Jennies, the pair account for 35.3 points per game, just under half of the team's scoring average.
MIAA Tournament
The 2013 MIAA Tournament is scheduled for March 8-10, at the Municipal Auditorium in downdown Kansas City, Mo. This year's edition of the conference tournament has a slightly different format, as four preliminary first-round matchups will take place on Tuesday, March 5 to round out the eight-team field. The top four seeds will earn a bye and automatically punch their tickets to Kansas City, while seeds 5-8 will host a first-round game against seeds 9-12.
The preliminary round matchups took place Tuesday night, with two lower-seeded teams pulling off upsets and advancing the Municipal Auditorium; ninth-seeded Northwest Missouri defeated eighth-seeded Missouri Southern in Joplin, while Missouri Western knocked off Pittsburg State in the 7-seed/10-seed matchup.
The Jennies have claimed seven MIAA tournament titles, second only to Washburn's nine titles, but haven't cut the nets down since 1990. Last season, the Jennies knocked off Fort Hays State, 73-61 in the first round before falling to the eventual conference tournament champions Washburn, 64-62 in the semifinals.
Milestone Victory
After defeating Missouri Western in the MIAA Tournament quarterfinals on Friday, head coach
Dave Slifer moved into second place on the Jennies all-time wins list, passing Scott Ballard (1995-03). Slifer surpassed Mildred Barnes (1971-80) for third place on the list earlier this season, with a win at home over Pittsburg State on Jan. 12. After defeating Lincoln on Feb. 16, head coach
Dave Slifer earned his 550th career victory; he now has a 168-95 record on the UCM sideline, and a 552-194 record during his 24-year coaching career. At the start of the season Slifer ranked seventh among active coaches at the Division II level in total wins, and is one of just eight active coaches to reach the 500 wins mark. Slifer also has the most victories in MIAA history, with nine seasons at UCM and nine at Missouri Western from 1995-2004.
Starting Roles
Point guard
Brielle Wattley and forward
Quinnecia Twine have developed into key components of the Jennies' success this season. Both players earned regular starting spots during the pair of games in Las Vegas in December.
Twine has started 19 games this season, and is averaging 7.4 points this season. The Atlanta, Ga. native is one of the Jennies most solid defenders, with the second-highest total of steals (30) this year. Offensively, Twine can also be a threat from deep; she has the team's second-most three-point field goals this year, and is shooting 32.0% (33-of-103) from long range. The junior has scored in double figures in seven starts, and set a new career high with 24 points in the win over Central Oklahoma. Twine also hit a career-high five three-pointers against the Bronchos.
Wattley has started the last 20 games at point guard, and is averaging 2.0 assists as a starter. She leads the team with a 1.61 assist-to-turnover ratio this season, and has committed just three turnovers in her last four games. The sophomore from Fort Wayne, Ind. averages 3.9 points per game, and shoots 43.3% (39-90) from the field.
Disappointing Departure
After leading the Jennies offense during the first eight games of the season, freshman
Shelby Winkelmann suffered a season-ending injury during the win over Dixie State. Winkelmann was averaging 17.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, leading the team in scoring at the time. The current team leader,
Keuna Flax, played together with Winkelmann for one game (Dixie State) before the freshman's injury.
Winning Time
The Jennies have developed a knack for pulling out close games this season; the team is 8-0 in games decided by five points or less, most recently in Friday night's win over Missouri Western at the MIAA Tournament. UCM has claimed three wins after trailing with five minutes left in regulation (Southwest Baptist, Northeastern State, Missouri Western), and are a perfect 20-0 when leading at the five-minute mark.
Bench Notes
Junior
Symone Murray leads the bench with 4.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per game this season ... She has reached double-figures five times this season, and earned her first start in
Nicole Caddell's absence during the win over Lincoln on Jan. 30, recording six points and six rebounds ...
Erin Redmond is fourth on the team with 37 assists on the year, to go along with 2.8 points and 1.5 rebounds per game ... Against Missouri Southern, Redmond tallied three assists, her highest total since the win over Northeastern State on Jan. 9 ... Junior
Kiersten Orton has been one of the best rebounders off the bench for the Jens, averaging 2.4 boards per game ... She matched her season-high with five points at Washburn on Saturday ... Freshman
Danielle Barry scored a career-high seven points in the first half of the win over Pittsburg State, and is averaging 1.4 points and 2.0 boards this season ...
