Jennies to Host No. 11 Emporia State Saturday Afternoon

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 dropped their midweek game, 59-54 to Washburn. The loss was the Jennies third in their last four games.
Central Missouri is 7-11 overall and 6-7 in the MIAA, putting them in tenth place in the
conference standings.
Emporia State comes to Warrensburg winners of eight of their last nine and sitting in third place in the MIAA with a 10-3 conference record. The Lady Hornets defeated Southwest Baptist, 78-61 Thursday night, their second win in a row.

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 6-6 to start this season.
Emporia State is one of only two MIAA opponents the Jennies have an all-time losing record against, the other being Washburn. The Lady Hornets lead the series 40-32. ESU has won four of the last five meeting with the Jennies. UCM's lone win in that stretch was when Emporia was ranked number one in nation in 2015.
These two teams met earlier in the season in Emporia, Kan. The game was tied heading into the fourth quarter when the Lady Hornets pulled away for a 71-55 win. ESU is the first team the Jennies will face twice in 2015-16.
Head Coach Dave Slifer won his 600th career game in the 2015 MIAA quarterfinal win over Missouri Southern. He is 607-220 lifetime as a coach and 223-121 at UCM. His 607 wins are the sixth-most among active Division II Head Coaches. He is also five wins shy of tying Coach Jon Pye's 228 wins for the most in UCM history.
The Ichabods are Coach Slifer's toughest opponent. Slifer is 5-18 in his time at UCM against Washburn. The Jennies also lost eight straight to Washburn at one point, spanning the 2009-2011 seasons (including playoffs).
The Jennies went 21-9 last season and played in the MIAA semifinal game.

Quick Hits
Last Time Out
The Jennies led for all of 21 seconds against Washburn Wednesday night as they fell 59-54. The Ichabods built a nine-point lead in the second-half, and UCM got to within two on numerous occasions, but couldn't claim the lead as Washburn held on. Shelby Winkelmann led the Jennies scoring 23 points and Ashley Duffy poured in 13 and grabbed a career-high eight rebounds.

Jennies at Home
Central Missouri's is 5-4 at home this season though they have lost their last two after a three game winning streak. The Jens are 4-4 at The Multi in MIAA games. Since the Multi opened in 1976, UCM is 447-107 in the building. In their history dating back to 1970, the Jennies are 496-114 in Warrensburg, a winning percentage of .813.

Conference Leaders
A couple of Jennies are trending towards the top of the rankings in the MIAA. Senior Shelby Winkelmann is second in the MIAA scoring with 19.7 points per game and sixth in shooting percentage at 48.5% (113-233). She is also fourth in steals per game with 1.9 and ninth in assists per game at 3.4.

Senior Ashley Jones is near the top of the conference in rebounding. With 9.0 per game, she sits second in the MIAA and is 54th in NCAA Division II. She also leads the conference with 3.5 offensive rebounds per game and 59 total offensive rebounds. Her 56.6% shooting percentage also ranks second in the MIAA. She's gone 86-152 this season and her 60% shooting in MIAA games leads the conference. At 56.6%, Jones ranks 24th in shooting percentage in all of Division II.

Junior Ashley Duffy has also been in on the thievery this season and is seventh in the conference with 1.8 steals per game.

Jennies vs. Ranked Opponents
The Jennies have faced their share of ranked opponents this season. UCM has already faced four top-25 teams
and three top-10 teams in the WBCA. One other, Quincy, was receiving votes at the time they met and are currently
ranked 16th. Pittsburg State was also receiving votes when the two met earlier this month and still are in the latest rankings. The task doesn't get easier for the Jens as ESU comes to town as the 11th ranked team in the nation.

Double Trouble
The Jennies have had five double-doubles in their last seven games. Ashley Jones accomplished it in three straight games against Pittsburg State, Missouri Southern and Lindenwood, and again at Central Oklahoma, giving her six for the season. Shelby Winkelmann recorded her first double-double of the season at Pittsburg State. Danielle Randle also had one against Fort Hays State in December.

Predicting a Winner
This season there has been nearly one sure-fire way to determine if the Jennies won or lost and that comes down to rebounding. When the Jennies are on the plus side of the rebounding battle, UCM is 6-1. When they are outrebounded, they have lost 10 of 11, including their loss to Washburn who outrebounded the Jennies 41-37.

Magic Number
The number 70 has been a good prognostication of a Jennies win or loss this season. UCM is 6-2 this season when scoring 70 points. However they are also 2-6 when allowing opponents to reach 70 points.

Bucking the Trend
Typically a low opponent shooting percentage should produce positive results. However that has not been the case for the Jennies this season. When opponents shoot lower than 40% from the field, the Jennies are just 2-5 in those games. For the season, UCM is allowing opponents to shoot 41.9% from the floor.

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
Emporia State Lady Hornets
Overall Record: 16-3
Conference Record: 10-3 (MIAA)
Series History: ESU leads 40-32
Last Meeting: Dec. 12, 2015 - ESU 71, UCM 55
Head Coach: Jory Collins (143-39, sixth season)

The Lady Hornets have won eight of nine games with their only loss during that stretch coming to MIAA leading Missouri Western. They come to Warrensburg 16-3 this season and 10-3 in the MIAA.
Emporia State is led by two-time Player of the Week Kelly Moten. She's scoring 15.8 points per game, seventh in the MIAA. Moten does a little bit of everything, pulling down 4.6 rebounds per game, dishing out an MIAA leading 4.8 assists per game and has 31 steals and 21 blocks.
Also scoring in double-figures for ESU are Sandra Ngoie (13.4) and Kelsey Barnwell (10.8) Ngoie is also the team's second-leading rebounder with 132 boards, 6.9 per game.
Kathryn Flott is fourth in the MIAA in rebounding, grabbing 8.6 rebounds per game. Her 163 total rebounds is second.
Emporia State's 43.7 rebounds per game is 26th in Division II. They have a rebounding margin of 12.1 which is the second-best in the country.
The Lady Hornets are the top shot-blocking team in the MIAA. They swat 4.37 shots per game which is 35th in Division II. Moten's 21 blocks lead the team and are eighth in the MIAA.
ESU does a good job of holding onto the ball. They are second in the MIAA and 16th in Division II having committed only 244 turnovers this season and 12.9 turnovers per game.
The Lady Hornets are in the top-three in the MIAA in both field goal percentage and three-point percentage. They are second in the MIAA shooting 35.9% from three and third with a 44.1% from the floor.
Ngoie is the top-shooter from three in the MIAA. At 46.3% from beyond the arc, she leads the conference and is ninth in the country. She's hit 41 of 90 three point attempts this season.