No. 8 Central Missouri Jennies (9-1, 3-0 MIAA) vs. Nebraska-Kearney Lopers (5-5, 2-2 MIAA)
Next up for the Jennies
The eighth-ranked Jennies (9-1, 3-0 MIAA) will look to keep their four-game win streak intact as they host conference rival, Nebraska-Kearney (5-5, 2-2 MIAA) for a 1:30 p.m. tipoff at the Multipurpose Building on Saturday, January 4. UCM is coming off a two-game road sweep of Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State back on Dec. 19 and 21. After losing their first two conference matchups, the Lopers have evened their conference record, defeating Lincoln and Lindenwood in Kearney back on Dec. 14 and 20, respectively. The Jennies enter the game in a first-place tie in the MIAA with Emporia State.Â
Last Time Out
 The No. 8 Jennies earned an 84-73 win over the Northeastern State RiverHawks at the NSU Event Center on Saturday, December 21.Â
UCM and NSU battled to a 73-73 tie with 4:35 to go in the game before the Jennies closed the contest scoring 11 unanswered points to keep their win streak intact at four games. The Jennies scored 14 second-chance points, nine coming in the second half.
Keuna Flax led the way with 22 points, the eighth time this season she has finished as UCM's leading scorer.
BreAnna Lewis added 19 with
Quinnecia Twine chipping in 13.
Revonnia Howard pulled down 11 rebounds, her second-highest total of the season.Â
Slifer By The Numbers
 Slifer is 34th on the all-time wins list for all division coaches with 562.Â
Slifer is sixth among all Division II coaches with 562 wins and is eighth among all Division II coaches with a .740 winning percentage.
Slifer earned his 560th career win in UCM's last game on Dec. 5 against Fort Hays State.
Jennies Basketball In The Multi
The Jens are 422-92 all-time in the Multipurpose Building, and 94-29 during the Slifer era ... Central Missouri finished the 2012-13 season with a 14-0 record in the Multi ... UCM has won at least nine home games every year since 2004-05 ... the Jennies have gone undefeated at home four times: 1982-83 (15-0, finished 3rd in the nation), 1985-86 (14-0, regional champions), 1988-89 (15-0, finished 4th in the nation), and 2012-13 ... from 1988 to 1990, the Jennies won a school-record 34 consecutive games at the Multi ... Currently, UCM is riding an 18-game winning streak at the Multi.
Stepping Up Down The Stretch
Against Northeastern State on Dec. 21, the Jennies earned their first win of the season when trailing with five minutes remaining in the game, improving their record to 1-1 in such situations.
Offensive Output
This season, the Jennies are averaging 81.9 points per game with a scoring margin of plus-15.0 through 10 games, third-best in the MIAA.
Last season, the team averaged 71.5 points per contest with a scoring margin of plus-6.4.
Starting Out Fast
In the first half of games, the Jennies are outscoring their opponents, 400-309. UCM is 8-0 when leading at halftime.
Flax Leading The Charge
Through the first eight games this season,
Keuna Flax is leading the Jennies with 20.3 points and has 7.3 rebounds per contest. She is shooting .643 from the field (74-of-115) and is shooting 71.6% from the free-throw line (48-of-67). She has led the team in scoring in eight of 10 games this season, reaching double-figures in points in each contest. She recorded her first double-double of the season in the Dec. 5 win against Fort Hays State, tallying 18 points and 12 rebounds.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).
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
Through 10 games this season, Lewis has sank 20 three-pointers, including a season-high of five against Harding. She has recorded at least one three-pointer in nine of 10 games (none against FHSU on Dec. 5). The 20 three-pointers bumps her three-point career total to 108 – eighth on the Jennies' all-time list and 20 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 third on the team with an average of 11.7 points (42-of-104 from field) through 10 games this season. She has reached double-figures in scoring in eight of 10 Â contests.
Defensive Spark Off The Bench
Junior
Justina Prairie Chief has made her presence felt on the team's second unit, leading all bench players in rebounds with 39 (14 offensive). She set a new career-high with nine rebounds in a 94-76 win at Central Oklahoma on Dec. 19, logging 19 minutes.Â
Holding Down The Frontcourt
Junior
Revonnia Howard has started this season at forward, taking the place of the graduated
Nicole Caddell, the program's eighth all-time leading rebounder (704).
Howard is averaging 9.9 points and 8.3 rebounds through 10 games this season (including a season-high 13 against Evangel). She has a team-leading 33 offensive boards. She recorded her first double-double of the season on Nov. 26 against Evangel with a 16-point, 13-rebound performance. Howard blocked a season-best four shots at Northeastern State on Dec. 21.Â
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 0.6 rebounds in 12.1 minutes per game this season. She also has seven steals and 17 assists (season-high of 4 against Evangel on Nov. 26) while shooting 62.5% from three-point range (5-of-8).Â
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 15.8 minutes this season, making three of 10 field goals. The Jennies have yet to play in a game decided by four points or less this season.
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. This season, Twine has played in eight games, averaging 8.5 points, shooting 22-of-53 from the field (41.5%) and has six steals and six assists.
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 Winkelmann 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 remain in No. 8 spot in the WBCA/USA Today Sports Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll, garnering 459 points. The basketball program has appeared in the Top 25 for 21st-consecutive weeks dating back to January 8 of last season. UCM was idle last week after sweeping a brief two-game road trip at Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State on Dec. 19 and 21. The Jennies currently own 459 points in the poll, down seven points after opening the season with 466 points. The Jennies are one of two MIAA schools in the Top 25 for six straight weeks (Emporia State at No. 3). Three teams the Jennies have faced this year are also ranked in the Top 25 (Harding University, Rollins College and Minnesota State). The Jennies are 2-1 in those games, defeating Minnesota State and Rollins College, while falling to Harding University. Â
UCM Program History
The UCM Jennies are 858-356 (.706) after 43 seasons, and 657-267 (.711) 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 Nebraska-Kearney
Central Missouri leads the all-time series, 1-0 ... The only meeting between the two schools was on January 16, 2013 in Kearney, Nebraska, with the Jennies winning, 68-63.Â
 A Win for the Jennies Would...
... extend the Jennies' win streak to five games... mark the program's second-consecutive 10-1 start and third under Coach Slifer (2004-05 season) ... give the Jennies their first 4-0 conference start since the 1995-1996 season ... keep the Jennies unbeaten against Nebraska-Kearney (2-0).
A Loss for the Jennies Would...
... be the second loss of the 2013-14 season ... drop the Jennies conference record to 3-1 for the second-straight year ... mark the first loss in the series history between UCM and Nebraska-Kearney.
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.
