Next up for the Jennies The Jennies (16-8, 10-6 MIAA) have clinched a spot in the MIAA Tournament and will go for their fifth straight victory and second consecutive season series sweep over SBU this Saturday, February 21 for a 1:30 p.m. tip-off at the Multipurpose Building. The Jennies took the first matchup back on February 5 by a final tally of 79-67 in Bolivar.
Saturday is Senior Day as the Jennies' six seniors (
Amanda Rodenberg,
Brielle Wattley,
Breonna Embray,
Justina Prairie Chief,
Revonnia Howard,
Jasmine Thompson) will be honored prior to the 1:30 p.m. tip-off.
Entering the week, the Jennies remain a half-game behind Missouri Southern for the fourth and final spot for a first round conference bye.
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the Play 4Kay Initiative, the Jennies will wear pink jerseys for Saturday's matchup.
SBU has lost its last four games. Dilonna Johnson paces the Bearcats' offense with 11.6 points per game this season and is first in assists with 82.
The Jennies have won six straight home games against SBU.
Last Time Out Looking to keep pace with the top four teams in the MIAA, the Jennies cruised to a 72-55 win over visiting Lindenwood to run their win streak to four games on Saturday afternoon.
Ten Jennies (16-8, 10-6 MIAA) scored in the game, led by junior guard
Tayler Weiks, who finished with 16 points, one point shy of a career high. She drained 6-of-10 shots from the floor, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Seniors
Jasmine Thompson and
Revonnia Howard added 13 and 10 points, respectively.
In the first half, the Jennies got off to a fast start, scoring nine of the game's first 11 points. Their lead reached double-digits within the first 5:28 of the game at 14-3 and began to pull away from Lindenwood with eight straight points to take a 22-3 advantage. Weiks scored six of her points during the first seven minutes of action.
The Lady Lions were able to slice the deficit to 33-21 at the 1:33 mark of the first half, but drew no closer to the Jennies.
Central Missouri's second unit scored 15 of their 32 bench points in the opening half of play, and outmatched Lindenwood in the paint, 16-2. All five starters for the Jennies scored in the first half, eight in total. The 32 bench points were the most for the Jennies since November 29 when they scored 37 at West Florida.
In the second half, Lindenwood scored the first basket to make it a 33-23 game in favor of the Jens, but were unable to pull to within single-digits for the remainder of the game. The Jennies' largest lead of the game reached 21 points (49-28) at the 12:18 mark, capping off a 16-5 run by UCM's offense to begin the second half.
Thompson and Weiks both chipped in eight points each in the game's second half. The Jennies attempted a season-low five free throws, but made all of them. For the third straight game, the Jennies finished with 36 points in the paint.
Slifer By The Numbers Slifer is 32nd on the all-time wins list for all NCAA coaches with 595.
Slifer is sixth among all Division II coaches with 595 wins and is ninth among all Division II coaches with a .740 winning percentage.
Slifer needs five wins to reach 600 in his 25-year coaching career.
Jennies Basketball In The Multi The Jens are 437-96 all-time in the Multipurpose Building, and 109-33 during the Slifer era ... Central Missouri finished the 2013-14 season with an 11-1 record in the Multi ...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.
First Meeting At Southwest Baptist In the first meeting of the season on Feb. 5 at SBU, the Jennies and the Bearcats battled to a 28-28 halftime deadlock. The Jennies scored a season-high 51 points in the second half, the most points for a half since February 15, 2014 at Lindenwood (scored 51).
Four Jennies scored in double-figures, led by senior
Revonnia Howard's 22. Junior
Danielle Barry chipped in nine points off UCM's bench.
Weiks Leads The Way Junior guard
Tayler Weiks broke a streak of five games with single-digit points, exploding for 16 points in the win against Lindenwood last Saturday. She made 6-of-10 shots from the floor and tied her career-high with four 3-pointers and three assists.
The Jennies are 5-0 this season when Weiks tallies double-digit points.
Inside The Winning Streak During the Jennies' four-game win streak, the offense is averaging 72.5 points while surrending just 58.2 points per game (plus-14.3 point differential).
They are outscoring the opposing team, 121-90 in the first half and 169-143 in the second half.
Revonnia Howard leads the team with 16.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, playing in just over 25 minutes per contest.
The Jennies are shooting 41.4% (101-of-244) from the floor and 39.1% (25-of-64) from three-point range.
Free Throw Low In last Saturday's win against Lindenwood, UCM attempted a season low five three throws, making all of them. It was the lowest game total for the Jens since November 13, 2013 against William Jewell College when they attempted six free throws.
Rebound Machine Senior forward
Revonnia Howard has been an asset on the boards this season for the Jennies. Her 9.0 rebounds per game is currently third in the MIAA entering this week. Seventy-five of her 216 rebounds have been on the offensive end, both team highs. Her 75 offensive rebounds are currently fourth-best in the MIAA.
She is one of three Jennies (
Justina Prairie Chief,
Jasmine Thompson) to pull down triple-digit rebounds this season. She is one of two Jennies (Prairie Chief) to have 100 defensive rebounds this season as well.
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).
Block Party Howard has blocked 39 shots this season, bumping her career total to 82. The 82 blocks are tied with Dawn Thomas for seventh-place on the Jennies' all-time list.
She is nine blocks shy of tying Kamala Sherman for sixth-place on UCM's all-time list.
Playing Well At Home The Jennies are 8-3 at home this season and need two more wins to reach at least 10 for the fourth consecutive season.
Offense Sharing The Ball The Jennies have tallied double-digit assists in four consecutive games, totaling 48 during that span. It's the first time this season the offense has put together four games in a row of 10 assists or more, and the first time since March 8-15, 2014 that the team has accomplished the feat.
Off To Fast Starts In the last seven games, the Jennies have either had the lead or been tied at halftime. The Jennies are outrebounding their opponents in four of those first halves and are shooting 40.8% (158-of-398) from the floor.
Season-High For Wattley In the Jennies' win over Lindenwood last Saturday, senior guard
Brielle Wattley scored a season-best eight points off the bench. She made 3-of-4 shots from the floor and hit a pair of three-pointers, a personal best this season.
From Three In the last two games, the Jennies have made 16-of-40 three-pointers (40%). They tied their season high with nine treys in their 72-55 win over Lindenwood last Saturday (also against the Lady Lions back on Jan. 24).
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 were ranked in the Top 25 for 33 consecutive weeks from January of 2013-December of 2014. This season, the Jennies faced four opponents (Fort Hays State, Emporia State, Pittsburg State and Drury) that currently sit in the Top 25, finishing with a record of 1-3.
UCM Program History The UCM Jennies are 891-368 (.707) after 44 seasons, and 688-279 (.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 Southwest Baptist The Jennies lead the all-time series with the Bearcats, 51-12. They have won the past three meetings overall and the last six in Warrensburg. The Jennies won the first meeting of this season in Bolviar back on Feb. 5, 79-67.
A Win for the Jennies Would...... improve the Jennies record to 17-8 this season and 11-6 in MIAA play ... be fourth straight win over SBU and seventh in a row at home ... be the 400th win for Central Missouri since joining the MIAA.
A Loss for the Jennies Would...... drop the Jennies' record to 16-9 on the season ... drop the Jennies conference record to 10-7 ... snap the team's three-game win streak against SBU ... mark the first loss to the Bearcats in Warrensburg since January 9, 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.
