WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Feb. 25, 2017) - No. 21 Central Missouri Jennies basketball closed out the regular season in style, taking down No. 7 and MIAA regular-season champions Pittsburg State, 69-63. That closes the book on the regular season for UCM. They clinched the No. 2 seed in next weekend's MIAA Tournament in Kansas City, and finish with a record of 22-5, 15-4 in the MIAA.
The Jennies 22 wins are the most since the 2013-14 season when UCM went 26-5. Their 15 MIAA wins is tied for the second-most in team history.
In true Jennies fashion, they needed to overcome a double-digit deficit to take down the Gorillas. They trailed by as many as 13 in the second quarter, but outscored PSU 37-26 in the second half to complete the comeback, their sixth double-digit comeback of the season.
The Jennies started their march towards a victory in the closing minutes of the first half. They cut that PSU 13-point lead to five, using a 13-5 spurt over the final 5:21 of the half. They scored the final seven points as well, getting four points from
Kelsey Williams, two free throws and a layup in the final seconds.
UCM continued to chip away at the Gorilla lead in the third, tying it on layup from
Paige Redmond with just over two minutes left in the frame. The Gorillas retook the lead on their final possession of the quarter, and led 54-52 heading into the fourth.
Like they've shown all season long, the fourth quarter is the Jennies time. They opened the frame scoring the first nine points, going 4-for-5 in the first 3:20 of the period and forced a Pitt State timeout, and held their largest lead, 61-54 lead.
Mikaela Burgess scored five straight for PSU to cut the lead down to two. That's when
Sydney Crockett picked the right time for her only three-pointer of the game, extending the lead back to five, 64-59. PSU never got closer than three over the final 3:29 and UCM went 3-for-5 at the line to complete the upset on senior night.
Redmond led the Jennies scoring 21 points, her seventh 20-point game of the season. She went 6-for-14 from the floor and was 8-for-8 from the free throw line, giving her 104 made free throws for the season. She led four Jennies in double-figures.
Kayonna Lee scored a career-high-tying 17 points while Crockett and Williams both added 13.
It was quite the finale for Lee who also pulled down a career-high 21 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season. It's just the 12th game in UCM history that a Jennie grabbed 20 or more rebounds, and her 21 is tied for the fourth most in team history.
Lee helped the Jennies do a great job on the boards and under the basket. UCM held a 45-27 rebound advantage, including 19-5 in offensive rebounds. The Jens outscored the Gorillas 21-6 on second chance points.
Pittsburg State outshot the Jennies from the floor to a tune of 49.1% to 33.3%. The Gorillas shot better than 50% in the first three quarters, but the UCM defense clamped down, holding PSU to 4-for-16 in the fourth quarter and just nine points. Neither team was very efficient behind the arc. Pitt State finished 6-for-24 for 25%, while the Jens shot a season-low 2-for-14, 14.3%.
Central Missouri took advantage of their opportunities at the free throw line. They connected on 27-of-32. Lee hit a season-high 11 at the charity stripe on 13 attempts and Williams was also a perfect 5-for-5.
The Gorillas struggles at the line came back to bite them. In their first meeting, the worst free throw shooting team in the MIAA hit 20-of-22. This time, they were just 3-for-9.
Burgess led all scorers with 26 points, 17 coming in the first half. She finished 11-for-20 with four three-pointers. Brenlee McPherson added 13 points for the Gorillas.
The Jennies will play the winner of No. 7 Washburn vs. No. 10 Southwest Baptist Friday, March 3 in Kansas City. Tip off is schedule for 2:15 p.m.
