Jennies Basketball In Action Tomorrow Afternoon

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Nov. 15, 2018) - Central Missouri Jennies Basketball plays their third game of the season tomorrow afternoon.

Opponent: Arkansas-Fort Smith Lions (0-2)

Where: Pittsburg, Kan. - John Lance Arena

When: Friday, Nov. 16 - 1 p.m.

How to Watch
• Friday's game in Pittsburg, Kan. will be broadcast live on the MIAA Network. It is a pay-to-view broadcast and can be found on themiaanetwork.com/ucmmules. The game will also be broadcast over radio on 98.5 The Bar with Greg Hassler on the call. Additionally, live stats will be provided by Pittsburg State. 

Tip Off
• The Jennies started the year just how they ended, with a pair of wins. UCM defeated Southern Nazarene and Harding on opening weekend. 
• This weekend, the Jennies will be in Pittsburg, Kan. to take on Arkansas-Fort Smith. They'll play one game Friday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m.
• Central Missouri is the No. 1 team in the nation in both the WBCA and D2SIDA preseason polls. The first regular season polls won't come out until next week.

Storylines
• The Jennies lost just three games last year, but one happened to be against Friday's opponent Arkansas-Fort Smith. The Lions defeated the Jennies in Warrensburg 77-76.
• All-time UCM is 1-1 against the Lions. This will mark the third straight year the teams have met. The Jennies took game one of the all-time series 78-73 also in Pittsburg in Nov. 2018. 
• 2017-18 was one for the ages for the Jennies. Not only did they win a National Championship, they set a new team record for wins with their 30-3 record. 

Quick Hits
Last Time Out
• The Jennies started the new season on the right foot with a pair of regional wins over two teams from the Great American Conference. Morgan Fleming led UCM with 17 points in a 55-47 win over Southern Nazarene before Paige Redmond poured in 27 in a 63-51 win over Harding. Both games were played at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City. 

Previously vs. Arkansas-Fort Smith
• The Lions have played the Jennies hard each of the last two seasons with both games being decided by five points or fewer. Last season at home, the Jennies second-half comeback attempt fell short by one, 77-76 as the Lions made 12 of 20 three-point attempts, including 7-8 from Micayla Haynes. Redmond, Skaggs and Fleming were all in double-figures for the Jens. 

Jennies in the Rankings
• The WBCA and D2SIDA polls don't release a regular season poll until after two weeks of games, which means the Jennies remain the No. 1 team in the country according to both polls.
• The Jens were also picked first in the MIAA preseason coaches poll, following their 18-1 regular season champonship last season.

Road Warriors
• The Jennies don't seem to mind going into unfriendly environments. UCM was 16-1 away from Warrensburg last season and 10-0 in true road games. They've started out just the same this year with two wins at neutral sites. 
• It's a good thing the Jennies are used to life on the road because eight of their first nine games are away from Warrensburg. They only have two home games before the calendar turns to 2019. 

The NCAA Universe
• Two things that have carried over from a season ago are the Jennies stifling defense and their ability to hang on to the ball. The Jens are 11th in the NCAA having committed just 11.5 turnovers per game. They are also allowing just 49 points per game on the defensive end which is 18th in Division II. 
• The Jennies also lead the MIAA in the fewest personal fouls calls. Through two games, the Jennies are averaging 15.5 fouls against per game which sits in the top-50 in the NCAA. 
• Noone has made more free throws in the MIAA than Morgan Fleming. She's sank 12 which puts her 27th in the NCAA. Paige Redmond also leads the MIAA with both 31 field goal attempts, and 13 made baskets. 

Individual Milestones 
• Paige Redmond joined the 1,000 point club last season scoring the milestone bucket against Pittsburg State. She is currently at 1,258 which is 18th all-time. She needs six more points to get to 17th all-time and 79 more to crack the top-15. Redmond is also climbing the all-time 3FGM list. She has 151 for her career which is sixth all-time and needs 18 more to crack the top-five. Her 68 3-pointers last season were tied or the sixth most in a single season. She is also three assists away from crack the all-time top-10. 
• Sydney Crockett needs one more free throw made and four more threes to reach 100 in both categories. 
• Morgan Fleming is nine points away from 600 for her career. 

New Faces
• A new year brings about new changes. The Jennies added five new players to the roster.
• Two of the five have NCAA experience already. Kim Crown is a transfer from Central Region foe Southern Arkansas and Morgan VanHyfte comes from Illinois State. Both saw extensive minutes in the Jennies two wins last weekend. Crown started both games while VanHyfte came off the bench to average 14 minutes per game.
• New freshmen for the 2018-19 season include Madison Cook, Adria Costley and Jordan Wersinger. Wersinger was the only one of the group to play last weekend. 

10 Below
• For the last three season's the Jennies have made a habit of holding teams to fewer than 10 points in at least one quarter. It's happened in 37 games dating back to the 2016-17 season and in those games, UCM is 35-2. The Jens were 15-1 when doing so in 2016-17 and 18-1 last year including four of the six NCAA postseason games. The Jens are at it again this year, having held both Southern Nazarene and Harding to fewer than 10 points in one quarter. 

Scouting the Opposition
Arkansas-Fort Smith Lions (0-2)
• Arkansas Fort Smith has started their year under first-year head coach Tari Cummings 0-2 with losses to Colorado School of Mines and Colorado Christian.
• The Lions failed to score 60 points in either game and are averaging 49.5 points per game after one week.
• The offense is led by senior Mariah Green. The diminutive guard is scoring 11 points per game while dishing out 5.5 assists. Ellie Lehne is also in double-figures scoring 10 points per game.
• The offense isn't doing a poor job shooting at almost 40%, 39.4. They've been plagued by turnovers, nearly 20 per game and 27 team fouls.
• The Lions are grabbing 35.5 rebounds per game led by Daijah Brown who has 13. She's also scoring nine points per game and has gone to the free throw line nine times.
• Arkansas Fort Smith has already blocked five shots, helped out by Ellie Lehne and Tamera Gulley's three each.
• Beyond the three point line is where the Lions are struggling, connecting on just 27.6% of their attempts. They are shooting 44% inside the arc and just 50% at the free throw line.
• The Lions have been getting out to strong starts, their 34 first quarter points are the most in any of the four periods, but they average just 18.5 second half points. 
Player to Watch
#14 Mariah Green (5-4, G, SR, Tulsa, Okla.) - 11 points, 5.5 assists per game