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WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- The eighth-ranked Jennies got back on the winning track, defeating visiting Missouri Western, 71-65 at the Multipurpose Building on Wednesday night.

Junior forward Revonnia Howard scored a career-best 23 points, eight of them coming in the first four minutes of the game, to push the Jennies (13-2, 7-1 MIAA) ahead early, 12-2.

The Griffons (5-9, 1-7 MIAA) scored eight of the game's next 10 points to cut the UCM lead to 14-10 in the next 1:35. However, the Jennies bumped the lead back to nine courtesy of a layup by Quinnecia Twine and a three-pointer by Shelby Winkelmann with 12:34 left in the half. 

Missouri Western pulled to within a basket at 20-18 with just under eight minutes left, capped off by a layup by Shamiece Lewis.

The two teams exchanged baskets over the next four possessions, putting the game at 24-22. The Jennies ended the half on a 7-2 run to take a 31-24 lead into halftime. In the first 20 minutes, UCM scored 13 points off of Missouri Western turnovers. 

Out of the gate in the second half, the Griffons outscored UCM, 8-2 to cut the deficit to one at 33-32, but that was as close as MWSU came to tying the contest. The Jennies scored seven unanswered points to pull away by eight at 40-32 with 14:14 remaining in the game. 

Missouri Western's Jallisa Lewis splashed a three to pull the Griffons back to within five, but UCM responded with a 10-3 stretch, led by six from Keuna Flax, who capped the run off with a three-point play, bumping the lead to a dozen. 

An 8-1 run by the Griffons over the next 2:18 helped the Griffons make it a two-possession game at 51-46. The Jennies were able to hold off Missouri Western en route to a 15-9 run with 2:24 on the clock to seal the victory.

Flax scored 13 of her 16 points in the second half on 3-of-3 shooting from the floor, including 1-of-1 from three-point range. She has scored in double-digit figures in all 15 games this season. 

The win was the Jennies' 12th-straight victory against Missouri Western, dating back to Feb. 23, 2008. It also extended UCM's home win streak to 21 games. 

The Jennies will make a visit to Northwest Missouri on Saturday, Jan. 18 for a 1:30 p.m. tipoff.