Jennies Basketball Concludes Road Trip at No. 10 Pittsburg State

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Feb. 7, 2017) - No. 15 Central Missouri Jennies Basketball faces another tough road test to start off this week before concluding at home on Hall of Fame Weekend.

Opponents: No. 10 Pittsburg State (19-3, 11-2 MIAA) - Wednesday, Feb. 8 - 5:30 p.m.
Missouri Southern (11-11, 6-7 MIAA) - Saturday, Feb. 11 - 1:30 p.m.

Where: Wednesday: Pittsburg, Kan. - John Lance Arena
Saturday: Warrensburg, Mo. - UCM Multipurpose Building

How to Watch
Jennies 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. Video is available through Central Missouri's internet portal through Stretch Internet.

Tip Off
• Central Missouri is in a three-way tied for first-place in the MIAA with Pittsburg State and Central Oklahoma at 11-2
• Pittsburg State wraps up the Jennies longest MIAA roadtrip of the season. They're 1-1 thus far with a 65-55 loss to Central Oklahoma and 77-54 win against Northeastern State

Story Lines
• The Jennies defeated the Gorillas in Pittsburg State last season, 87-69, but went 0-2 in their final two meetings, including a loss in the MIAA Quarterfinal round. All-time UCM is 30-22 against Pittsburg State and 12-11 under Coach Slifer.
• Central Missouri is 37-23 all-time against Missouri Southern, but lost both matchups last season by three points in each game. Coach Slifer is 14-11 all-time against the Lions with UCM. 

Quick Hits
Last Time Out
The Jennies have started their three-game roadtrip 1-1 with a 65-55 loss to No. 8 Central Oklahoma and a 77-54 win against Northeastern State. The games were polar opposites of each other as the Bronchos led from the opening minutes and held off a late Jennies rally. After the Jennies took the lead with a big second-quarter, they never looked back, leading by double-digits for much of the second half. Megan Skaggs scored a career-high 20 points against the RiverHawks and Paige Redmond averaged 16 points in Oklahoma.  

Previously vs. Pittsburg State/Missouri Southern
Central Missouri did not have much success in 2016 against Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern. They started off with a win at the Gorillas, 87-69, but dropped a game at home and their season ended at the hands of the Gorillas with a 78-68 loss in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Tournament. The Lions swept the season-series winning each game by three points. In their final home game of 2016, the Jens fell 76-73 in overtime.

Jennies in the Rankings
For the third straight week, Central Missouri is ranked in the WBCA top-25. They fell one spot to No. 14 this week. The Jens also fell into the "receiving votes" category after being ranked 24th in last week's Media Poll. 

Jennies on the Road
Central Missouri is 11-2 away from Warrensburg this season including 8-2 in true road games. 

Jennies at Home
At home, Central Missouri is 7-1 this season. They've won seven straight at the Multi after dropping their season-opener.

MIAA Leaders
Central Missouri's Paige Redmond is in a rare group. She is the only player in the MIAA in the top-10 in points per game (7th - 16.0), field goal percentage (7th - .457), free throw percentage (4th - .852), assists (3rd - 4.1) and minutes played (6th - 32.4). She is also shooting 40.6% from beyond the arc, but doesn't have enough makes to qualify for the MIAA leaderboard. Against Northeastern State, Redmond scored her 500th career point. 

Also near 500 career points is Ashley Duffy. She is 50 points shy of the milestone. 

Kayonna Lee is moving up in the top-five in rebounds in the conference. She's now third with 8.4 rebounds per game.

The Jennies are third in turnover margin at 5.10. Their opponents are averaging 17.4 turnovers per game, which is fifth in the MIAA and the Jens 12.3 turnovers are the fewest in the league. as are their 259 total turnovers.  

On the offensive end, Central Missouri is second in the MIAA shooting 37% from behind the arc. They are also fourth in the league 75.6% at the free throw line. 

Getting Defensive
After allowing their first three opponents to all reach at least 73 points, the Jennies defense has been among the best. Central Missouri has gone 17 straight games without an opponent reaching 70 points and in 14 of those 17, teams haven't even reached 60. The Jennies lead the MIAA in scoring defense in conference-only games, allowing 56.0 points against MIAA teams. The closest team, Emporia State, is allowing 59.2 points to MIAA teams. 

