Jennies Basketball Heads to Oklahoma for Two MIAA Battles

WARRENSBURG, Mo. - Central Missouri Jennies Basketball (6-9) hit the road for a pair of MIAA doubleheaders this weekend in Oklahoma. First the Jennies head to Tahlequah, Okla. to take on the Northeastern State RiverHawks Thursday, Jan. 21 at 5:30 p.m. Two days later, Saturday, Jan. 23, UCM travels up the road to Edmond, Okla. to square off with Central Oklahoma for a 1:30 p.m. tip off.

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 went 1-1 last week with an 82-64 win over Lindenwood and an 82-76 loss to Lincoln, nearly coming back after being down as much as 17 in the second period.
• Central Missouri is 6-9 overall and 5-5 in the MIAA, putting them in seventh place in the
conference standings.
• Northeastern State has lost four in a row and 12 of their last 14 games. Their last win came back on Jan. 4 at Northwest Missouri. At 2-9 in the MIAA, the RiverHawks are in 13th place.
• Central Oklahoma went 1-1 last weekend and are 6-5 in the MIAA. The Bronchos nearly upset FHSU on the road, but fell 59-56 in OT. UCO is a spot ahead of UCM in 5th place in the MIAA.

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 5-5 to start this season.
• The Jennies have never lost to either Northeastern State or Central Oklahoma in their history. UCM is a combined 10-0 against both opponents. Both teams joined the league in 2013. Central Missouri had a tough time last season though, defeating NSU by three and UCO by five in Warrensburg.
• Head Coach Dave Slifer won his 600th career game in the 2015 MIAA quarterfinal win over Missouri Southern. He is 606-219 lifetime as a coach and 222-120 at UCM. His 606 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 nearly completed an epic comeback against Lincoln Saturday afternoon. After trailing by as many as 17, UCM was able to get to within two points on numerous occasions in the fourth quarter, but couldn't overtake the Blue Tigers. Four Jennies scored in double-digits led by Shelby Winkelmann's 18. Ashley Duffy scored a career-high 16 points while Ashley Jones (14) and Tayler Weiks (13) also aided the offense.

Halftime Adjustments
Central Missouri's top scoring period this season has been the third. Coming out of halftime, UCM has scored 305 points in third periods and are outscoring their opponents by 69, allowing 236 in third periods, their fewest of any period. 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 eight of 10 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 scoring with 21.1 points per game and third in shooting percentage at 50.8% (98-193). Her 21.4 points per game is also 10th in Division II. Winkelmann has scored in double-figures in all 12 games played this year. She had a streak of five straight games of 20+ points snapped Saturday vs. Lincoln when she scored 18.

Senior Ashley Jones is near the top of the conference in rebounding. With 9.0 per game, she sits third in the MIAA and is 67th in NCAA Division II. She also leads the conference with 3.3 offensive rebounds per game and her 46 offensive boards is sixth. Her 53.9% shooting percentage would rank second, 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 (.373, 31-83) and seventh in made three pointers per game (2.0). Weiks also needs just nine more three-pointers to crack the UCM all-time top-10 list. She'd be just the fourth Jennie to join the top-10 in fewer than four seasons played.

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 .423, thanks to shooting .432 in MIAA games, fifth-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 36.5% from deep, second in the MIAA. Shelby Winkelmann (50.0%) and Tayler Weiks (40.4%) have been the biggest difference makers in the rise of the Jennies three-point shooting percentage.

Double Trouble
The Jennies have had four double-doubles in their last four games. Ashley Jones 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. Danielle Randle also had one against Fort Hays State.

Ball Security
The Jennies have done a good job this season emphasizing ball security. Central Missouri has committed just 225 turnovers, or 15 per game which is fourth in the MIAA and 60th in Division II. Their 2.07 turnover margin is also fourth-best in the conference. On the flip side, UCM has forced opponents into 256 turnovers and have come away with 128 steals while opponents have taken the ball away 115 times.

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
Northeastern State
Overall Record: 5-12
Conference Record: 2-9 (MIAA)
Series History: UCM 4-0
Last Meeting: Dec. 20, 2015 - UCM 56, NSU 53
Head Coach: Randy Gipson (597-252, 27th season)
• Northeastern State has lost four straight games and 12 of their last 14. They enter this week also having not reached 50 points in three of their last four games. They are 5-12 this season and 2-9 in the MIAA.
• At home, the RiverHawks haven't had too much success with a 2-4 record. Their last win in Tahlequah came against Central Oklahoma on December 19.
• Though the RiverHawks are next-to-last in the MIAA in scoring offense, they possess two players scoring more than 10 points per game. MaryJane Buschmann is averaging 12.7 points per game. She is also the teams leading rebounder, pulling down 5.5 rebounds per game. After Buschmann, Kate Bellamy is scoring 10.1 points per game. She is also shooting 43.2% from the floor to lead the RiverHawks.
• NSU likes to shoot the three-ball. Only Emporia State has shot it more than their 397 attempts this season. Unfortunately, they are only shooting 30.5% from deep which is 11th in the MIAA. Cailyn Long leads the team having hit 32 three-pointers this season. Kylie Looney is second with 27 and is shooting 34.2% from deep. Buschmann has also racked up three pointers, she's hit 23.
• Alexis Hill is the RiverHawks leading assister. She's helped out on 47 buckets. Five RiverHawks have more than 30 assists this season. Eriyonna Irvin has 38 and Looney and Buschmann each have 34 and Bellamy has 32. Hill also leads the team with 22 steals.
• Northeastern State is one of the best blocking teams in the conference. Their 63 blocks is tied for third in the MIAA. Hailey Chamberlin leads the team with 11 blocks. Looney and Destiny Strange each have eight.

Central Oklahoma
Overall Record: 12-5
Conference Record: 6-5 (MIAA)
Series History: UCM 6-0
Last Meeting: Dec. 18, 2015 - UCM 63, UCO 58
Head Coach: Guy Hardaker (176-106, 10th season)
• Central Oklahoma began MIAA play at 3-1, but have gone just 3-4 since. The Bronchos went 1-1 last week, winning at Nebraska-Kearney, 73-65, before losing at Fort Hays, 59-56 in overtime. UCO's Olivia Mason hit a pair of free throws with seven seconds left to force OT, but the Bronchos couldn't hang on as a three from Julia Mason missed as time expired.
• McKenzie Solberg leads the Broncho offense scoring 15.9 points per game which is eighth in the MIAA. Julia Mason is second on the team scoring nine points per contest.
• Solberg is also the team's leading rebounder. She has pulled down 89 rebounds this season, 5.2 per game.
• Central Oklahoma does a great job passing the ball around. Their 234 assists are sixth in the MIAA. Marley Anderson leads the team with 59 helpers. Jordan Ward has also racked up a bunch with 42 of her own.
• Two Bronchos have stolen more than 20 balls this season. Solberg is the team leader with 27 steals while Haley Weathers is right behind her with 24.
• The Bronchos have blocked 52 shots this season led in large part by Megan Womack and Olivia Mason. Womack has 17 blocks this season which is eighth in the MIAA. Mason has 12 blocks for UCO.
• Central Oklahoma is the best free-throw shooting team in the MIAA. They lead the conference connecting on 77.6% of their free throw attempts which is also sixth best in the nation. They are also adept at shooting the long ball. UCO's 131 made three pointers are second in the MIAA and 19th in NCAA Division II.
• Defensively, the Bronchos do a good job of not allowing clean looks. Their 37.2% field goal percentage defense is second-best in the MIAA.