Next up for the Jennies The Jennies host Lincoln University (6-8, 1-7 MIAA) this Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m. UCM has won five straight games against the Blue TIgers, including both meetings in 2014-15. The Jennies look to snap a two-game losing skid following a narrow
61-60 loss against Northwest Missouri State last Saturday.
Junior guard
Shelby Winkelmann is currently ranked sixth in the MIAA in scoring per game with 15.9 points a contest. Senior forward
Justina Prairie Chief leads all MIAA players with 41 steals, an average of 2.4 per game, also a conference high.
The Lincoln Blue Tigers come into the game having dropped their last four games. Sophomore guard Hunter Yoakum leads Lincoln with an average of 12.1 points per game.
Last Time Out The Jennies dropped a
61-60 decision in the final seconds to visiting Northwest Missouri on Saturday afternoon at the Multipurpose Building.
Junior
Shelby Winkelmann got the offense going in the opening minute, knocking down a three-pointer, but it was answered by a three from Northwest Missouri's Ariel Easton about a minute and a half later.
Jasmine Thompson and
Revonnia Howard went on to combine for five points to put the Jennies ahead by four points at the 16:32 mark.
Following five points from Prairie Chief and a pair of free throw tosses by senior
Brielle Wattley, the Jennies' lead grew to eight points at 16-8 with 12:58 left to go in the half.
Over the next 6:52 of the game, Northwest cut into UCM's lead, making it a one-point game with a 14-7 run, six of those points belonging to senior Aerial Easton.
The Bearcats closed the first half on an 11-7 spurt to take a 33-30 lead over the Jennies at the intermission. Seven Jennies scored in the first half, paced by Winkelmann's eight points.
UCM responded by scoring eight of the first 12 points in the second half to grab a 38-37 lead, paced by Thompson's five, one via a three-pointer.
On the following two possessions after a layup for the Bearcats that give them a 37-35 lead, Winkelmann hit a three followed by a layup from Howard, putting the Jennies ahead, 40-37 with 16:14 left in the game.
The Bearcats re-gained the lead at 41-40 with four straight points from Tember Schechinger and Easton.
The Jennies were able to jump back in front, 44-43 thanks to three-point play from Prairie Chief, but Northwest Missouri rattled off eight straight points to go up 51-44 with 9:31 on the clock.
The two foes traded baskets on the following two possessions, but the Jennies closed to within 53-49 after junior
Tayler Weiks buried a three.
The Jennies drew to within 53-51 on their next possession after Prairie Chief knocked down two free throws after drawing a foul.
Prairie Chief tied the game at 53-53 at the 5:42 mark and completed the three-point play to give the Jens a 54-53 lead.
Two possessions later, Winkelmann missed a layup but Wattley came up with an offensive board to give the Jennies a second chance. Winkelmann found Weiks at the top left corner of the floor, who drained her third trey of the game to give UCM a 57-53 lead.
Northwest Missouri responded with four straight points coming on a pair of free throws by Tanya Meyer and a layup by Schechinger, tying the game at 57-57 with 4:06 left.
The score remained tied until the 2:40 mark when Thompson split a pair of free throws to give the Jennies a one-point edge. The Jennies came up with a defensive stop and opened a 60-57 lead after Howard fed a cutting
Breonna Embray who finished the layup with 1:51 to play.
Northwest Missouri closed to within 60-59 on the ensuing possession following Shelby Mustain's layup with just over a minute left.
The Bearcats' Taylor Shull drew a foul with eight seconds left and hit a pair of free throws to give NWMSU a 61-60 lead.
The Jennies had one final opportunity to win the game. Prairie Chief's shot was blocked out of bounds and on the following inbounds pass, Winkelmann's shot was denied with 0.9 seconds remaining as she lost her footing on the attempt.
The final play saw Weiks take the inbounds pass from behind the three-point arc on the right side of the floor and fired wide left as time expired.
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 .740 winning percentage.
Slifer needs 10 wins to reach 600 in his 25-year coaching career.
Jennies Basketball In The Multi The Jens are 434-96 all-time in the Multipurpose Building, and 106-33 during the Slifer era ... Central Missouri finished the 2013-14 season with an 11-1 record in the Multi and are 5-2 at home this season ... 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.
Last Five Games Against Lincoln During the Jennies' five game win streak against the Blue Tigers, they have averaged 75.6 points per game. They have allowed under 70 points in four of those five games. The win streak extends back to the 2011-12 season.
Leading Down The Stretch In the Jennies' 61-60 loss against Northwest Missouri, the Jennies led 57-53 with 4:56 left. It was the first loss for the Jennies this season when leading with five minutes remaining, dropping their record to 8-1.
Double-Double For Prairie Chief For the first time in her career as a Jennie, senior
Justina Prairie Chief registered a double-double. She paced the offense with 15 points and hauled in 12 rebounds, also a team high. The 12 rebounds were a career high for the El Reno, Oklahoma native.
From Three-Point Land In the loss against Northwest Missouri on Jan. 17, the Jennies splashed eight three-pointers, matching their season high on January 3 at Nebraska-Kearney.
Rebound Machine Senior forward
Revonnia Howard has been an asset on the boards this season for the Jennies. Her 8.9 rebounds per game is currently third in the MIAA entering this week. Fifty-one of her 151 rebounds have been on the offensive end, both team highs. She is also the only Jennie to pull down 100 defensive rebounds this season.
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).
Howard has been limited to single-digit rebounds in four of the past five games.
Point Of Emphasis Central Missouri has held its opponents to under 80 points in 33 of its past 34 games. The Jennies are 25-9 during that span and are 35-9 since the beginning of last season.
Seeing Double After a four-game streak of scoring in single-digit points, senior
Justina Prairie Chief has provided the offense with six-consecutive games of double-digit points. Over this six-game span, she has averaged 12.8 points per game.
3-Point Threat Junior
Tayler Weiks has provided the Jennies offense with an outside scoring weapon this season, knocking down 26 three-pointers. She has knocked down multiple three-pointers in seven games, including three against Northwest Missouri State.
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 one point in the most recent Top 25 poll, released on January 20. The Jennies were ranked in the Top 25 for 33 consecutive weeks from January of 2013-December of 2014. This season, the Jennies faced three opponents (Pittsburg State, Emporia State and Drury) that currently sit in the Top 25, finishing with a record of 2-1.
UCM Program History The UCM Jennies are 886-366 (.707) after 44 seasons, and 683-277 (.711) 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 Lincoln University The Jennies lead the all-time series with the Blue Tigers, 49-2. UCM has won five games in a row against Lincoln and are 26-1 at home against Lincoln all-time.
A Win for the Jennies Would...... improve the Jennies record to 12-6 this season and 6-4 in MIAA play ... extend the Jennies win streak against Lincoln to six games ...be the third straight win against Lincoln at home.
A Loss for the Jennies Would...... drop the Jennies' record to 11-7 on the season ... drop the Jennies conference record to 5-5 ... snap the Jennies' five-game win streak against Lincoln ... mark just the second loss against Lincoln in Warrensburg.
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.
