Next up for the Jennies The fifth-seeded Jennies (20-8), will meet No. 4 seeded Missouri Southern (20-6) in the MIAA Tournament quarterfinals this Friday at 2:15 p.m. in Kansas City, Missouri. The Jennies have won eight consecutive games and are 3-1 in their last four MIAA Tournament games. The winner faces the winner of No. 1 seeded Fort Hays State and No. 9 seeded Northeastern State on Saturday, March 7 at 6 p.m.
During the regular season, the Jennies and Lady Lions split the series, both teams winning on its home court. Missouri Southern has won six straight games since the Jennies defeated them, 61-48 in Warrensburg back on February 7.
Missouri Southern's Nicole Hartzog and Sharese Jones lead the offense with both players averaging 13.7 points per game. Jones is first in rebounds per contest with 7.1, while Hartzog is first in assists (50) and steals (55).
The Jennies are 2-2 all-time against Missouri Southern in the postseason. The last meeting between the two schools in the conference tournament was March 4, 2010 in the MIAA quarterfinals. The Jennies were victorious, 77-67.
Jennies head coach
Dave Slifer needs one more win to reach 600 in his career.
Last Time Out The fifth-seeded Jennies basketball team overcame a seven-point halftime deficit to
eliminate No. 12 seed Lindenwood by a 73-69 final, advancing to the MIAA Tournament quarterfinals this Friday in Kansas City, Missouri.
The win extended the Jennies' win streak to eight games. Three Jennies (20-8), headlined by junior
Tayler Weiks, scored in double-figure points. Weiks came off the bench to provide the UCM offense with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-5 from three-point range. Seniors
Revonnia Howard and
Jasmine Thompson both chipped in 16 points apiece.
The first 6:44 of the game had five ties until Lindenwood rattled off eight straight points to go ahead, 21-13 with 10:51 to play in the first half.
The two teams traded baskets for the next three possessions before Lindenwood's Kassidy Gengenbacher buried a three-pointer to put the Lady Lions up, 26-19 at the 6:18 mark of the first half. The Jennies cut the deficit to one after sophomore
Andee Wahlert hit a trey, but the Lady Lions closed the final 3 1/2 minutes outscoring the UCM, 8-2 to take a 34-27 lead into halftime.
Coming out of the intermission, the Jennies battled for the first 4:06 to close to within 38-35, but a three-pointer by Gengenbacher on the next possession pushed the Lady Lion lead to 41-35.
After another bucket, putting the Jennies in an eight-point hole, Weiks hit a three-pointer, followed up by a layup from senior
Justina Prairie Chief to close the gap to three-points with 14:18 to go.
Following a layup by Lindenwood, UCM got five straight points via a Weiks three-pointer and pair of free throws by Prairie Chief to tie the game at 45-45.
With the game knotted at 46-46, Wahlert splashed her second three of the game at the 9:48 mark to put the Jennies ahead, 49-46. The Jennies held that lead until 3:18 stood on the clock when Jonna Raflund scored on a layup to make it a 61-60 game in favor of Lindenwood.
Howard deposited a layup on the next possession to put the Jennies ahead for good, 62-61 with three minutes remaining. The Jennies would hold off Lindenwood for the rest of the game, outscoring them, 11-8, punching their ticket to Kansas City this Friday.
UCM shot 45.3% (24-of-53) from the floor, including 54.2% (13-of-24) in the second half. The Jennies received 23 points from their bench and stole the ball 17 times.
Slifer By The Numbers Slifer is 32nd on the all-time wins list for all NCAA coaches with 599.
Slifer is sixth among all Division II coaches with 599 wins and is ninth among all Division II coaches with a .741 winning percentage.
Slifer needs one win to reach 600 in his 25-year coaching career.
Jennies In MIAA Tourney Play The Jennies have won seven MIAA Tournament titles, the last coming in 1990.
The Jennies have reached the MIAA Championship round twice in the last five seasons (09-10, 13-14) and have finished tied for third or better in six of the past eight seasons. The Jens are 37-24 all-time in MIAA Tourney play.
