Next up for the Jennies Coming off their first victory against the No. 1 team in the nation in nearly 10 years, the Jennies (11-4, 5-2 MIAA) travel to St. Joseph, Mo. to play Missouri Western on Wednesday, January 14. Three Jennies,
Revonnia Howard,
Justina Prairie Chief and
Shelby Winkelmann, scored double-figure points in the victory over ESU. Howard's 20 led all scorers, to go along with nine rebounds.
Entering this week, Winkelmann is the seventh-leading scorer in the MIAA with a 16.3 per game average. Howard is third in rebounds per contest at 9.3 and is third in the conference with 48 offensive boards.
The Jennies have won the past 13 meetings against the Griffons, including five in a row in St. Joseph. Missouri Western enters the contest having lost its last five games. Junior guard LaQuinta Jefferson is first in the MIAA in scoring, averaging 22.1 points per game and the reigning MIAA Player of the Week.
Last Time Out The Jennies won in the final moments against the No. 1 Emporia State Lady Hornets last Saturday by a 62-61 final, the first time since January 15, 2005 UCM topped the top-ranked team in the country.
This time around in Warrensburg, the Jennies overcame a nine-point hole in the second half, outscoring the Lady Hornets, 22-12 in the final 14:09 to complete the upset. Three Jennies, led by senior
Revonnia Howard's 20 points, finished in double-figure scoring.
The first half consisted of four ties and nine lead changes. The Jennies scored the game's first four points, but the Lady Hornets went on a 5-0 run to take their first lead at 5-4 with 15:07 left in the opening half.
The two conference foes traded buckets over the next seven possessions, leaving UCM with a 13-11 lead with 11:07 left on the first half clock.
After
Brielle Wattley knocked down a jumper to give the Jennies a 15-11 lead, Emporia State came back with five of its own to re-take a 16-15 edge. The game's fourth tie occurred with 7:30 left after a trey by Emporia State's Kyrstie Miller, but the Jennies came back with jumpers by Howard and senior
Justina Prairie Chief to take a 23-19 lead with 6:30 left.
The Lady Hornets went on a 12-2 binge over the next 5:05, increasing their lead to six points. The opening half ended with both teams trading buckets, leaving the Jennies in a 33-27 hole.
In the first 2:25 of the second half, Emporia State built its lead to eight points at 39-31. UCM responded with a six unanswered points, cutting the deficit to two, all accounted for by Prairie Chief.
The next four possessions saw the two foes exchanging buckets, but back-to-back three-pointers by the Lady Hornets gave ESU its largest lead of the game at 49-40 with 14:09 left in the game.
The deficit was cut to five with 12:47 on the clock, but went right back to seven points with 11:09 left following a pair of made free throws by Merissa Quick.
Howard's three-point play with 10:11 remaining closed the gap to 51-47, but was cancelled out by a three-point play by Quick on the ensuing possession.
After Emporia State's lead went back to nine points, the Jennies knocked down three free throws to close to within 56-50 with 6:19 on the clock.
The deficit remained at six points until the 2:41 mark of the second half, when junior
Shelby Winkelmann and Prairie Chief deposited three free throws in four attempts, making it a 60-57 contest.
Two possessions later, Prairie Chief drew a foul and knocked down two more free throw tosses, closing the Jennies to within 60-59 with 1:52 left in the game.
Following an Emporia State turnover with 1:34 remaining, Howard received a bounce pass from senior
Breonna Embray to the left of the basket and dropped it in the hoop, giving UCM its first lead since the 4:55 mark in the first half.
On the ensuing possession, Kelsey Barnwell was fouled and split the pair of free throws, tying the game at 61-61 with 59 seconds remaining.
Emporia State responded to a UCM turnover with a miscue of their own, giving the Jennies the ball back with 13 seconds remaining.
Winkelmann sunk the game-winning free throw after drawing a foul with five seconds left.
The Jennies closed the game with a defensive stand after Kelly Moten's last-second three-pointer was off the mark.
Slifer By The Numbers Slifer is 32nd on the all-time wins list for all NCAA coaches with 590.
Slifer is sixth among all Division II coaches with 590 wins and is ninth among all Division II coaches with a .742 winning percentage.
Slifer needs 10 wins to reach 600 in his 25-year coaching career.
Success Against The Griffons The Jennies' 13-game win streak against the Griffons is longest against any MIAA opponent. Central Missouri has not lost to the Griffons since January 16, 2008. (89-63 final at Missouri Western).
