The 13th-ranked Jennies rebounded from their first home loss of the 2013-14 season, defeating Missouri Southern, 70-61 last Saturday afternoon. Central Missouri will welcome Southwest Baptist to Warrensburg on Thursday, Feb. 6 for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off. The Bearcats look to shake off a 73-58 loss at the hands of PIttsburg State on Feb. 4. They are led by sophomore guard Brook Duncan, who is averaging 14.2 points this season and is second on the team in rebounds with 6.3 per contest. Jennies senior forward
Keuna Flax enters the week first in the MIAA in points per game with 20.9 and field goal percentage at .603. UCM enters the week in a first-place conference tie with Emporia State with a 10-2 record in MIAA play.
Last Time Out
The 12th-ranked Jennies scored 40 points in the opening half, propelling them to a 70-61 win at home against the Missouri Southern Lions last Saturday afternoon.
The Jennies (16-3, 10-2 MIAA) fell behind, 2-0 but would score 10 of the next 12 points to take a 10-4 lead that they would never relinquish for the remainder of the game. The Jennies lead grew to 13 with 11:02 left in the opening half, capping a 14-7 run for UCM.
The Lions cut the lead to eight at 26-18 with 8:13 to go until halftime, but the Jennies sustained a double-digit edge for the remaining eight minutes, led by Flax and
BreAnna Lewis, who combined for 10 points in that span. UCM scored 15 points off of Missouri Southern turnovers in the first 20 minutes, but the Lions bested the Jennies' bench, 14-7. UCM went into the locker room with a 40-29 cushion.
The Lions jumped back into the game with a 7-2 spurt to start the second half, pulling to within six at 42-36. Flax scored six quick points to help the Jennies lead grow to nine with 14:34 left in the game.
However, five-straight points from Dominique Mosley pulled Missouri Southern to within 48-44 with 13:09 remaining. It was as close as the Lions came to tying the game as UCM ran away with a 13-3 run over the next 6:31 to make it a 61-47 contest.
Mosley and Alexis Fitzpatrick accounted for the next seven points for MSSU, pulling to within eight at 66-58 with 2:48 left.
Revonnia Howard made a layup on the ensuing possession, giving the Jennies a 68-58 lead and helping secure their 16th victory of the season.
Flax led the Jennies in scoring with 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the floor, and deposited all seven of her free-throw attempts. Lewis chipped in 22, 16 coming in the opening 20 minutes. Howard secured a double-digit rebound day with 11.
Slifer By The Numbers
Slifer is 34th on the all-time wins list for all division coaches with 569.
Slifer is sixth among all Division II coaches with 569 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 426-93 all-time in the Multipurpose Building, and 97-30 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 ... The Jennies had their 21-home game win streak snapped on Jan. 25, 2014 against Lindenwood, 65-64.
Watch For Lewis
Senior
BreAnna Lewis has scored at least 20 points in seven of the Jennies' games this season. Last season, she recorded 11 games of 20-plus points. UCM has seven regular season games remaining on the schedule.
Embray's First Start
Junior guard
Breonna Embray made her first career start last Saturday against Missouri Southern, playing 25 minutes and dealing out three assists and a rebound.
Jennies Bounce Back
The Jennies not only got back on the winning track at home on Saturday, but they performed better too. They shot 42.4% from the floor, 46.2% from three-point and made 77.8% of their free throws. In the loss against Lindenwood on Jan. 25, UCM shot 37% from the floor, 21.7% from three and 73.1% from the charity stripe.
Strong First Half
The Jennies led 40-29 at halftime against Missouri Southern in the last game, propelling them to a 70-61 win. The 40 points were the most in the first half since Jan. 9 at Pittsburg State. The Jennies are 7-0 this season when scoring at least 40 first half points.
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 19 games this season, Lewis has sank 39 three-pointers, reaching five twice this season. She has recorded at least one three-pointer in 15 of 19 games (none against FHSU, WU, MWSU and LU). The 39 three-pointers puts her three-point career total to 127 – eighth on the Jennies' all-time list and one behind Ashley Millham.
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. Winkelmann is third on the team with an average of 11.2 points (76-of-180 from the floor) through 19 games this season. She has reached double-figures in scoring in 14 of 19 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 78 (26 offensive). She has recorded just one rebound in each of the past four games, logging a total of 42 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 9.8 points and 8.8 rebounds through 19 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 seven 10-plus rebound games this season, which is first among Jennies. Her 29 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 0.6 rebounds in 11.7 minutes per game this season. She also has nine steals and 32 assists (season-high of 4 against Evangel on Nov. 26) while shooting 33.3% from three-point range (7-of-21).
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 16.4 minutes this season, making 7-of-21 field goals. Embray has been on the floor in two of the Jennies games decided by four points or less this season (88-86 overtime win at Pittsburg State, 71-70 win at LIncoln).
Twine Continues To Shine
This season, Twine has played in 17 games, starting two, averaging 6.5 points, shooting 36-of-99 from the floor (36.4%) and has 13 steals and 16 assists. Her 6.5 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
For the second straight week, the Jennies fell in this week's WBCA/USA Today Sports Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll, landing at No. 13. UCM garnered 589 points - a 199-point improvement from last week's rankings after defeating Missouri Southern on Feb. 1, 70-61. The basketball program has appeared in the Top 25 for 26-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. 7, Fort Hays State at No. 25). Emporia State dropped four spots after claiming the No. 3 ranking a week ago, while Fort Hays State climbed back into the Top 25 after a one week hiatus. UCM and Emporia State appear in the Top-25 for the 11th-straight week. The Jennies are 3-2 against teams currently in the Top 25 (wins against Minnesota State, Rollins College and Fort Hays State; losses against Harding and Emporia State).
UCM Program History
The UCM Jennies are 865-358 (.707) after 43 seasons, and 664-269 (.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.
Series History with Southwest Baptist
Central Missouri leads the all-time series, 48-12 and is 23-6 against the Bearcats in Warrensburg, including five-straight wins (SBU last won at UCM on Jan. 9, 2008, 90-70 ... The two teams split the season series last year, with the Jennies winning in Warrensburg on Jan. 2, 2013, 69-66 and the Bearcats winning in Bolivar on Feb. 23, 2013, 63-52.
A Win for the Jennies Would...
...give UCM its 10th win in the last 11 matchups with SBU ... give the Jennies their 11th conference win of the season ... be the 12th win in the last 13 games against unranked opponents ... extend the Jennies' win streak against Southwest Baptist in Warrensburg to six games ... be the 23nd win in the last 24 games at the Multi.
A Loss for the Jennies Would...
... be the fourth loss of the 2013-14 season ... drop the Jennies conference record to 10-3 ... be the first home loss to SBU since Jan. 9, 2008 (lost, 90-70) ... 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.