Breonna Embray has appeared in all 27 games this year, averaging 1.2 points per game.
UCM in the Polls
Despite their second loss in the past three games, the Central Missouri Jennies held steady at No. 13 in the latest WBCA USA TODAY Sports Division II Coaches' Top 25 Poll. The Jennies are the second-highest MIAA squad in the poll, behind No. 9 Washburn, who slid four spots from last week after falling to Emporia State last Wednesday.
Earlier this season (Feb. 12-19), the Jennies reached their highest rank in the WBCA Coaches Poll, when they earned the No. 7 spot.
Three MIAA squads that are competing in the MIAA Tournament this Friday are recieving votes this week, including Fort Hays State (7 points), Truman (5), and Northeastern State (3).
Series History with Fort Hays State
The Jennies hold a narrow lead in the all-time series with the Tigers, with a 10-8 record in the relatively young rivalry. The two sides have met once before in the MIAA Tournament, with the Jennies winning 73-66 last season in the first round.
Opponent Preview
The Tigers enter Saturday's matchup riding a four-game winning streak, including a pair of MIAA Tournament victories over Lincoln and Northeastern State. On Friday, Fort Hays State upset the Riverhawks, 61-42 to advance to the semifinals. The Tigers are led by center Kate Lehman, who averages 16.3 points per game. Katelyn Edwards is also dominant in the post, averaging 13.0 points per game.
Last Time Against the Tigers
The then-23rd-ranked Central Missouri Jennies suffered their first loss of the season, falling on the road 95-50 to the 17th-ranked Fort Hays State Tigers. The Jens fell behind 34-1 in the first half, and was unable to overcome the deficit throughout the night.
Junior
Symone Murray led the Jennies in scoring, collecting a career high 13 points.
Nicole Caddell was the only other Jennie to reach double-figures, scoring 11 points while pulilng down eight rebounds. The 45-point margin is the highest for a Jennies opponent in the
Dave Slifer era, and the highest since 1974-75.
A Win for the Jennies Would...
advance the team to the MIAA championship game for the first time in three seasons ... improve the Jennies record to 24-4 this season ... be the second straight win over Fort Hays State in the MIAA Tournament.
A Loss for the Jennies Would...
... drop the Jennies record to 23-5 on the year ... be the second straight loss to Fort Hays State ... be the second straight loss in the MIAA semifinal round.
UCM Program History
The UCM Jennies are 848-353 (.706) after 41 seasons, and 645-264 (.710) in the 30 seasons since joining NCAA Division II ... The matchup with Lincoln on Jan. 30 marked the 900th game for the Jennies since joining the 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 National Championship.
MIAA Preseason Polls
After a fourth place regular season finish a year ago, the Jennies debuted at No. 6 in the MIAA Preseason Coaches and Media Polls. Washburn, who won the regular season and tournament titles last year, were picked to repeat by both the coaches and the media. Pittsburg State, who reached the first round of the NCAA Elite Eight, were picked second in both polls.
UCM Athletics
The 2011-12 school year saw Central Missouri's 15 sports combine for seven MIAA regular season titles, and three MIAA tournament championships (women's soccer, baseball, men's golf). The Mules and Jennies have totaled 193 MIAA regular season championships across all sports, the most of any MIAA program. UCM has won five national championships since 1980 (men's and women's basketball in 1984, baseball in 1994 and 2003, and women's bowling in 2003), and seven national titles overall. This season, Central Missouri has collected three MIAA titles, in women's soccer, men's indoor track and field, and most recently, men's basketball.
In the Classroom
As much success as the Jennies saw on the court in 2011-12, they achieved just as much in the classroom. Nine players on last year's roster earned the MIAA Academic Honor Roll award, for earning at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA. Two players from a year ago,
Alyssa Rhodes and
Taylor Hanson, were honored with the MIAA Scholar-Athlete award, as the two seniors were recognized for earning All-MIAA Team honors while maintaining a 3.5 GPA or higher.
Junior forward
Kiersten Orton was one of just 18 athletes across all sports at Central Missouri to earn the MIAA Academic Excellence Award. Orton has recorded a perfect 4.0 GPA during her time at UCM, while studying Middle School Math Education.
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 alongside Shawn Jones.
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. Shawn Jones will sit down with Coach Slifer throughout the season to discuss the latest game, as various Jennies will be featured throughout the year.
