Jennies Basketball Looks to Stay Hot Versus Lincoln

Tip Off
• 2015 marks the 46th year of UCM Jennies Basketball.
• UCM was picked to finish third in the MIAA pre-season coaches poll.
• The Jennies has started off the week with an 82-64 win over Lindenwood. They've won four of their last five games
• Central Missouri is 6-8 overall and 5-4 in the MIAA, putting them in seventh place in the
conference standings.
• Lincoln makes its way to Warrensburg in the midst of a season-long six-game losing streak. The Blue Tigers dropped their midweek game Thursday night in Bolivar at the hands of Southwest Baptist, 67-44. Their last win came Dec. 18 at home against Northwest Missouri.

On the Air
• Central Missouri basketball is broadcast live on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar, and online at warrensburgradio.com. Games are broadcast by 1450 KOKO/98.5 The Bar Sports Director, Greg Hassler and Assistant Director for Media Relations, Mike Knipper. Video is also available through Central Missouri's online internet portal through Stretch Internet, and can be found at UCMathletics.com

Story Lines
• Last year UCM went 13-6 in conference games, finishing fifth in the regular season standings. They are 4-4 to start this season.
• Winkelmann earned her third MIAA Player of the Week honor for her performances last week. She averaged 27 points per game and recorded a 28 point, 10 assist double-double against Pittsburg State. With 21 points against Lindenwood, Winkelmann has five straight games with at least 20 points.
• Ashley Jones has recorded double-doubles in three straight games. She set a career-high with 26 points in the win Wednesday night against Lindenwood.
• The Jennies and Blue Tigers series history dates back to 1983. UCM has a decisive advantage having won 51 of 53 games against Lincoln. The last Lincoln win over the Jennies came in December 2011. Central Missouri swept the Blue Tigers last season, picking up a 79-67 win in Warrensburg.
• Head Coach Dave Slifer won his 600th career game in the MIAA quarterfinal win over Missouri Southern. He is 606-218 lifetime as a coach and 222-118 at UCM. His 605 wins are the sixth-most among active Division II Head Coaches. He is also six wins shy of tying Coach Jon Pye's 228 wins for the most in UCM history.
• The Jennies went 21-9 last season and played in the MIAA semifinal game.



Quick Hits
Last Time Out
The Jennies began this week with an 82-64 win at home over Lindenwood. After a tight first half, UCM pulled away in the third period, outscoring the Lady Lions 27-17 in the frame. Lindenwood cut the lead to eight in the final frame, but UCM's lead was never in doubt as they ran away with an 18 point win. Ashley Jones picked up her third straight double-double scoring a career-high 26 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Shelby Winkelmann (21) and Tayler Weiks (17) were also in double figures.

Halftime Adjustments
Central Missouri's top scoring period this season has been the third. Coming out of halftime, UCM has scored 286 points in third periods and are outscoring their opponents by 65, allowing 221 in third periods, their fewest of any period. The Jennies outscored the Lady Lions 27-17 in the third period on Wednesday as they pulled away from LWU. The third period is also the only one this season UCM has a positive scoring margin. They've been on the plus side of scoring in third periods in seven of nine MIAA games.

Conference Leaders
A handful of Jennies are trending towards the top of the rankings in the MIAA. Senior Shelby Winkelmann is second in the MIAA in both scoring with 21.4 points per game and shooting percentage at 52.7% (89-169). She's also fourth in the MIAA connecting on 85.7% of her free throw attempts (42-49). Her 21.4 points per game is also 10th in Division II.

Winkelmann has scored at least 20 points in five straight games and has seven 20 point games this season. Keuna Flax was the last Jennie with five straight 20 point games doing so in the 2013-14 season. No Jennie has reached six straight 20-point games during a single season since records dating back to 2000. Flax ended 2012-13 with three straight 20-point games and started 2013-14 with four straight.

Senior Ashley Jones is near the top of the conference in rebounding. With 9.2 per game, she sits second in the MIAA. She also leads the conference with 3.3 offensive rebounds per game and her 40 offensive boards is fifth. Her 52.5% shooting percentage would rank third, but she is just short of the 5.0 made field goals per game.

Finally, senior Tayler Weiks is in the MIAA top-10 for her three point shooting prowess. Weiks is fifth in the MIAA in three-point shooting percentage (.378, 28-74) and seventh in made three pointers per game (2.0).

Heating Up
Central Missouri's shooting percentages have been steadily rising. Heading into conference play, UCM was shooting .405 for the season. Since conference play has started, that has risen to .419, thanks to shooting .427 in MIAA games, fourth-best in the MIAA. Their three-point shooting has also greatly improved. In their first five games, UCM was hitting just 28.4% of three point attempts. In conference play they're shooting 38% from deep, second in the MIAA. Shelby Winkelmann (57.9%) and Tayler Weiks (42.1%) have been the biggest difference makers in the rise of the Jennies three-point shooting percentage.

Quick Hands
The Jennies 116 steals this season have them ranked sixth in the MIAA. Ashley Duffy has been the leader of the thievery with 22 steals and at least two in seven of 14 games and in only 11 games, Shelby Winkelmann has 20 takeaways.

Double Trouble
The Jennies have had four double-doubles in their last three games. Ashley Jones has accomplished it in three straight games against Pittsburg State, Missouri Southern and Lindenwood, giving her five for the season. Shelby Winkelmann recorded her first double-double of the season at PSU. Keuna Flax was the last Jennie to record three straight double-doubles, doing so in January of 2014.

20-20 Vision
With their 21 wins in 2014-15, UCM has now won at least 20 games in four straight seasons. It is their longest such stretch since the Jens went 11 straight years with at least 20 wins from 1981-82 - 1991-92.

Scouting the Opposition
Lincoln
Overall Record: 6-10
Conference Record: 2-8 (MIAA)
Series History: UCM leads 51-2
Last Meeting: Feb. 11, 2015 - UCM 78, LU 63
Head Coach: Nicole Collier (34-60, fourth season)

• Lincoln started the conference season 2-2 and has since gone on to lose their next six conference games. The Blue Tigers last win came Dec. 18 against Northwest Missouri.
• During their six game losing streak, the Blue Tigers have not scored 45 points in their last four games. They scored a season-low 36 points Jan. 7 against Nebraska-Kearney. Lincoln is the third lowest scoring team in the MIAA, scoring 61.9 points per game and only 55.4 during conference matchups.
• What the Blue Tigers do best is shoot free throws. They are second in the MIAA converting on 76.5% of their free throw attempts. They were sitting a top the conference heading into Thursday nights game, but were overtaken by Central Oklahoma.
• Lincoln relies heavily on a pair of guards, Hunter Yoakum and Lizzie Nessling. Those two are both in the top-three in the MIAA in minutes played with Yoakum leading the conference at 35.2.
• Yoakum is also one of two Blue Tigers scoring more than 10 points per game. She's averaged 11 points through 13 games. Zuri Hill leads the team scoring 13.4 points per game.
• Hill is also the team's leading rebounder at 7.5 boards per game. With 37.9 rebounds per contest, Lincoln ranks fourth in the MIAA. Nessling is second on the team, corraling 6.7 rebounds.
• Lincoln is the worst team in the MIAA at creating turnovers. They've come up just 4.75 steals per game, last in the conference. Dorian Briggs is responsible for most of the team's steals, having taken the ball away 22 times.
• The Blue Tigers are also the lowest shot blocking team in the conference. Lincoln has swatted just 17 shots through 16 games. Hill is the team's leading shot-blocker with four and Yoakum and Nessling have each added three.
• Azaria Nave is the team leader with 38 assists and Briggs is a close second with 36.