The sixth-ranked Jennies (11-1, 5-0 MIAA) are off to their first 5-0 conference start since 1995-96 and are hold an 11-1 record for the second-consecutive season. Central Missouri is seeking their seventh win in as many games when they travel to Pittsburg State to battle the Gorillas (10-3, 3-0 MIAA) on Thursday, Jan. 9 for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff. The Jennies will follow with a road matchup with No. 3 Emporia State (14-0, 4-0 MIAA) on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 5:30 p.m. Senior forward
Keuna Flax enters the game leading the MIAA in both scoring (21.1 points per game) and field goal percentage (.636).Â
Last Time Out
The eighth-ranked Jennies collected their sixth-straight victory, defeating visiting Washburn, 68-57 at the Multipurpose Building on Monday night.
The Jennies (11-1, 5-0 MIAA) and Ichabods (7-5, 3-3 MIAA) played to seven ties in the early stages of the game, but UCM gained some separation with a 23-15 lead with 11:59 left in the first half, highlighted by a three-pointer from
Quinnecia Twine and baskets from
Shelby Winkelmann and
Revonnia Howard.
Keuna Flax and Winkelmann opened the second half scoring the first 11 points for UCM. The Jennies' lead reached 14 with 11:51 remaining, but the Ichabods scored the next eight points to cut the lead to 55-49. The two teams exchanged baskets over the next four minutes, keeping the gap at six.
Twine helped put the game away with just over two minutes remaining. She found
Brielle Wattley who splashed a jump shot to bump Central Missouri's lead to 63-55 and would later convert on her second three-pointer of the night with 1:24 left, pushing the Jennies' lead to 11.
Slifer By The Numbers
 Slifer is 34th on the all-time wins list for all division coaches with 564.Â
Slifer is sixth among all Division II coaches with 564 wins and is eighth among all Division II coaches with a .741 winning percentage.
Slifer earned his 560th career win in UCM's last game on Dec. 5 against Fort Hays State.
Convincing Wins
All 11 of the Jennies' victories this season have been by seven points or more. At this time last season, the Jennies had three wins decided by five points or less (St. Mary's, Arkansas Tech, Southwest Baptist).
Offensive Output
This season, the Jennies are averaging 80.0 points per game through 12 games
Last season, the team averaged 71.5 points per contest.
Starting Out Fast
In the first half of games, the Jennies are outscoring their opponents, 479-376. UCM is 10-0 when leading at halftime.
Flax Leading The Charge
Through the first 12 games this season,
Keuna Flax is leading the Jennies with 21.1 points and has 7.9 rebounds per contest. She is shooting .636 from the field (91-of-143) and has made 74.7% of her free throws (62-of-83). She has led the team in scoring in 10 of 12 games this season, reaching double-figures in points in each contest. She owns three double-doubles, (11 in her career) while recording 12 rebounds in a game twice this season (Fort Hays State, UNK) tying her career high.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
Through 12 games this season, Lewis has sank 21 three-pointers, including a season-high of five against Harding. She has recorded at least one three-pointer in 10 of 12 games (none against FHSU and WU). The 21 three-pointers bumps her three-point career total to 109 – eighth on the Jennies' all-time list and 19 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, 2012. 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 second on the team with an average of 12.3 points (55-of-129 from the field) through 12 games this season. She has reached double-figures in scoring in 10 of 12 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 61 (21 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 9.6 points and 8.4 rebounds through 12 games this season. She has a team-leading 37 offensive boards. She recorded her first double-double of the season on Nov. 26 against Evangel with a 16-point, 13-rebound performance. Howard set new career-highs with 14 rebounds and five blocked shots against Washburn on Jan. 6.
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 0.5 rebounds in 12.0 minutes per game this season. She also has seven steals and 22 assists (season-high of 4 against Evangel on Nov. 26) while shooting 50% from three-point range (6-of-12).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 15.5 minutes this season, making three of 11 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 10 games, averaging 8.5 points, shooting 28-of-68 from the field (41.2%) and has six steals and 10 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 rose two spots to No. 6 in this week's WBCA/USA Today Sports Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll, garnering 576 points. The basketball program has appeared in the Top 25 for 22-consecutive weeks dating back to January 8 of last season. UCM went 4-0 in conference games since the last ranking came out on Dec. 17, defeating Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State on the road and beating Nebraska-Kearney and Washburn at home. The Jennies saw a 117-point improvement from the last Top-25 poll. The Jennies are one of two MIAA schools in the Top 25 for seven 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.
UCM Program History
The UCM Jennies are 860-356 (.707) after 43 seasons, and 659-267 (.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 Pittsburg State
Central Missouri leads the all-time series, 27-20 and won the most recent matchup, 70-67 in Warrensburg on Jan. 12, 2013 ... The Gorillas are 13-8 all time against the Jennies in Pittsburg.
Series History with Emporia State
Emporia State leads the all-time series, 37-31 and won the most recent matchup against the Jens in the MIAA Championship game last season, 67-51 ... The Jennies are 11-19 all time in Emporia ... The Hornets have won five of the past seven games against the Jennies.
 A Win for the Jennies Would...
... extend the Jennies' win streak to seven games... mark the program's second-consecutive 12-1 start ... give the Jennies their first 6-0 conference start since the 1990-91 season ... improve the Jennies' road record to 5-1 this season.
A Loss for the Jennies Would...
... be the second loss of the 2013-14 season ... drop the Jennies conference record to 5-1 for the second-straight year ... drop the Jennies' road record to 4-2 for the second-straight season.
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.
