Jennies Host Senior Night, Wrap Up Regular Season This Week

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Feb. 21, 2018) - It's the final week of Central Missouri Jennies Basketball regular season. The Jens host Senior Night on Thursday before concluding the regular season on the road.

Opponents: Missouri Southern Lions (11-15, 8-10 MIAA)
                    Pittsburg State Gorillas (22-5, 15-3 MIAA)

When: Thursday, Saturday, Feb. 22, 24
            Missouri Souther: Thursday, Feb. 22 - 5:30 p.m.
            Pittsburg State: Saturday, Feb. 24- 1:30 p.m.

Where: Warrensburg, Mo. - UCM Multipurpose Building
             Pittsburg, Kan. - John Lance Arena/Whetzel Court

On the Air
• 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. There will be a live webcast of this week's games on UCM's Internet Blueframe portal and is available on TV streaming devices.

Tip Off
• Central Missouri Jennies Basketball wraps up the regular season with Senior Night Thursday against Missouri Southern and the regular season finale Saturday at Pittsburg State
• Central Missouri rebounded from a loss two weeks ago with back-to-back wins. 
• The Jennies moved up to No. 8 in the coaches poll and No. 6 in the media poll this week. They are also second in the second week of NCAA Regional Rankings. 
• The Jennies defeated Missouri Southern earlier in the month, 80-63. They are 40-23 all time against the Lions. Pittsburg State handed the Jennies their only conference loss to date, 69-63 with a win in Warrensburg February 7. The Jennies are 31-24 all-time against the Gorillas, but have lost four of their last five. 

Quick Hits
Last Time Out
Central Missouri went on the road and came away with two victories over Lincoln and Lindenwood. The Jennies raced out to an 8-0 start against Lincoln before winning 80-55. It was a bit tougher against the Lions, but a strong second half gave UCM a 73-60 win. Paige Redmond led the Jennies in scoring in both games. She was named the MIAA Player of the Week for her performance. Redmond averaged 23 points per game with seven rebounds and 12 assists. She scored a season-best 28 points against the Lions. 

Previously vs. Missouri Southern/Pittsburg State
It was just two weeks ago that UCM met against these two teams. Pittsburg State handed the Jennies their first conference loss, 68-63 at home. Pitt State came back from down nine and used a 24-16 fourth quarter to pull off the comeback. Redmond scored 27 in the loss and went over 1,000 career points. UCM rebounded on the road at Missouri Southern with an 80-63 win. Rebounded was the operative word as UCM outrebounded the Lions 40-26 in the win. Kayonna Lee had a double-double with 17 points and 12 boards. 

Jennies in the Rankings
Central Missouri moved up high in the top-10 in both the WBCA and D2SIDA polls. The Jennies are ranked eighth by the coaches and sixth by the media. This was also the second week of NCAA Division II Regional rankings. The Jennies have ranked second in both sets of rankings. The Central Region consists of teams from the MIAA, Northern Sun and Great American Conferences. The top-eight teams will make up the field for the NCAA Regional Championship, March 9-12. 

Road Warriors
The Jennies haven't seemed to mind going into unfriendly environments. UCM is 10-0 away from Warrensburg this season and 8-0 in true road games. The Jennies have actually seen an uptick in their scoring as well on road, averaging 77.1 points per game. Central Missouri has never been undefeated on the road for an entire season. 

Jennies at Home
Central Missouri has played 14 home games already this season and are 12-2. UCM is outscoring their opponents by nearly 20 points in home games, 73-3-53.5. 

The MIAA Universe
• Central Missouri continues to lead the MIAA standings at 16-1. Seven teams have 10 or more wins on the season. Following UCM is Pittsburg State at 14-3. Fort Hays State and Nebraska-Kearney are each 12-5, Emporia State and Central Oklahoma are 11-6. 
• The Jennies have been sharing the ball around, averaging 14.7 assists per game, second-most in the MIAA. UCM is the only team with two in the top-10 in assists per game. Paige Redmond overtook the team lead with 91 helpers, and her 3.8 assists per game are second in the MIAA. Kelsey Williams is right behind her with 81 assists. She averages 3.4 per game, fifth in the MIAA. Williams' 2-1 assist-to-turnover ratio is second in the MIAA, while Redmond is third at 1.8-1. As a team, the Jennies assists to turnover ratio of 1.26-1 is the best in the MIAA and the 14th best mark in the NCAA. 
• As a team, the Jennies are in the top-five in field goal (46.5%), three-point (33.8%) and free throw (76.8%) percentages. 

