Jennies to Play Washburn in MIAA Play-In Game

Tip Off
• 2015 marks the 46th year of UCM Jennies Basketball.
• Central Missouri finished the regular season at 10-17 and 9-13 in the MIAA. They took the #10 seed in the upcoming MIAA Tournament.
• Washburn went 15-13 during the regular season and 11-11 in the conference. They finished in a four-way tie in the standings and claimed the #7 seed in the MIAA Tournament.

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 internet portal through Stretch Internet, found at UCMathletics.com

Story Lines
• The Jennies and Ichabods split the regular season with the road team winning each game.
• UCM is 17-39 all time against the Ichabods and coach Dave Slifer is 6-19 facing Washburn.
• Central Missouri is 38-25 all-time in MIAA Tournament games and 1-0 in play-in games.
• Head Coach Dave Slifer won his 600th career game in the 2015 MIAA quarterfinal win over Missouri Southern. He is 610-220 lifetime as a coach and 226-128 at UCM. His 610 wins are the sixth-most among active Division II Head Coaches. He is also two 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. They were 13-6 in conference games, finishing fifth in the regular season standings.

Quick Hits
Last Time Out
Central Missouri finished the regular season with a 77-61 loss at the MIAA regular season champions, Missouri Western. Shelby Winkelmann scored a team-high 24 points in the loss. Paige Redmond was also in double-digits with 11 points. The Jennies ended the regular season at 10-17 and 9-13 in the MIAA. Winkelmann went 7-for-7 from the free throw line and the team shot a season-best 90.5% (19-for-21) from the charity stripe.

Previously vs. Washburn
The Jennies put together one of their better scoring games of the season the last time they traveled to Topeka, Feb. 10. UCM scored 86 points, their second-highest point total of the season back on Feb. 10. Five Jennies scored in double-figures and UCM shot a season-best 68.4% (13-for-19) from beyond the arc. Winkelmann scored a team-best 19 points, Ashley Jones and Redmond each scored 16. Tayler Weiks and Danielle Randle went a combined 7-for-9 from three. Central Missouri dropped their first game against Washburn in Warrensburg, losing 59-54, Jan. 27.

Jennies on the Road
The Jennies split their final two road games of the season with a win over Lindenwood and a loss to Missouri Western. Central Missouri went 4-9 on the road in the regular season and 4-7 on the road in MIAA games.

Jennies in the MIAA Tournament
Since the 1982-83 season, the Jennies are 38-25 all-time in the MIAA Tournament. They have won seven MIAA Tournament titles in their history, their last coming in 1990. Under Head Coach Dave Slifer, UCM is 12-11 in the MIAA Tournament. They played in their first MIAA Play-In game last season, defeating Lindenwood at home, 73-69.

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 seventh in shooting percentage at 48.8% (181-371). Her 19.7 points per game is 18th in the country. She is also tied for fourth in the conference with 1.8 steals and tenth with 3.3 assists per game in the MIAA.

Earlier this season, Winkelmann cracked 1,000 career points. She is currently 14th all-time with 1,352. Next up for Winkelmann to catch is Jena Shackelford who played from 2000-04 and scored 1,360 career points. She needs to score 66 more points to crack the UCM top-10.

Senior Ashley Jones is at the top of the conference in a pair of categories. With 9.0 rebounds per game, she sits second in the MIAA and is 83rd in NCAA Division II. Her 56.2% shooting percentage is also currently second in the MIAA. She's gone 131-233 from the field this season. At 56.2%, Jones ranks 18th in shooting percentage in all of Division II. She's also shooting 58.1% (111-191) in conference games.

Finally Ashley Duffy is the MIAA leader in steals with 2.2 per game and 56 total steals. She picked up 11 swipes last week including a career-high six against Missouri Southern.

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 8-1. When they are outrebounded, they have lost 14 of 15. In the Jennies win over Lindenwood Wednesday, UCM held a 38-30 edge in rebounding, helped out by 14 from Jones. Central Missouri was on the negative side of rebounding against Missouri Western, as the Griffons held a 44-27 edge on the boards, including 21 offensive rebounds.

Magic Number
The number 70 has been a good prognostication of a Jennies win or loss this season. UCM is 8-3 this season when scoring 70 points. However they are also 3-10 when allowing opponents to reach 70 points. UCM scored 76 against Lindenwood and held the Lions under 60 points. It was their first time holding an opponent below 60 points since they lost to Washburn 59-54, January 27. In their final game, the Jennies lost 77-61 to Missouri Western. It was their 13th time this season in 27 games they have allowed an opponent to reach 70 points.

Scouting the Opposition
Washburn Ichabods
Overall Record: 15-13
Conference Record: 11-11 (MIAA)
Series History: Ichabods lead 39-17
Last Meeting: Feb. 10, 2016 - UCM 86, WU 75 - Topeka, Kan.
Head Coach: Ron McHenry (387-97, 16th season)

• After losing to the Jennies three weeks ago, the Ichabods reeled off three straight wins, but have since finished the regular season losing their last two at home.
• Washburn has three athletes scoring more than nine points per game. Alyxis Bowens leads the team scoring 11.2 points per game. Erika Lane and Felisha Gibbs are averaging 9.5 and 9.0 points, respectively.
• The Ichabods have the MIAA's leading rebounder in Jayna Smith. She has 256 total rebounds and is grabbing 9.1 caroms per game. Her 70 offensive rebounds are fourth in the conference.
• The Ichabods defense has been their bread and butter this season. They are fourth in the MIAA allowing 61.1 points per game this season and their 61.5 points allowed in MIAA games leads the league.
• Washburn is fourth in the MIAA in team blocks with 3.79 per game. They have 106 total blocks led by Bowens who has 32 this season. Gibbs has added 22 blocks herself.
• Washburn defense is helped out by Smith and their strong rebounding. The Ichabods are second in the MIAA and 16th in the country in rebound margin at plus-8.0.
• Lane and Jayna Smith also do a good job of passing the ball around. Lane leads the team with 83 assists and Smith is right behind her with 71. Washburn has 383 assists compared to 305 for opponents.
• WU has proven to be a much better second half team this season. They've scored 478 third quarter points and 456 in the fourth. They have also allowed 482 fourth quarter points, most in any period and the only one with a minus point differential.
• The Ichabods struggle at the free throw line. They are shooting an MIAA worst .689 from the charity stripe. They are sixth though in the conference in both field goal % (42.3%) and three-point percentage (33.8%).