Jennies Overcome 15-Point Deficit, Defeat Bearcats 61-55

MARYVILLE, Mo. (Dec. 11, 2016) - It was a tale of two halves at Bearcat Arena in Maryville, Mo. as the Jennies took on Northwest Missouri in search of their eighth-straight win. Things did not go well at the start, but by the end of 40 minutes, Central Missouri came away with a 61-55 win, moving to 8-1 on the season and 2-0 in the MIAA.

Sunday marked the end of a season-long seven-game road trip for UCM, who hasn't played a home game since Nov. 12. That hadn't matted to the Jennies, who entered this afternoon's game looking to make it a perfect 7-0 on the road trip. 

The Jennies led for only 2:42 of the entire game, but that's all they needed. It was all Bearcats in the first half, leading by as many as 15, 31-16, with less than a minute to play before halftime. Morgan Fleming hit the Jennies only three-pointer of the half in the closing seconds and the Jens trailed by 12, 31-19 at the break. The 19-point first half was the lowest scoring first half for the Jennies since scoring 15 against Fort Hays State in December of 2012.  

After cutting the Bearcat lead to four, 35-31, midway through the third, Northwest quickly brought the lead back up to double-digits, and held a 10-point edge with 2:20 to play in the period. The Bearcats went 0-3 from the floor the rest of the quarter, and a pair of free throws from Fleming and Kelsey Williams cut the halftime lead in half, 43-37, heading to the final period. 

Back-to-back three's from Megan Skaggs and Paige Redmond tied the game at 45-all with 5:25 left to play, and UCM took their first lead on another three from Redmond with just over four minutes left to play. The Bearcats came back with a three of their own to re-take the lead, but a layup from Skaggs and free throws from Fleming gave UCM the lead for good. The Jennies padded their lead in the final minutes getting steals and layups from Redmond and Fleming on consecutive Bearcat possessions, and went 7-10 at the free throw line to put the game away.

Central Missouri was outshot 41.9%-34.5%, but made their shots when it mattered most. After going 1-for-13 in the first half from beyond the arc, the Jens went 3-of-4 in the fourth quarter, helping them on a 20-7 run to take the lead. The Jennies also did a good job protecting the ball, turning it over a season-low seven times. The full-court press helped the Jens force 23 turnovers and swipe 14 steals. 

Redmond led the Jennies scoring 20 points, going 6-for-12 from the floor and 2-for-4 from three. Fleming was the only other Jennie in double-figures with 14. Ashley Duffy grabbed a team-best seven rebounds and picked up a game-high four steals.

The Bearcats were led by Tanya Meyer who scored 22 with 17 rebounds. Most of her damage came in first half though, scoring 13 with 10 rebounds in the first 20 minutes. Jasmin Howe scored 15 for Northwest Missouri.

The Bearcats scored 19 points in the first period, but then only 12 in each of the final three periods. Central Missouri continued to be a force in the fourth quarters. The fourth was the Jennies best-scoring period all season and the trend continued with 24 points, as they came-from-behind for the win. 

Central Missouri finally returns back to Warrensburg, Saturday. Dec. 17 as they take on Southwest Baptist in an MIAA matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.