KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Nov. 9, 2018) - The defending champs were put to work in their season opener, but Jennies were able to tough out a 55-47 win over Southern Nazarene Friday afternoon at Municipal Auditorium.

How it Happened
• It wasn't pretty all-around as neither team shot 40% from the floor. The Crimson Storm hit 36.2% of their attempts to the Jennies 35.4%. 
• The Jens struggled from three, going just 5-for-21. They made it up both in the paint with 20 points and at the foul line going 16-for-21.
• UCM had a slight edge in rebounding, 33-32 and 9-8 on second-chance points. 
• Central Missouri forced 16 turnovers and came away with eight steals.
• It took more than two minutes for the first points of the contest to be scored, a layup from Southern Nazarene. After that though, it was all UCM in the first who scored nine straight points in 3:20 and took a 9-2 lead. 
• Megan Skaggs beat the buzzer with a layup and after 10 minutes it was 11-4 Jennies.
• That lead was short-lived as 2:06 into the second quarter, the Crimson Storm scored seven straight to tie at 11-all. SNU regained the lead, 17-16, with 5:41 left to play, but the Jennies defense clamped down and closed the half on a 7-0 run, taking a 23-17 lead into intermission.
• Just like quarter number two, the Crimson Storm came out hot to start quarter number three. They used a 9-2 run to start the half and again took a one-point lead, 26-25. 
• Trailing now by two, 27-25, the Jennies responded by finishing the third quarter outscoring the Storm 12-3 in the final 6:03 of the frame. Five different Jennies scored during the scoring spurt.
• The trends of beginnings and endings continued into the fourth quarter. The Jens went scoreless for nearly the first four minutes and allowed SNU to take another one-point lead, 38-37. 
• That was the last time they led though. Kim Crown tied and took the lead back sinking a pair of free throws, and Paige Redmond, cold all day from three, hit a big one at the right time as UCM went back up by four, 42-38. 
• Central Missouri put the game out of reach with a 6-0 run to take a 44-42 lead and turn it into a 50-42 lead with just 1:12 left to play and went 3-for-4 at the line in the final minute to end the game.

It Was Over When...
• Southern Nazarene made a basket with 27 seconds left and cutting into UCM's lead. After the Jens called timeout, Paige Redmond broke free and put the Jens back on top by 10, 54-44 with a transition layup.

Jennies Stat Leaders
• Morgan Fleming led all scorers with 17 points and also pulled down five rebounds.
• In her first game as a Jennie, Kim Crown scored 10 points and grabbed a game-high seven boards.
• Paige Redmond finished with 10 points and four assists.
• Megan Skaggs chipped in nine points and was 4-for-7 from the field.

 For the Crimson Storm
• Kayci Glover was the high-scorer for the Storm with 12 points including three three-pointers.
• Sonia Sarda scored nine and had four rebounds.
• Zoe Shieldnight also poured in nine points off the bench.
• Kennedy Gillette scored seven with three rebounds.

News and Notes
• The Jens defeated Southern Nazarene in their first ever meeting.
• Paige Redmond's three-pointer was the 146th of her career and she moves into a tie for sixth place all-time at UCM.
• Redmond scored eight of her 10 points in the second half and five in the fourth quarter, including her only three-pointer of the game.
• Megan Skaggs went over 700 points for her career.
• Gigi McAtee played a career-high 18 minutes.
• Southern Nazarene was good for the first five minutes of quarters, but not the second five minutes. The Crimson Storm outscored UCM a combined 36-24 in the first five minutes of each quarter, but then were outscored 31-11 in the second five minutes. 

Up Next
• The Jennies will take on the team that eliminated them from the 2016-17 postseason Harding tomorrow night from Municipal Auditorium. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.