With a bye to the conference quarterfinals clinched following UCM's win at Lindenwood, the 12th-ranked Jennies will play for the top seed in the MIAA Tournament. On Wednesday, UCM debuted at No. 3 in the NCAA-II regional rankings behind fourth-ranked Harding and seventh-ranked Emporia State.
The Jennies' 88-69 win at Lindenwood was the ninth road victory of the season, the most wins away from the Multi since the 1990-91 season. Central Missouri looks to collect its first 10-plus win season on the road since 1988-89 (finished 13-4). A win at Southwest Baptist will also give the Jennies their 15th conference win for the first time since the 1990-91 campaign. Southwest Baptist looks to avenge a 67-64 loss to the Jennies on back on Feb. 6 in Warrensburg. The Bearcats are coming off a 70-56 loss at the hands of Missouri Southern in Joplin on Feb. 19. Jacqui Zelenka is leading the Bearcats in scoring and rebounding with 13.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per contest.
Last Time Out
Junior guard
Breonna Embray set career highs in points (15), three-point field goals (5) and three-point field goal attempts (7). The Jennies set a new season high with 12 three-point field goals.
Senior guard
BreAnna Lewis collected her eighth game of 20-plus points with 22 on 10-of-14 shooting. Lewis also knocked down two three-pointers and dished out three assists.
Keuna Flax got the offense going 10 seconds into the game with a three-pointer on an assist by
Shelby Winkelmann. The Jennies (20-3, 14-2 MIAA) began to pull away with 10:14 left in the half, increasing their lead to nine, but Lindenwood scored the next five to pull within four at 28-24.
The Lady Lions tied the game for the first time with 4:56 left after a pair of layups by Caroline Bourlioux, placing the tally at 33-33.
UCM fell behind for the first time on Lindenwood's next possession, 35-33 following a jumper by Dru Haertling.
A 14-0 run by the Jennies over the next 3:44 pushed UCM ahead for good, 47-35 thanks to a pair of three's from
Quinnecia Twine and one triple from Lewis.
UCM ended the first half on an 18-2 run to take a 51-37 lead at intermission. The Jennies shot 58.3% from the floor (21-of-36), while attempting just three free throws.
Embray hit one of her five triples with 14:03 left in the game, capping a 13-6 run for the Jennies and putting UCM ahead, 64-43.
UCM's lead reached as many as 31 with 7:47 on the clock, putting the game out of reach. The Lady Lions were unable to get the game under 19 points, shooting just 31.4% from the floor (11-of-35) in the second half.
Slifer By The Numbers
Slifer is 34th on the all-time wins list for all division coaches with 573.
Slifer is sixth among all Division II coaches with 573 wins and is eighth among all Division II coaches with a .742 winning percentage.
Slifer earned his 570th career win in UCM's 67-64 win against Southwest Baptist on Feb. 6 in Warrensburg.
Free Throw Low
In the Jennies' win at Lindenwood last Saturday, the two teams combined for a total of 17 free throws. It was the lowest total in a game this season (second-lowest was 19 at Rollins on Nov. 16). The 17 free throws between the two schools was the lowest total in a Jennies game since Jan. 9, 2013 vs. Northeastern State (13 total free throws).
One Year Later
Last season, the Jennies made a trip to Southwest Baptist on Feb. 23, 2013 and lost 63-52, splitting the season series, 1-1. The Jennies would finish second in the standings behind Washburn. This season, UCM can sweep the season series and keep pace for the first spot in the MIAA tourney seedings.
Watch For Lewis
Senior
BreAnna Lewis has scored at least 20 points in eight of the Jennies' games this season. Last season, she recorded 11 games of 20-plus points. UCM has three regular season games remaining on the schedule.
Convincing Victories
The Jennies are plus-52 in margin of victory in their last two wins against Lincoln and Lindenwood. The previous high for margin of victory in a two-game stretch was plus-74 against Rollins and Evangel from Nov. 16-26 this season.