Winkelmann Earns MIAA Athlete Of The Week Jennies junior guard
Shelby Winkelmann was named the MIAA Athlete of the Week on Monday. The Rhineland, Missouri native averaged 19.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists in a pair of victories for the Jennies.
Winkelmann is the first Jennie to earn the award this season.
Season Numbers vs. Missouri Southern During the regular season, the Jennies and Missouri Southern battled each other to close games, statisticially. The Jennies held a 63.0-59.5 (plus-3.5 point differential) lead in points per game. The Jennies held narrow leads in rebounds (72-70), free throw percentage (81.4%-74.5%) and assists (21-17).
In the first half of the two contests, the Jennies outscored the Lady Lions, 55-39, but were outscored, 80-71 in the second half.
Three Jennies averaged double-figure points (
Shelby Winkelmann- 17.0,
Revonnia Howard- 12.0) and
Jasmine Thompson- 11.5.)
Weiks, Wahlert Have Big Games The Jennies received some much-needed punch from their bench players in the MIAA first round matchup against Lindenwood, specifically junior
Tayler Weiks and sophomore
Andee Wahlert.
Weiks matched her season high with 17 points against the Lady Lions on Tuesday. Wahlert hit a pair of three-pointers for six points, setting a new season best.
Inside The Winning Streak The Jennies' eight game win streak matches the team's longest since Feb. 1-March 1 of last season. During the current streak, the offense is averaging 73.9 points while surrending just 62.4 points per game (plus-11.5 point differential).
Three Jennies,
Revonnia Howard (16.4),
Shelby Winkelmann (13.8),
Jasmine Thompson (13.1) are averaging double-digit points. Howard is also pulling down a team-best 9.0 rebounds per game and has 14 blocks and 14 steals, both team highs. Winkelmann leads the Jennies with 29 assists.
Junior
Tayler Weiks leads all bench players with 9.4 points per contest and is shooting 40.0% (16-of-40) from behind the three-point arc.
The Jennies are shooting 75.3% (134-of178) from the free throw line.
Offensive Efficiency In five straight games, the Jennies have hit seven or more three-pointers, totalling 37 over that span.
The offense is also hitting at least 40% of their overall shot attempts in four of the last five games, leading to 72 points or more in all of those contests.
Block Party Howard has blocked 48 shots this season, bumping her career total to 91. Her 48 blocks passed her total of 43 from a season ago and ties her with Kamala Sherman for sixth-place on UCM's all-time list.
Howard is two blocks shy of passing Tammy Wilson for fifth on UCM's all-time list.
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. Eighty-two of her 249 rebounds have been on the offensive end, both team highs.
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).
She has been held to single-digit rebounds in five of the past six games.
Season-High in Steals In the MIAA first round game against Lindenwood, the Jennies came up with a season-best 17 steals, converting them into 16 points.
The 17 steals is the most since opening night of the 2012-13 season (Nov. 10) against Webster, when they stole the ball 17 times.
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 895-368 (.708) after 44 seasons, and 692-279 (.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 Southern The Jennies lead the all-time series with the Lions. 36-21. The Jennies are 2-2 against Missouri Southern all-time in the postseason. The Jennies have won seven of the past eight meetings overall.
A Win for the Jennies Would...... advance the Jennies to the MIAA Tournament semifinals on Saturday, March 7 against the winner of No. 1 seeded Fort Hays State and No. 9 seeded Northeastern State ... put the Jennies in the tournament semifinals for the fourth-straight season ... be win No. 600 in the career of head coach
Dave Slifer ... extend the Jennies' win streak to nine games ... improve the Jennies record to 21-8 this season ... be the fourth MIAA Tournament win in the past five tries.
A Loss for the Jennies Would...... drop the Jennies' record to 20-9 on the season ... eliminate the Jennies from the MIAA Tournament.
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.
Central Region Rankings For the third straight week, the Jennies were ranked No. 9 in the initial Central Region rankings that were released by the NCAA on Wednesday, March 4. The top eight teams in the final rankings on Sunday, March 8 qualify for the Central Regional tournament March 13, 14 and 16 at a campus site to be determined. The NCAA-II Women's Selection Show is set for 9 p.m. on Sunday, March 8 on NCAA.com.