Deep Dives
Central Missouri ranks second in the MIAA shooting 37% from behind the arc. Six Jennies have made at least 10 three-point field goals and three have hit 30 with Paige Redmond's 39 leading the way. Redmond took her show on the road connecting for 7-11 three-pointers in two games in Oklahoma. 

Whatever You Do, Don't Go Home Early
The Jennies are making a habit of putting up big numbers in the fourth quarter. Of their 1,520 points, 401 have come in the fourth, their most in any quarter and have allowed just 249, their fewest in any quarter. That has helped them to five fourth-quarter comebacks this season.  Central Missouri is outscoring opponents 19.1-11.8 in fourth quarters this season and 36.6-26.3 in second halves. 

Scouting the Opposition
No. 10 Pittsburg State Gorillas
• Central Missouri is in a three-way tie for first place in the MIAA standings along with Pittsburg State and Central Oklahoma. PSU is 19-3 overall and 11-2 in the MIAA. The Gorillas three losses have come against WBCA ranked opponents, twice against Emporia State and their most recent loss, a home loss to Central Oklahoma
• Pittsburg State is all about offense. They are ninth in the NCAA and second in the MIAA in scoring margin. They are putting up 77.7 points per game while allowing 59, a difference of 18.7 points per game. PSU is deadly from beyond the arc, making 9.8 triples per game, sixth-best in the NCAA. 
• The Gorillas deploy a variety of weapons, but one of their biggest, is senior guard Hadyn Herlocker. She scores 8.1 points per game but does it all for PSU, playing 32.4 minutes. She averages five rebounds per contest and 5.8 assists (best in the MIAA). Her 3.28:1 assist to turnover ratio is third in the NCAA. 
• Pittsburg State has two scoring in double figures this season. Mikaela Burgess is third in the MIAA scoring 17. points per game. She's one of the Gorillas best shooters from downtown, having hit 64 on the season and is shooting 37.2% from deep. 
• Also in double-digit scoring is Madison Northcutt. She's scoring 11.3 points per game and has a team-leading 181 rebounds, 8.2 per game. Shelby Lopez is just shy scoring 9.7 points per game. Lopez is another three-point threat having hit 55-133, a 41.4%. 
• Pittsburg State is fourth in the MIAA in turnover margin at +4.64. They've turned the ball over just 294 times while forcing 396 on the defensive end.  
• Pitt State is second in the MIAA in field goal percentage, shooting 44.8% from the floor. But they are dead last in free throw percentage, connecting on only 65.9% of their free throw attempts. 

Missouri Southern Lions
• Missouri Southern is in the midst of a two-game losing streak and have lost four of their last five. At 6-7 in the MIAA they sit in eighth place in the league standings. The Lions are 11-11 overall and 4-6 on the road.
• Despite the sub-.500 record, the Lions are one of the top scoring teams in the MIAA with 73.3 points per game. They are however the second-worst scoring defense in the league, giving up an average of 72.8 points per game. 
• Three Lions are scoring in double-digits this season led by Deb Holcomb with 16.2. Holcomb has had a terrific season, shooting 48.2% from the floor and 36.1% from three. She's also coming down with 3.3 rebounds per game and has 46 assists, 27 steals and five blocks. 
• Behind Holcomb, the Lions rely on Desirea Buerge. She's scoring 12 points per game while shooting 47.6% and 42.1% from three and has sa team-best 136 rebounds. Chelsey Henry scores 10.1 points per game and Jenson Maydew scores 8.2 and grabs six boards per contest. 
• The Missouri Southern defense allows offenses to shoot 45.3% from the floor which is the worst in the MIAA and 300th out of 307 teams ranked in the NCAA. 
• The Lions have been turning the ball over 15.5 times per game this season which is the fifth worst in the the MIAA. 
• Missouri Southern has been shooting the ball with success though, especially from three, where they are fourth in the MIAA, shooting 36.1%. They are also fifth at the charity stripe, shooting 75.6%.
• The Lions are middle of the pack in both steals and blocks. They're 10 in the league with 6.68 steals per game and eighth averaging 2.95 blocks per game.