Next up for the Jennies The Jennies (10-3, 4-1 MIAA) look to continue their climb to the top of the MIAA standings, as they host No. 5 Pittsburg State on Thursday, January 8 for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off. UCM will go for its second win against a Top 10 team in four days after upsetting No. 8 Washburn, 64-61 in Topeka on Monday. The win was the first for UCM against a Top 10 opponent since February 3, 2010 (won 64-60 over No. 5 Emporia State).
Junior guard
Shelby Winkelmann leads the Jennies in scoring with 18.0 points per game in 10 games this season. Senior forward
Revonnia Howard is first in boards with 9.3 per game and has pulled down nine or more rebounds in six of the past seven games.
The Jennies have won the past two meetings with the Gorillas, including an 88-86 overtime thriller last season is Pittsburg, Kan. Pittsburg State arrives in Warrensburg winners of its past six games.
Last Time Out The Jennies extended their win streak to four games, upsetting No. 8 Washburn, 64-61 in the final minute at Lee Arena on Monday night.
The Jennies (10-3, 4-1 MIAA) began the game opening a 6-3 lead, but the Ichabods took the lead with back-to-back buckets from Honor Duvall and Jayna Smith.
After trading baskets over the next two possessions, UCM gained separation, the Jennies went on a 16-5 run over the next four minutes. Junior guard
Tayler Weiks gave the offense a boost off the bench for the third straight game, hitting a pair of three-pointers during that span.
Washburn closed to within seven points with 7:41 left in the first half, but the Jennies went on a 13-9 run over the next 6:24, opening a 37-26 lead.
Following a pair of free throw makes by Washburn, senior
Brielle Wattley found junior
Danielle Barry underneath the basket, who dropped in a layup to beat the halftime buzzer.
The Jennies shot 57.1% (16-of-28) from the floor in the first half and had three players score eight points each, all second to Weiks' 11.
Following the intermission, the Jennies saw their lead deteriorate from 11 points to four in the first 7:12 of second half.
UCM saw its lead sliced to a single point at 43-42 with 11:45, but
Justina Prairie Chief made a three-pointer and
Revonnia Howard scored on a layup to bump their lead back to six.
After trading buckets for the next five possessions, Washburn's Taylor Ignoto and Casyn Buchman deposited four free throws to close to within 58-56 with 4:16 left.
Washburn's Honor Duvall tied the game for the first time with a layup with 3:42 left. They took their first lead when Jayna Smith split a pair of free throws two possessions later at 59-58.
Senior guard
Jasmine Thompson scored on a breakaway layup and drew a foul with 1:23 left, but missed the free throw, as the Jennies remained in a one-point hole at 61-60.
The Jennies got a defensive stop on Washburn's next possession, and regained a 62-61 lead with a layup by Howard with 53 seconds remaining.
Thompson forced a steal on the Ichabod's next possession, forcing Washburn to foul with 17 seconds left, sending Prairie Chief to the free throw stripe. Prairie Chief deposited both free throw tosses, giving UCM a 64-61 lead.
The Jennies' defense contested a last second three-pointer by Ignoto, giving the Jennies their second win in their last three tries against Washburn in Topeka.
Slifer By The Numbers Slifer is 32nd on the all-time wins list for all NCAA coaches with 589.
Slifer is sixth among all Division II coaches with 589 wins and is ninth among all Division II coaches with a .742 winning percentage.
Slifer needs 11 wins to reach 600 in his 25-year coaching career.
Spark Off The Bench Junior guard
Tayler Weiks turned in a third straight solid performance in the win against Washburn, scoring 11 points - all in the first half. Her 11 points at the intermission led all Jennies scorers. At game's end, she shot 4-of-8 from the floor and splashed 3-of-5 three-pointers, while chipping in an assist and a steal.
Over the past three games, Weiks has averaged 13.0 points on 13-of-24 shooting (54.2%). She has also shot 55.6% (10-of-18) from behind the three-point line, best among Jennies.
Win Streak Notables During the Jennies' four-game win streak, three players have averaged double-figure points (
Shelby Winkelmann - 15.5,
Jasmine Thompson - 12.3,
Justina Prairie Chief - 10.5). Weiks has averaged 9.8 points off the bench, a team-high.
Prairie Chief is first in steals (9) and second in rebounds (9).
Senior
Revonnia Howard is first in boards with 9.0 per game.
The Jennies are averaging 62.8 points per game while allowing just 55.2 points to opponents.
Dominating the Paint In their win at Washburn, the Jennies were a mismatch for the Ichabods in the post, outscoring Washburn, 40-26, including 22-10 in the first half. It was the fourth time this season the Jennies scored at least 40 points in the paint. They are 2-2 when scoring that many points in the post.
Party Of Five In the win against Washburn, the Jennies had five players score in double-digit points in the same game for the first time this season. Four of the five (Prairie Chief, Howard, Thompson, Winklemann) were starters, while Weiks was the lone bench player, scoring 11.
It was the first time since March 1, 2014 against Northwest Missouri that five UCM players registered double-digit points in one game (77-56 win).
Free Throws The Jennies made it to the free-throw line just nine times in the win at Washburn, making 8-of-9 tosses. It was the first time this season UCM failed to attempt at least 10 free throws in a game.
Transition Defense Washburn was unable to score any fast break points against the Jennies on Monday night, the third time UCM has prevented its opponent from scoring on the fast break. Their record in such situations is 3-0.
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-five of her 121 rebounds have been on the offensive end, both team highs. She is one of four MIAA players (Vanessa Zallo - Lindenwood, Kate Lehman - Fort Hays State, Amarah Williams - Nebraska-Kearney) to record at least 100 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).
She has led the Jennies in rebounding in six of the past seven games and has led or been tied for the team-lead in rebounds in nine games in 2014-15.
Prairie Chief 'Steals' The Show Through 13 games, senior guard
Justina Prairie Chief leads the MIAA in steals with 32 (2.4 per game). She has recorded at least one steal in 12 of the 13 games she has played in this year.
Point Of Emphasis Central Missouri has held its opponents to under 80 points in 29 of its past 30 games. The Jennies are 24-6 during that span and are 34-6 since the beginning of last season.
Sharing The Ball Since failing to reach double-digit assists in four of five games, the Jennies have finished with double-digit assists in back-to-back wins.
This season when dishing out double-digit dimes, the Jens are 5-1.
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 19 points in the most recent Top 25 poll, released on January 5. 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 (Emporia State, Pittsburg State, Washburn and Drury University) that currently sit in the Top 25.
UCM Program History The UCM Jennies are 885-363 (.709) after 44 seasons, and 682-274 (.713) 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 Pittsburg State The Jennies lead the all-time series, 28-20. The Jennies have won the past two matchups and have taken seven of the past nine games in Warrensburg.
A Win for the Jennies Would...... improve the Jennies record to 11-3 this season and 5-1 in MIAA play ... extend the team's winning streak to five games ... be the fifth conference win for the Jens in as many games ... extend the Jennies' win streak against the Gorillas to three games ... be career win No. 590 for head coach
Dave Slifer.
A Loss for the Jennies Would...... drop the Jennies' record to 10-4 on the season ... drop the Jennies conference record to 4-2 ... snap the team's four-game win streak overall and in conference play ... be the third loss in the last four home games against the Gorillas.
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.
