No. 13 Central Missouri Jennies (17-3, 11-2 MIAA) at Missouri Southern Lions (14-5, 8-4 MIAA)
Next up for the Jennies
The No. 13 Jennies basketball team will make their way to Joplin, Mo. to play Missouri Southern for the second time in eight days on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 1 p.m. In the previous matchup between the two teams on Feb. 1 in Warrensburg, the Jennies came out victorious, 70-61. UCM scored 40 points in the game's first half to take an 11-point lead into halftime. The Lions cut the lead to four in the second half, but would draw no closer, as the Jennies came away with the nine-point win.
Keuna Flax (27) and
BreAnna Lewis (22) finished as the Jennies' top two leading scorers.
The Jennies enter the game in a first-place tie in the MIAA with Emporia State, with a conference record of 11-2. This will be the Lions' first game since that loss at UCM, as they look to snap a two-game losing streak. Senior forward Dominique Mosley is leading MSSU in both points (15.3) and rebounds (7.1) per game. She recorded a double-double in the Feb. 1 matchup, turning in a 22-point, 11-rebound performance.
Last Time Out
The 13th-ranked Jennies escaped with a 67-64 victory that came down to the final minute against Southwest Baptist in Warrensburg on Thursday night. The game was highlighted by six ties and nine lead changes.
Keuna Flax finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, while
Quinnecia Twine finished with 14, 13 of those points coming in the game's first half. The 14 points for Twine matched her season high.
BreAnna Lewis moved into seventh-place on the Jennes' all-time three-point field goals made list with 729 after hitting two triples, leapfrogging Ashley Millham. SBU's largest lead of the game was 4-0, nearly a minute and a half into the contest. Central Missouri built a 12-point lead with 19:11 left in the game, but the Bearcats battled to take a 61-60 lead with 2:37 left, but UCM regained the lead for good on the ensuing possession thanks to a jumper by Flax.
Slifer By The Numbers
Slifer is 34th on the all-time wins list for all division coaches with 570.
Slifer is sixth among all Division II coaches with 570 wins and is eighth among all Division II coaches with a .741 winning percentage.
Slifer earned his 570th career win in UCM's 67-64 win against Southwest Baptist on Feb. 6 in Warrensburg.
Free Throw Shooting Woes
The Jennies struggled at the free throw line in their 67-64 win against Southwest Baptist on Thursday night, shooting 17-of-30 (56.7%). The 56.7% performance was a season-low and the second time this season the Jennies have shot under 60% from the line (Nov. 26 against Evangel - 59.1%).
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 six regular season games remaining on the schedule.
40 Rebounds Equals A "W"
UCM pulled down 41 rebounds against Southwest Baptist in their last game, the 12th time this season the Jennies have recorded at least 40 boards. The Jennies are 12-0 when they reach the 40-rebound mark this season.
Knocking Down The Threes
The Jennies hit eight triples against SBU, their highest total since Jan. 11 at Emporia State. At game's end, UCM finished with a .741 three-point field goal percentage (8-for-17). This season, Central MIssouri is 4-1 when they shoot at least 40% from beyond the three-point arc. Their only loss came at Harding on Nov. 29, where the team shot 40.9% (9-of-22) from three.
Bench Points
In the win over Southwest Baptist, UCM's second unit outscored the Bearcats' bench, 22-15. The 22 points were the most bench points since Jan. 18 when they contributed 33 points. Prior to the SBU game, the Jennies had received under 20 points from the second unit in five of their last six games.
Flax Comes Up Big
Senior forward
Keuna Flax led the team in scoring with 16 points against Southwest Baptist on Feb. 6, despite shooting just 5-of-13 from the floor and 6-of-13 from the free throw line. In the game's final 25 seconds, Flax converted on 4-of-6 free throws to help secure the three-point win for UCM.
New Starting Point Guard
Junior
Breonna Embray has started the past two games for the Jennies, logging 39 minutes and recording five assists and two turnovers. She has attempted just one shot in those games (0-for-1).
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 20 games this season, Lewis has sank 41 three-pointers, reaching five twice this season. She has recorded at least one three-pointer in 16 of 20 games (none against FHSU, WU, MWSU and LU). The 41 three-pointers puts her three-point career total to 129 – now seventh on the Jennies' all-time three-point field goals made list. She now stands 16 three-pointers behind Maegan Fromm for sixth on UCM's all-time leaderboard.
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 (79-of-189 from the floor) through 20 games this season. She has reached double-figures in scoring in 15 of 20 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 79 (26 offensive). She has recorded just one rebound in each of the past five games, logging a total of 53 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 8.7 rebounds through 20 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 32 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 2.0 points and 0.6 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per game this season. She also has 11 steals and 34 assists (season-high of 4 against Evangel on Nov. 26) while shooting 34.8% from three-point range (8-of-23).
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 16.3 minutes this season, making 7-of-22 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 18 games, starting two, averaging 6.9 points, shooting 40-of-104 from the floor (38.5%) and has 16 steals and 17 assists. Her 6.9 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 866-358 (.707) after 43 seasons, and 665-269 (.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 Missouri Southern
Central Missouri leads the all-time series, 34-20 and trails 14-12 all-time in Joplin ... The Jennies won the first matchup of the season against Missouri Southern on Feb. 1, 70-61 ... The Jennies have won the last two matchups in Joplin ... Overall the Jennies have won five in a row and six of the past seven meetings.
A Win for the Jennies Would...
... give UCM its seventh win in the last eight games with Missouri Southern ... give the Jennies their 12th conference win of the season ... be the 13th win in the last 14 games against unranked opponents ... extend the Jennies' win streak against Missouri Southern to six games ... match the most road wins for the Jennies (8) since 2011-12.
A Loss for the Jennies Would...
... be the fourth loss of the 2013-14 season ... drop the Jennies conference record to 11-3 ... be the first road loss to MSSU since Dec. 4, 2010 ... 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.