Second-Unit Boost
The Jennies have had their second-best stretch from the bench this season, scoring 89 points in the last four games, all wins. The 89 points is second to only the 92-point output from Nov. 16-Dec. 1.
40 Is The Magic Number
The Jennies are 9-0 when scoring at least 40 points in the first half this season. In the last two games, the Jennies have scored a combined 97 first half points, while allowing just 64 points to opponents.
New Starting Point Guard
Junior
Breonna Embray has started the past five games for the Jennies, logging 105 minutes and recording 10 assists and five rebounds. Against Lindenwood on Feb. 15, she set new career-highs in points (15), three-point field goals (5) and three-point field goal attempts (7). The Jennies are 5-0 when Embray starts at point guard this season.
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).
Through 23 games this season, Lewis has sank 45 three-pointers, reaching five twice this season. She has recorded at least one three-pointer in 19 of 23 games (none against FHSU, WU, MWSU and LU). The 45 three-pointers puts her three-point career total to 133 – seventh on the Jennies' all-time three-point field goals made list. She is now 12 three-pointers from tying Maegan Fromm for sixth on UCM's all-time leaderboard.
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 89 (27 offensive). She has pulled down nine rebounds in her last two games, logging a total of 27 minutes.
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 8.9 rebounds through 23 games this season. She set a new career-high in rebounds on Jan. 18 at Northwest Missouri with 17 (four offensive) to go along with 12 points. She has nine 10-plus rebound games this season, which is first among Jennies. Her 34 blocks are also a team high.
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 1.9 points and 0.7 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per game this season. She also has 14 steals and 42 assists (season-high of 6 against Lincoln on Feb. 12) while shooting 30.0% from three-point range (9-of-30).
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 17.0 minutes this season, making 14-of-34 field goals. Embray has been on the floor in the final seconds in three of the Jennies games decided by four points or less this season (88-86 overtime win at Pittsburg State, 71-70 win at Lincoln, 67-64 win vs. Southwest Baptist).
Twine Continues To Shine
This season, Twine has played in 21 games, starting two, averaging 7.3 points, shooting 47-of-123 from the floor (38.2%) and has 20 steals and 24 assists. Her 7.3 points leads all bench players this season.
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.
Junior
Kiersten Orton and freshman
Shelby Winkelmann both won 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.
UCM in the Polls
The Jennies remain at No. 12 in this week's WBCA/USA Today Sports Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll. UCM garnered 613 points - a 5-point improvement from last week's rankings. UCM defeated both of its opponents last week, dropping Lincoln at home and besting Lindenwood in St. Charles to clinch a bye to the conference quarterfinals. The basketball program has appeared in the Top 25 for 28-consecutive weeks dating back to January 8 of last season. The Jennies are one of two MIAA schools in the Top 25 (Emporia State at No. 7). Emporia State remains in the 7th spot, while Fort Hays State falls out of the Top-25 after holding the No. 24 ranking last week. UCM and Emporia State appear in the Top-25 for the 13th-straight week. The Jennies are 2-2 against teams currently in the Top 25 (wins against Minnesota State and Rollins College; losses against Harding and Emporia State).
UCM Program History
The UCM Jennies are 869-358 (.708) after 43 seasons, and 668-269 (.712) 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.
Series History with Southwest Baptist
Central Missouri leads the all-time series, 49-12 and is 24-5 against the Bearcats in Bolivar ... The Jennies have won 10 of the last 11 games overall against SBU and nine of the last 10 in Bolivar.
A Win for the Jennies Would...
... give UCM its sixth consecutive win ... exceed the team's conference win total from last season with 15 ... be the first time since the 1990-91 season the program reached 15 conference wins (finished in first place with a 15-1 record) ... be the 16th win in the last 17 games against unranked opponents ... give the Jennies double-digit road wins for the first time since the 1988-89 season (finished 13-4).
A Loss for the Jennies Would...
... be the fourth loss of the 2013-14 season ... drop the Jennies conference record to 14-3 ... give the Jennies their second-straight road loss to the Bearcats ... mark the 200th loss for
Dave Slifer in his head coaching career.
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.
