No. 11 Central Missouri Jennies (21-3, 15-2 MIAA) at Missouri Western Griffons (10-14, 5-12 MIAA)
Next up for the Jennies
The 11th-ranked Jennies (21-3, 15-2 MIAA) look to keep pace with Emporia State in the MIAA standings, trailing the Lady Hornets by a half game. Central Missouri is seeking its first MIAA conference title since the 1995-96 season.
The Jennies' 78-70 win at Southwest Baptist set a couple of milestones for the program. It was the 15th conference win - the most since the 1990-91 season when they finished 15-1 in conference play. The victory also improved the Jennies' record to 10-2 on the road, marking the first double-digit win total for the program since 1988-89 (finished 13-4).
Senior forward
Keuna Flax stands 51 points shy of becoming the newest member of the Jennies 1,000-point club, and needs 72 points to pass Lashonda Albert for 24th on UCM's all-time scoring list.
UCM travels to Missouri Western to close out its 2013-14 regular season road schedule on Wednesday, Feb. 26. The Jennies took the first matchup with the Griffons on Jan. 15, 71-65 to extend their winning streak against Missouri Western to 12 games. Junior guard Ariana Novak leads the Griffons in scoring, averaging 10.7 points per game, while junior forward Tiara Hall is averaging a team-best 6.0 rebounds per contest.
Last Time Out
Senior forward
Keuna Flax led all scorers with 30 points against Southwest Baptist, her third game this season with at least that many. The game was highlighted by 13 lead changes, including five in the first 7:37. With the Jennies (21-3, 15-2 MIAA) up 18-17,
Quinnecia Twine drew a foul and made two free throws to give UCM a three-point advantage with just over 12 minutes left in the first half.
The Lady Bearcats scored the next four points to re-claim the lead at 21-20 following a basket by Lissette Plasencia and a couple of free throw makes from Brook Duncan.
The Jennies jumped back in front, 28-26 in the next three minutes after
Justina Prairie Chief and Twine both splashed three-pointers. UCM would maintain that lead through the remainder of the opening half, outlasting SBU, 17-12, to take a 45-38 lead at intermission.
SBU opened the second half scoring seven unanswered points to knot the game at 45 apiece in the first 2:20.
Flax and
BreAnna Lewis would combine for the next nine Jennies points, putting the Lady Bearcats in an eight-point hole at 54-46.
However, SBU battled back to trim UCM's lead to two at 58-56 with 10:10 remaining in the game.
With 9:18 on the clock, the Jennies slowly pulled away for good, jumpstarted by three free throw makes from
Revonnia Howard and a three-pointer by Twine to put UCM up 64-56. The Jennies' lead reached its climax at 74-62 with 3:22 left following a jumper by Flax.
Slifer By The Numbers
Slifer is 34th on the all-time wins list for all division coaches with 574.
Slifer is sixth among all Division II coaches with 574 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.
The Tail Of Two Games
Over the past two games, the Jennies have attempted the second-lowest free throw total of the season and also set a new season-high with free throw attempts. Against Lindenwood, they attempted just eight free throws, while setting a new season-high of 38 free throw attempts against Southwest Baptist on Saturday.
Looking To Stay Hot Against MWSU
The Jennies have won 12 straight games against the Griffons, dating back to Feb. 23, 2008. It is the longest current winning streak for the Jennies against any MIAA opponent. UCM has won the past four matchups against Missouri Western in St. Joseph.
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 two regular season games remaining on the schedule and at least one MIAA tournament game.
Rebounding Machine
Junior forward
Revonnia Howard has been on a rebounding tear, pulling down 37 rebounds over the past three games. In the last game against SBU, she grabbed 16 boards, which was one shy of tying her career high. The 37 boards is the most in a three-game stretch for Howard this season.
Second-Unit Boost
The Jennies have had their second-best stretch from the bench this season, scoring 113 points in the last five games, all wins. The 113 points exceeds the 106 points through the first five games of this season.
40 Is The Magic Number
The Jennies are 10-0 when scoring at least 40 points in the first half this season. In the last three games, the Jennies have scored a combined 142 first half points, while allowing 102 points to opponents.
New Starting Point Guard
Junior
Breonna Embray has started the past six games for the Jennies, logging 134 minutes and recording 10 assists and six 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 6-0 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).
This season, Lewis has sank 45 three-pointers, reaching five twice this season. She has recorded at least one three-pointer in 19 of 24 games (none against FHSU, WU, MWSU, LU and SBU). 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 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 94 (29 offensive). She has pulled down 14 rebounds in her last three games, logging a total of 48 minutes.
Holding Down The Frontcourt
Junior
Revonnia Howard is averaging 9.9 points and 9.2 rebounds and 35 blocked shots through 24 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 10 games of at least 10 rebounds this season, which is first among Jennies. She is five blocked shots away from tying Christie Brown for 10th-most in a single season. She needs just seven from moving into eighth-place on the Jennies' single-season list, passing Barb Sorensen and Shelly Metzger.
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 1.8 points and 0.7 rebounds in 11.7 minutes per game this season. She also has 14 steals and 43 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 17.5 minutes this season, making 14-of-35 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,
Quinnecia Twine has played in 22 games, starting two, averaging 7.5 points, shooting 50-of-131 from the floor (38.2%) and has 22 steals and 27 assists. Her 7.5 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 moved up one spot to No. 11 in this week's WBCA/USA Today Sports Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll. UCM garnered 477 points in this week's rankings. UCM defeated Southwest Baptist on the road last Saturday, keeping them a half game behind Emporia State for first place in the MIAA standings. The basketball program has appeared in the Top 25 for 29-consecutive weeks dating back to January 8 of last season. The Jennies are one of three MIAA schools in the Top 25 (Emporia State at No. 5, Pittsburg State at No. 23). Emporia State moves up two spots to fifth, while Pittsburg State cracks the Top 25. UCM and Emporia State appear in the Top-25 for the 14th-straight week. The Jennies are 3-2 against teams currently in the Top 25 (wins against Minnesota State, Pittsburg State and Rollins College; losses against Harding and Emporia State).
UCM Program History
The UCM Jennies are 870-358 (.708) after 43 seasons, and 669-269 (.713) 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 Missouri Western
Central Missouri leads the all-time series, 32-26 and has won the last 12 meetings against the Griffons dating back to Feb. 23, 2008 ... The Jennies are 9-18 all-time against MWSU in St. Joseph... The Jennies won the first matchup of this season, 71-65 on Jan. 15 in Warrensburg.
A Win for the Jennies Would...
... give UCM its seventh consecutive win ... extend the Jennies' win streak against Missouri Western to 13 games ... be the 17th win in the last 18 games against unranked opponents.
A Loss for the Jennies Would...
... be the fourth loss of the 2013-14 season ... drop the Jennies conference record to 15-3 ... snap the team's 12-game win streak against the Griffons ... 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.
