WARRENSBURG, Mo. - Behind a career-high 26 points from senior
Tayler Weiks and a season-best 54% shooting percentage, Central Missouri Jennies basketball picked up an 85-39 win over Northwest Missouri, Saturday afternoon.
The Jennies shot 33-of-61 from the floor and 14-of-23 (61%) from behind the arc, also a season-high to improve to 2-5 on the year and 1-1 in the MIAA. The 46 point margin of victory is the largest in an MIAA game since UCM defeated Lincoln by 64 in January of 1992.
The afternoon though, belonged to Weiks who was 9-of-13 from the floor including a blistering 8-of-10 from deep. She hit at least one three in all four periods and was 3-of-4 in both the second and third frames. Weiks was joined by senior
Shelby Winkelmann in double-figures as she scored 17 and was 7-of-9 from the field.
Senior
Ashley Jones chipped in with eight points and seven rebounds and
Andee Wahlert dished out a career-high seven assists.
The Jennies defense also stymied the Bearcats, holding them to less than 10 points in both the third and fourth periods, and outscoring them 45-16 in the second half.
Central Missouri scored the first bucket of the game and never trailed as senior
Danielle Barry gave them a 2-0 lead just over one minute into the game. The Bearcats stuck around in the first period and a three from Alexa Schaaf cut the Jens lead to six, 17-11 after one.
That's when Weiks turned it on, scoring eight points in a three minute span to put the Jennies up a then-game-high 14. She added another with less than a minute remaining and a Winkelmann layup with eight seconds left brought us to intermission with UCM leading by 17, 40-23.
Opening the second half, UCM scored the first 19 points as Northwest didn't get on the board until a free throw at the 4:25 mark. The Jens scored 33 in the third period, led by Weiks' 12 and allowed only seven points, making it both the best offensive and defensive period for UCM this season.
From there, the Jennies were able to cruise to their highest MIAA margin of victory in 23 years, 85-39, scoring the most points in a game this season and allowing the fewest.
Taylor Shull was the top scorer for the Bearcats as she scored nine. Tanya Meyer scored seven and secured a team-best five rebounds.
The Jennies have a week off before traveling to No. 1 Emporia State Saturday, Dec. 12. The Hornets were also ranked No. 1 by the WBCA the last time these two teams met when the Jennies walked out with a 62-61 win in Warrensburg during the 2014-15 season. Tip-off from Emporia, Kan. is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