Individual Milestones 
• Paige Redmond joined the 1,000 point club this season scoring the milestone bucket against Pittsburg State. She is currently at 1,084 which is 21st all-time. She needs 27 just 54 points to crack the top 20. Redmond is also climbing the all-time 3FGM list. She has 123 for her career which is ninth all-time and five shy from eighth place. 
• Three more Jennies are poised to reach 500 career points in the near future. Sydney Crockett is 8 points away, Kayonna Lee is 23 points shy and Morgan Fleming needs to score 58 more. Crockett is also 10 three-pointers away from 100, which would be 10th all-time and Lee needs 22 more rebounds for 500.

Perfect 10
Through 24 games this season, Central Missouri has held opponents to fewer than 10 points in a quarter in 13 of those games. The Jennies are 13-0 in those games, and are yet to be held to fewer than 10 points themselves this season. Going back to last season, Central Missouri is 28-1 in games where an opponent has scored fewer than 10 points and 4-3 in games in which they failed to reach 10 points in a quarter. In 52.7% of UCM's games the last two years, the Jennies have held an opponent to under 10 points in at least one quarter.

Senior Day
Prior to the start of their game, Central Missouri will recognize their four senior student-athletes for their contributions to Central Missouri Basketball. This year's senior class includes Kendra Gladbach, Kayonna Lee, Sydney Skaggs and Kelsey Williams. All four transferred to Central Missouri from previous institutions. Gladbach is the longest tenured Jennie of the group having been in Warrensburg since 2015. Lee and Williams have combined to start in 89 of 110 games. Skaggs has played in 54 of 55 games. 

Scouting the Opposition
Missouri Southern Lions
• Missouri Southern struggled out of the gates, losing seven of their first eight games, but turned around in conference season with an eight game winning streak. That streakiness has continued as the Lions have lost seven of their last eight. 
• The Lions have performed much better at home than on the road. MSSU is just 3-8 in road games All totaled they are 11-15, 8-10 MIAA. 
• The Lion offense runs through Chelsea Henry and Desirea Buerge. Buerge leads the MIAA scoring 20.1 points per game, which she has upped to 20.9 in league games. She also leads the team securing 8.6 rebounds per game. Henry isn't far behind scoring 17.8 games and 17.9 in conference. She is shooting 43.2% from the field and 31.1% from three. Both Buerge and Henry are shooting over 82% at the FT line.
• Those two get help in the form of Dru Clark and Jenson Maydew. Clark is scoring 10 points per game and Maydew is up to 9.3. Maydew also grabbed 7.6 rebounds per game while Clark is leading the team with 70 assists. Maydew also has a team-high 28 blocked shots. 
• The Lions are used to high scoring affairs. The are one of just two teams in the MIAA to both score and allow more than 70 points per game. 
• Turnovers can be tricky for Missouri Southern. They have turned the ball over 396 times in 26 games which is the fourth-most in the MIAA. They are a -1.00 in turnover margin. 
• Defensively, the Lions allow opponents to score on 42.5% of their attempts and that number has gone up to 43.1% in MIAA games. 
Player to Watch
#21 Desirea Buerge (6-0, F, JR, Webb City, Mo.) - leads MIAA in scoring (20.1 ppg)

Pittsburg State Gorillas
• Pittsburg State can finish no worse than second in the MIAA with a chance to earn a share of the regular season title. They have won nine straight games and are 22-5 overall and 15-3 in the MIAA. 
• The Gorillas have only one loss at home this season, a 78-66 loss to Emporia State back in January. They are 8-1 at the John Lance Arena.
• Four Gorillas are scoring double-digit points this season. Mikaela Burgess leads the team averaging more than 15 at 16.1. She is the biggest threat in the league from behind the arc, shooting 36.1%. 
• Behind Burgess are Shelby Lopez (11.2), Paige Imhoff (10) and Brenlee McPherson (10.1) Lopez is shooting 45.3% from the floor and has stepped out to make 51 triples as well. In addition to scoring 10 points per game, Imhoff averages 5.9 assists to lead the MIAA, as does her 2.3 assist to turnover ratio. 
• McPherson and Madison Northcutt do most of the dirty work under the basket. They combine for 13.1 rebounds per game and 18.8 points.  
• The Gorillas score 74.1 points per game, which is right behind the Jennies for fourth in the MIAA. They are also third in the lead in field goal percentage at 44.4%.
• Pittsburg State leads the lead for three-point field goals made with 209 and attempts at 620. They sit four in the conference though shooting 33.7%. 
• At +2.96, the Gorillas have the fifth best turnover margin in the MIAA. They turn the ball over just 11.6 times per game which is tied for second fewest in the league while forcing 14.5.
Player to Watch
#15  Mikaela Burgess (5-7, G, SR, Webb City, Mo.) - Leads MIAA shooting 36.1% from three