Next up for the Jennies The No. 20 Jennies will look to rebound from a narrow two-point loss at Minnesota State last Friday night in Mankato when they face Newman University in Rolla, Mo. this Friday, November 21 at 5:30 p.m. and Missouri S&T on Saturday, November 22 for a 4 p.m. tip-off. The matchup with Newman University is the first in meeting in the series history, while the Saturday's game will renew the series with Missouri S&T for the first time since 2004-05. UCM will try and avoid its first 0-2 start in the
Dave Slifer era. The last time the Jennies began the season 0-2 was during the 2002-03 season. Friday night's game will be the first ever meeting between the Jens and the Jets of Newman University.
Last Time Out The loss was the first opening night loss for the Jennies program (0-1) since the 2007-08 season. The Jennies and Mavericks were engaged in a back-and-forth battle for the first 4 1/2 minutes before Minnesota State pulled away, scoring six unanswered points, taking a 14-7 lead. The Jennies put themselves in a 29-15 hole with 7:43 left in the first half.
It remained a three-possession game until 11:52 left in the second half after junior
Tayler Weiks splashed a triple to pull the Jennies within five at 49-44.
However, a 10-4 spurt over the next two and a half minutes for the Mavericks increased the deficit to 11.
UCM kept battling, closing the gap to three behind five points from Thompson over the next three-plus minutes. The Jennies were unable to make up any ground over the next minute, trailing, 66-59 with 4:51 left in the game.
One final run by the Jennies offense put UCM in position to complete the comeback, pulling to within two at 68-66. UCM went on a 7-2 mini-run, all points accounted for by Thompson.
Following a missed layup by Britney Scherber on the ensuing possession with 23 seconds left,
Justina Prairie Chief took the ball from the top of the circle and manuevered her way underneath the basket to drop in a layup to tie the game at 68-68.
The Mavericks turned the ball over on their next possession, setting up a final play for the Jennies offense with 11 seconds remaining. However, a turnover by sophomore
Andee Wahlert spoiled the comeback, as Ashley Olsen ran the length of the floor, finishing on a layup to put the Mavericks back on top, 70-68 with two seconds left.
The game ended after Prairie Chief's last-second triple hit glass, giving Minnesota State their third win in four tries against Central Missouri.
Slifer By The Numbers Slifer is 32nd on the all-time wins list for all division coaches with 579.
Slifer is sixth among all Division II coaches with 579 wins and is ninth among all Division II coaches with a .741 winning percentage. Slifer needs just seven wins to reach 200 victories as Jennies head coach and 21 wins to reach 600 in his 25-year coaching career.
First Impressions Jennies senior guard
Jasmine Thompson made her presence felt quickly, pulling down 15 rebounds (nine offensive) and dropping 27 points on Minnesota State. The 15 rebounds were the most for a Jennie in a season opener since 2011-12 (Nicole Caddell vs. Evangel). Her 27 points matched the most for a Jennie in their debut in the last 10 seasons. (Tiffany Vincent in 2004-05 against Cameron).
Battle On The Boards The Jennies were outrebounded, 39-38 at Minnesota State in last Friday's season-opening loss. A year ago, the Jennies were an astounding 20-1 in games where they pulled down more rebounds than their opponents.
Replacing Flax The Jennies will have the challenging task of replacing the defending MIAA Player fo the Year and two-time All-American,
Keuna Flax.
Senior
Justina Prairie Chief will carry a larger role with the Jennies offense this season. The El Rino, Oklahoma native pulled down 110 rebounds last season, first among reserves and tallied 23 steals, second among bench players.
She registered one game of double-digit points, scoring 14 in the first round of the Central Regional quarterfinals against Northern State.
This season, Prairie Chief has one double-digit point game, scoring 13 against Minnesota State.
Short Memory Last season, the Jennies went 4-0 in games following a loss. Over the last two seasons, the Jennies are 8-0 in games following a loss and have not lost two consecutive games since March 3 and 9, 2012 (vs. Washburn, vs. Pittsburg State).
Key Returners Central Missouri will count heavily upon three of its top returners from a season ago in seniors
Justina Prairie Chief and
Revonnia Howard and junior
Shelby Winkelmann. The trio combined for 23.7 points and 15.6 rebounds per game in 2013-14.
In the first game, Prairie Chief and Howard scored 24 points and pulled down 11 rebounds as a duo.
Jennies By The Numbers In 2013-14 The Jennies were 23-0 when leading at halftime and posted a record of 24-0 when leading with five minutes remaining. They were 5-1 in games decided by five points or less.
UCM also finished 2-1 in games decided by two points or less last season (defeated Pittsburg State and Lincoln, lost to Lindenwood).
The Jennies are 0-1 in games decided by two points or less this season.
Three-Headed Monster One position on the team that brings much needed experience back this season is at point guard. With seniors
Breonna Embray and
Brielle Wattley, and sophomore
Andee Wahlert, the team's floor general should be reliable. Last season, the Jennies went 11-2 when Embray started at point guard. Wattley finished first among bench players with 48 assists, while Wahlert led all reserves with 14 steals and was second in assists with 45.
