Jennies Ousted From MIAA Tournament in Semifinals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (March 4, 2017) - The shots stopped falling for Central Missouri in the second half of their 58-50 semifinal loss to Emporia State. The Jens knocked in just five field goals and scored 17 second half points against the Lady Hornets, ending their 2017 MIAA Tournament run.

The Jennies started out well, building a six-point lead, 16-10, after an Ashley Duffy layup. Duffy scored four points during the Jennies 6-0 spurt and finished with a team-high 13. She also scored the 500th point in her career, joining teammate Paige Redmond who did so earlier in the season.

Megan Skaggs gave UCM an eight-point lead, their largest of the lead at the 7:40 mark of the second quarter. From there the Lady Hornets went on a 14-3 run to reclaim a three-point edge, 28-25. A Duffy layup and four UCM field goals gave UCM another three point lead, and in the winding seconds of the half, Kelsey Williams found the bottom of the basket to keep the Jens lead at three, 33-30, heading into the half.

Kayonna Lee scored on Central Missouri's first possession of the second half, but after that, the Jennies scored just four points the entire third quarter, shooting 2-for-19. UCM's defense kept them in the ball game during their cold stretch, ESU scored just 12 points in the frame and carried a 42-39 lead after 30 minutes.

Lee hit another layup bringing the lead down to two, 44-42 with just under six minutes left to play, but the Lady Hornets knocked in a three on their next possession and maintained a two-possession lead the rest of the way.

In addition to Duffy, Lee added 11 points. Redmond and Skaggs each scored eight. Central Missouri finished the game shooting 17-for-50, 34% and were 0-for-11 from the three-point line, the first time this season failing to hit a three point shot. The 50 points scored is also the fewest for UCM this season. 

Emporia State entered the game averaging an MIAA leading 80.1 points per game. It is just the fifth time they failed to reach 60 points in a game, twice coming against UCM. Kathryn Flott finished with a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double, both game highs. MIAA Player of the Year Kelly Moten was kept in check, scoring just 13 points. Addie Lackey added 13 including a pair of three-pointers in the fourth quarter.

Flott helped the Lady Hornets to a 43-29 rebounding advantage, including 14-7 on the offensive end. 

Central Missouri will have to wait until tomorrow night to find out the fate of their future. The NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Selection Show is set for Sunday, March 5th at 9 p.m. The top eight teams in the Central Region will continue their season in the NCAA Postseason. The Jennies were sixth in the latest rankings released last Wednesday.