Evangel). She has a team-leading 22 offensive boards. She recorded her first double-double of the season on Nov. 26 against Evangel with a 16-point, 13-rebound performance. It is the only double-double of any Jennies player this season.
The Lone Freshman
Freshman guard
Andee Wahlert is the only freshman on the Jennies' roster. The St. Joseph, Mo. native and Benton High School product was a four-year varsity letterwinner on the girls varsity team at Benton and served as a three-time captain. Wahlert is averaging 2.6 points and 0.7 rebounds in 12.4 minutes per game this season. She also has five steals and 13 assists, while shooting 66.7% from three-point range (4-of-6).
Embray's Defense
Junior guard
Breonna Embray was a defensive staple for the Jennies in tight games last season. In games decided by four points or less, the Jennies finished 9-1 with Embray on the floor. Embray is averaging 17.1 minutes this season, making three of nine field goals. Against Arkansas Tech, she hit a three-pointer as the shot clock expired with 1:58 remaining to put the Jennies ahead by 12.Â
Twine Continues To Shine
Senior guard
Quinnecia Twine has been coming off the bench with Winkelmann back in the starting five. The Atlanta, Ga. native started 22 games, averaging 7.7 points, including a 24-point, eight-rebound performance back on Feb. 7 against Central Oklahoma last season. Through the first seven games this season, she is averaging  8.2 points, shooting 17-of-41 from the field (41.5%) and has five steals.Â
Excelling in the Classroom
The Jennies experienced plenty of success both on and off the court last season with seven MIAA Academic Honor Roll selections, for earning at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA.Â
Junior
Kiersten Orton and freshman Shelby Winkelman each won the the MIAA Academic Excellence Award, which recognizes student-athletes with a 4.0 GPA. The award was the third for Orton.
MIAA Preseason Polls
After a second-place regular season finish a year ago, the Jennies debuted at No. 1 in the 2013-14 MIAA Preseason Media Poll, and No. 2 in the Coaches Poll. The Jennies enter the season ahead of  Fort Hays State in both polls, after finishing ahead of the Tigers in the final 2012-13 MIAA Standings and eliminating FHSU in the MIAA Tournament semifinals. UCM tallied fewer votes than Emporia State in the preseason coaches poll, but garnered more points than the Lady Hornets in the preseason media poll. Washburn, who finished in first place in last year's regular season standings, but were eliminated in the MIAA Tournament semifinals by Emporia State, were picked to finish third in both the preseason coaches and media poll. Fort Hays State and Pittsburg State placed fourth and fifth to round out the top five teams in both polls.Â
UCM in the Polls
The Jennies dropped three spots to No. 8 in this week's WBCA USA Today Sports Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll, garnering 457 points. The basketball program appears in the Top-25 for the 19th-consecutive week dating back to January 8 of last season. UCM split their most recent road trip, falling to Harding on Nov. 29 and defeating Arkansas Tech on Dec. 1. After opening the season earning 466 points, the Jens have garnered 604 points in the most recent poll. The Jennies are one of three MIAA schools in the Top 25 for the fourth-consecutive week (Emporia State at No. 3; Washburn at No. 20).Â
UCM Program History
The UCM Jennies are 855-356 (.706) after 43 seasons, and 654-267 (.710) in the 31 seasons since joining NCAA Division II ... the Jennies have won 9 MIAA regular season championships, 7 MIAA Tournament titles, 6 NCAA regional titles, and the 1984 NCAA Division II Championship.Â
Series History with Fort Hays State University
Central Missouri leads the all-time series, 11-7 ... The last time these two teams met was March 9, 2013 in the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament, with the Jennies winning, 87-78. Fort Hays State won last season's regular season meeting in Hays, Kan., 95-50.
A Win for the Jennies Would...
... give the Jennies their first conference victory of the season ... provide UCM with its first 1-0 conference start since 2011-12 ... be the third-consecutive 7-1 start and the fourth under Coach Slifer ... extend the Jennies home win streak against Fort Hays State to three ... improve the Jennies all-time home record to 422-92 and 94-29 in the
Dave Slifer era ... extend the Jennies' home win streak to 18 games.
A Loss for the Jennies Would...
... be the second loss of the 2013-14 season ... drop the Jennies conference record to 0-1 for the second-consecutive season ... snap the Jennies' two-game home win streak against FHSU ... end the Jennies' 17-game home win streak.
Jennies on the Air
Central Missouri women's basketball can be caught throughout the season on 98.5 "The BAR," 1450 KOKO, and warrensburgradio.com as Greg Hassler provides play-by-play.
Fans can catch highlights each week on Central Missouri Sportspage, Thursday nights at 7 p.m., and Saturdays at 5 p.m. on KMOS-TV. Jennies fans can also tune in to 98.5 "The Bar" and 1450 KOKO each Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m. for Central Missouri Sports Talk, with Greg Hassler and Bill Turnage. The pair will talk UCM athletics, as well as other hot topics in the sports world. Jennies coaches and players will drop in throughout the season as well.