In the season opener, Embray scored five points and dished out two assists, Wattley scored two points with an assist, while Wahlert handed out two assists.
Point of Emphasis Dating back to last season, Central Missouri has allowed under 80 points to opponents in 17 of its past 18 games. The Jennies are 14-4 during that span and are 24-4 since the beginning of last season.
New Faces Central Missouri welcomes seven new players to this season's group - one senior, four juniors and two freshman. Thompson, a senior, is the lone newcomer projected to start. The juniors include
Stacey Mgbike, a transfer from Missouri Western,
Danielle Randle, a Neosho CC transfer,
Makaila Jordan, formerly of Arkansas Baptist,
Tayler Weiks from Blinn College. The two freshmen are a pair of Iowa natives, Ana Schmidt from Wahlert High School and
Olivia Godfrey, a Panarama High School graduate.
Potent Offensive Numbers Last season, UCM led all MIAA teams in points scored against conference opponents with 1,419 points (74.6 per game). The offense averaged 75.8 points per contest throughout the entire season, second-most among MIAA teams (Emporia State - 76.3).
2014-15 Non-Conference Opponents The non-conference schedule features three teams that posted winning records a season ago and one that qualified for the NCAA Tournament (Drury University). The combined records of all seven non-conference foes the Jennies will face went 98-81 last season.
Frontcourt Presence Senior forward
Revonnia Howard will be relied on to take a bigger offensive role with the departures of Flax and
BreAnna Lewis. Howard pulled down 9.4 rebounds per game last season, second best in the MIAA. She recorded six double-doubles and scored a career-high 23 points against Missouri Western on January 15, 2014. Her six double-doubles were tied for the team-high, and she recorded 13 games with at least 10 rebounds, also first among Jennies.
In the first game at Minnesota State, Howard scored 13 points and hauled in six boards, one offensive.
Excelling In The Classroom The Jennies experienced plenty of success both on and off the court last season with eight MIAA Academic Honor Roll selections, for earning at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA.
MIAA Preseason Polls After a first-place regular season finish a year ago and the program's first outright MIAA title since the 1990-91 season, the Jennies debuted at No. 5 in the Preseason Coaches Poll. The Jennies enter the season behind Emporia State, Pittsburg State, Washburn and Fort Hays State in the Coaches Poll. UCM garnered 127 total points, 11 fewer than Fort Hays State, whom the Jennies eliminated in the MIAA Tournament semifinals last season. The Jennies also earned 15 fewer points than Washburn, whom the Jennies defeated in the regular season last year and 26 fewer points than Pittsburg State, whom the Jennies topped on the road back in January.
UCM in the Polls The Jennies opened the preseason ranked No. 20 in this week's WBCA/USA Today Sports Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll. UCM garnered 182 points in this week's rankings. The basketball program has appeared in the Top 25 for 31-consecutive weeks dating back to January 8, 2013. The Jennies are one of three MIAA schools in the Top 25 (Emporia State at No. 7, Pittsburg State at No. 24). Emporia State maintained the No. 7 ranking from the end of last season, while Pittsburg State climbed out of the rankings to No. 22 to begin the 2014-15 campaign. Together, UCM and Emporia State appear in the Top-25 for the 16th-straight week. The Jennies went 4-2 against teams that open the season in this year's Top 25 rankings (wins against Minnesota State, Pittsburg State, Rollins College and Northern State; losses against Harding and Emporia State). This season, the Jennies face three opponents (Emporia State, Pittsburg State and Drury University) that currently sit in the Top 25.
UCM Program History The UCM Jennies are 875-361 (.707) after 44 seasons, and 674-272 (.712) in the 32 seasons since joining NCAA Division II ... the Jennies have won 10 MIAA regular season championships with this year's title, 7 MIAA Tournament titles, 6 NCAA regional titles, and the 1984 NCAA Division II Championship.
Series History With Newman University This will mark the first meeting between the two schools.
Series History With Missouri S&T The Jennies lead the all-time series, 36-4. UCM won the most recent meeting back in
Dave Slifer's first season as UCM head coach, 63-62 on Feb. 9, 2005. The Jennies have won 13 straight games against the Miners, with their last loss coming Jan. 17, 1998 in Rolla, 65-68.
A Win for the Jennies Would...... even the Jennies record to 1-1 ... be the ninth-straight win following a loss ... give the Jennies their 23rd win in the last 26 games against non-conference opponents in the regular season ... a win against Newman would put UCM in position to go for their second 2-1 start in the past five seasons (2010-11), and their 24th win the last 27 games against non-conference opponents.
A Loss for the Jennies Would...... drop the Jennies record to 0-2 for the first time since the 2002-03 season ... be the first back-to-back losses for the Jennies since March 3 and 9, 2012 ... drop the Jennies' overall record to Newman University to 0-1 ... a loss against Newman would put the Jennies in position to start 0-3 for the first time since 1978-79.
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.