A Look Back In two victories against the Griffons last season, seniors
Revonnia Howard and
Shelby Winkelmann came up big for the Jennies offense. Howard averaged 15.5 points and 5.0 rebounds, while Winkelmann averaged 14.0 points and 1.5 rebounds.
Shutting Down The Lady Hornets The Jennies held Emporia State to just 35.7% shooting (20-of-56) from the floor. The 35.7% shooting performance was tied for the second-best for UCM's defense this season.
Three-Lows The Jennies attempted just three 3-pointers in the win against Emporia State on Saturday. It was the lowest total in a single game since January 25, 2003 against Emporia State (5).
Block Party Senior forward
Revonnia Howard blocked a season-high of four shots against Emporia State on Saturday, raising her season total to 27. She enters the week currently tied with Kylie Gafford of Pittsburg State for fourth in the MIAA in blocks.
Dynamic Defensive Duo Entering the week, senior
Justina Prairie Chief and junior
Shelby Winkelmann are ranked first and second in the conference in steals this season. Prairie Chief has 37 steals (2.5 average) while Winkelmann has picked the opposing team 27 times (2.3 average).
Winkelmann and Prairie Chief are also second and third, respectively, in minutes played per game. (Winkelmann is averaging 34.4 minutes; Prairie Chief is logging 33.7 minutes per game this season).
Rebound Machine Senior forward
Revonnia Howard has been an asset on the boards this season for the Jennies. Her 9.3 rebounds per game is currently third in the MIAA entering this week. Forty-eight of her 140 rebounds have been on the offensive end, both team highs.
Howard pulled down a career-high 21 rebounds in the 73-65 overtime win against Quincy on Nov. 24. Howard's 21 rebounds in a single-game are tied for fourth-most in UCM history.
The Chicago, Illinois native was the first Jennie to record at least 20 rebounds since Jojuana Jones hauled in 21 boards on March 6, 2008 in the first round of the MIAA Tournament against SBU (89-80 loss).
She has either been tied or led the Jennies in rebounding in the past nine games and has pulled down 38 rebounds in the past four contests.
Point Of Emphasis Central Missouri has held its opponents to under 80 points in 31 of its past 32 games. The Jennies are 25-7 during that span and are 35-7 since the beginning of last season.
Conference Numbers Through seven conference games, the Jennies' offense has three players averaging double-figure points.
Shelby Winkelmann leads the way with 15.4 points,
Justina Prairie Chief with 12.9 points and
Revonnia Howard with 11.4 points. Howard is also the only Jennie to average at least 10.0 rebounds per game in conference action. Junior
Tayler Weiks is the leading bench scorer, providing the Jennies with 7.9 points on 50% shooting (19-of-38).
Free Throw Nuggets Against the Lady Hornets, the Jennies deposited 20-of-26 free throws (76.9%). It marked just the fourth time this season that the Jennies made at least 20 free throws in a game. They are 3-1 in those situations in 2014-15.
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.
UCM in the Polls The Jennies earned 50 points in the most recent Top 25 poll, released on January 13. The Jennies were ranked in the Top 25 for 33 consecutive weeks from January of 2013-December of 2014. This season, the Jennies face four opponents (Pittsburg State, Emporia State, Drury and Washburn) that currently sit in the Top 25.
UCM Program History The UCM Jennies are 886-364 (.708) after 44 seasons, and 683-275 (.712) in the 32 seasons since joining NCAA Division II ... the Jennies have won 10 MIAA regular season championships with last year's title, 7 MIAA Tournament titles, 6 NCAA regional titles, and the 1984 NCAA Division II Championship.
Series History With Missouri Western The Jennies lead the all-time series with the Griffons, 33-26. The Jennies have won 13 games in a row against Missouri Western, dating back to the 2007-08 season. The Jennies are 11-17 all-time in St. Joseph, but have won the past five road games against the Griffons.
A Win for the Jennies Would...... improve the Jennies record to 12-4 this season and 6-2 in MIAA play ... extend the Jennies win streak against Missouri Western to 14 games ... extend the Jennies' win streak against the Griffons on the road to six games.
A Loss for the Jennies Would...... drop the Jennies' record to 11-5 on the season ... drop the Jennies conference record to 5-3 ... snap the Jennies' 13-game win streak against the Griffons ... be the first loss against the Griffons in St. Joseph since January 16, 2008.
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.
