Jennies Head to Washburn as Road Trip Rolls On

Tip Off
• 2015 marks the 46th year of UCM Jennies Basketball.
• Central Missouri is 8-13 overall and 7-9 in the MIAA, putting them in a tie for ninth place in the conference standings.
• Washburn is 12-10 this season and 8-8 in the MIAA. The Ichabods have lost three straight games, including the last two at home to Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern

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
• Last year UCM went 13-6 in conference games, finishing fifth in the regular season standings. They are 7-9 to start this season.
• The Jennies and Ichabods met two weeks ago in Warrensburg, with the Ichabods coming out on top 59-54. Washburn leads the all-time series 39-16.
• Head Coach Dave Slifer won his 600th career game in the 2015 MIAA quarterfinal win over Missouri Southern. He is 608-220 lifetime as a coach and 224-121 at UCM. His 608 wins are the sixth-most among active Division II Head Coaches. He is also four 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 dropped a pair of games last week as they opened their four-game road trip. Central Missouri first fell in Hays, Kan. to Fort Hays State, 70-57. Shelby Winkelmann led the team with 14 points. Paige Redmond and Danielle Barry each collected 11 points. Central Missouri then had another rematch with Nebraska-Kearney. The Jens got down early, but unlike their meeting in Warrensburg, UCM couldn't climb out of the hole they dug. The Lopers prevailed to split the season-series, 78-61. Winkelmann again led the team scoring 22 points. Ashley Jones scored 15 and had eight rebounds.

Jennies on the Road
This season the Jennies have struggled away from home. The team is 2-7 in road contests and 2-5 on the road in conference games. This week will be the second straight two-game road trip for UCM and fourth overall. The Jens are 2-4 in such games this season

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 19.3 points per game and sixth in shooting percentage at 47.1% (132-280). She is also third with 1.9 steals and ninth with 3.4 assists per game.

Earlier this season, Winkelmann cracked 1,000 career points. She is currently 17th all-time with 1,226. Next up for Winkelmann to catch is Shara Sherman who played from 1983-86 and scored 1,264 career points.

Senior Ashley Jones is at the top of the conference in a pair of categories. With 8.8 rebounds per game, she sits second in the MIAA and is 76th in NCAA Division II. She is also second in the conference with 3.3 offensive rebounds per game and her 66 offensive rebounds is third. Her 56.8% shooting percentage currently leads the MIAA. She's gone 100-176 from the field this season. At 56.8%, Jones ranks 19th in shooting percentage in all of Division II.

Double Trouble
The Jennies have had six double-doubles in their last nine games. Ashley Jones accomplished the feat in three straight games against Pittsburg State, Missouri Southern and Lindenwood, and again at Central Oklahoma and vs. Emporia State. She has a total of seven for the season. Shelby Winkelmann recorded her first double-double of the season and fourth of her career 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 7-1. When they are outrebounded, they have lost 11 of 12. Those numbers remained true last weekend as the Lopers outrebounded UCM 34 to 29. The Jennies and Tigers were dead even at 35 boards each at Fort Hays State.

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 2-8 when allowing opponents to reach 70 points. Both the Tigers and the Lopers reached 70 points last weekend, continuing the trend.

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 3-5 in those games. For the season, UCM is allowing opponents to shoot 42.2% 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
Washburn Ichabods
Overall Record: 12-10
Conference Record: 8-8 (MIAA)
Series History: Ichabods lead 39-16
Last Meeting: Jan. 27, 2016 - WU 59, UCM 54
Head Coach: Ron McHenry (384-94, 16th season)

• The Ichabods are currently on a three-game losing streak after defeating the Jennies in Warrensburg two weeks ago. At 8-8 Washburn is tied for seventh in the MIAA standings.
• Washburn has two athletes scoring in double-figures. Alyxis Bowens leads the team scoring 11.5 points per game. Erika Lane is also in double-digits scoring 10 points per game.
• The Ichabods have the MIAA's leading rebounder in Jayna Smith. She has 208 total rebounds and is grabbing 9.5 caroms per game. Her 61 offensive rebounds are fourth in the conference.
• Lane is the conference leader in minutes played. She's playing 35.8 minutes per game and even more so in conference games, logging 36.4 minutes.
• The Ichabods defense has been their bread and butter this season. They are second in the MIAA allowing 59.6 points per game this season and their 59.5 points allowed in MIAA games leads the league.
• Washburn is tied for fourth in the MIAA in team blocks with 3.77 per game. They have 83 total blocks led by Bowens who has 24 this season.
• Washburn defense is helped out by Smith and their strong rebounding. The Ichabods are second in the MIAA and 18th in the country in rebound margin at plus-7.6
• Lane and Smith also do a good job of passing the ball around. Lane leads the team with 69 assists and Smith is right behind her with 60. Washburn has 295 assists compared to 226 for opponents.
• WU has proven to be a much better second half team this season. They've scored 366 third quarter points and 363 in the fourth. They have also allowed 387 fourth quarter points, most in any period and the only one with a minus point differential.