Jennies Return With Top-25 Battle at the Multi

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Jan. 3, 2019) - For the first time in more than two weeks, No. 15 Central Missouri Jennies Basketball takes to the floor as they continue MIAA play this weekend.

Opponents
#5 Fort Hays State Tigers (11-0, 2-0 MIAA)
Nebraska-Kearney Lopers (7-4, 0-2 MIAA)

Where
Warrensburg, Mo. - UCM Multipurpose Building

When
Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019 - 5:30 p.m. vs. Fort Hays State
Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019 - 1:30 p.m. vs. Nebraska-Kearney

On the Air
This weekend's games will be broadcast live on 98.5 The Bar and 1450 KOKO with Greg Hassler on the call. There will also be a webstream available on the Jennies Blueframe portal page at www.themiaanetwork.com/ucmmules. Live stats will also be available.

Tip Off
• The Jennies start off 2019 with their first MIAA home games of the season. They'll take on Fort Hays State and Nebraska-Kearney this weekend.
• Central Missouri is ranked 15th in the latest WBCA Coaches Poll and 23rd in the D2SIDA Poll after remaining idle last week. 

Story Lines
• Thursday's game vs FHSU marks the second of the season against a ranked opponent and also their second rematch with a 2018 NCAA Tournament opponent, joining Lubbock Christian.
• Last year the Jennies were 18-1 in the MIAA regular season as they captured their 11th regular season conference championship. 

Quick Hits
Last Time Out
• It was a different year the last time the Jennies played! They defeated Southern Indiana 74-71, thwarting a USI comeback in the final minutes in their final game of the 2018 calendar year. All five starters were in double-figures led by Paige Redmond's 16. 

Previously vs. FHSU/UNK
• Fort Hays gave the Jennies their closest call during their NCAA run to the National Championship, a 66-59 game in Sioux Falls in March. The Jennies trailed by one at the half, but outscored FHSU 33-25 in the second half. Kayonna Lee had a double-double with 12 points/11 rebounds and Paige Redmond scored 16. The Jens also picked up a 71-51 win at home over the Tigers in the regular season.  Against the Lopers, the Jennies led end to end for an 81-46 win. Redmond again led the team with 19 points. Kelsey Williams scored 11 with nine rebounds. 

Jennies vs. FHSU/UNK
• Only Paige Redmond and Sydney Crockett have played five games vs. FHSU. Redmond is scoring 13.8 points per game while shooting 46.4% from the floor and 45.8% from three. Crockett averages 2.6 rebounds against the Tigers. Both have hit five three's vs. UNK.
• In three games, Morgan Fleming averages 11.3 points against the Tigers and seven rebounds.
• No Jennie has scored more against the Lopers than Megan Skaggs with 12.5 points in two games. She's also shooting 61% against Fort Hays State in three games, but just 1-7 from behind the arc. 

Jennies in the Rankings
• For the third straight week, the Jennies are ranked 15th by the WBCA. They moved to 23rd in the D2SIDA poll.
• The Jennies have been ranked by the WBCA for 32 straight polls. 
• The Jens were also picked first in the MIAA preseason coaches poll, following their 18-1 regular season championship last season.

Jennies at Home
• Central Missouri has played just twice at home this season, defeating Westminster 86-74 and USI in their last contest, 74-71.
• Last season, UCM was 13-2 when playing in Warrensburg.
• All-time the Jennies are 471-106 when playing at home and 143-43 during the Coach Slifer era. 

The MIAA Universe (As of Jan. 2, 2019)
• Not one, not two, but three Jennies rank in the MIAA top-10 in scoring. Paige Redmond leads the way with 16.1 which is fifth, Morgan Fleming is seventh at 15.0 and Megan Skaggs is ninth at 14.4. 
• Redmond is still leading the MIAA in minutes per game at 36.9. She is also the only player in the MIAA top-10 in FG% (8th-40.5%), 3FG% (2nd-39.1%) and FT% (2nd-90.9) based on league minimum attempts and is third with 4.0 assists per game. 
• Kim Crown has moved up to seventh with 1.2 blocks per game. 
• Megan Skaggs is shooting 52.1% from the floor which is third in the league. 

Individual Milestones 
• Paige Redmond joined the 1,000 point club last season scoring the milestone bucket against Pittsburg State. She is currently at 1,382 which is 13th all-time and just six points away from 12th and 35 away from the top-10. Redmond is also climbing the all-time 3FGM list. She has 170 for her career which is moves her to fifth all-time. She also needs six rebounds for 300 in her career.
• Sydney Crockett is also moving up the all-time three-point list and is currently ninth with 114 and 14 away from eighth place. She also needs seven rebounds for 200.   
• Kim Crown is 10 points away from 100. 
• Morgan Fleming has 247 made field goals and 247 rebounds. She needs three of each to reach 250. 

10 Below
• For the last three seasons the Jennies have made a habit of holding teams to fewer than 10 points in at least one quarter. It's happened in 40 games dating back to the 2016-17 season and in those games, UCM is 37-3. 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. In five of their nine games, they've held their opponent to single-digits in one quarter of play, however they lost the last one at Washburn and are 4-1.  

Who's Hot?
• All-American Paige Redmond is the most recent MIAA Player of the Week. She's scored at least 17 points in three straight games. 
• Kim Crown has scored in double-figures in three straight contests and vs. Southern Indiana blocked a career-high four shots. She's also averaging eight rebounds during that three-game stretch.
• Megan Skaggs is shooting 66.7% (12-18) in her last two games and has gone 7-9 from three.

Scouting the Opposition
#5 Fort Hays State Tigers (11-0, 2-0 MIAA)
• Central Missouri faces their toughest test to this point in the MIAA leading and No. 5 Fort Hays State Tigers. The Tigers are 11-0 to start the year and 2-0 in the MIAA.
• One thing the Tigers have not done, is play much on the road. Of their 11 games, just one has been a true road game, and that was at Newman. Eight others have been at home and two have been played at neutral sites. 
• The Tigers have gotten done on both ends of the floor. They are ranked 11th in the NCAA in both scoring offense and defense with 82.8 points per game on the offensive end and 52.9 on the defensive end.
• Fort Hays also leads the nation in turnovers per game with just 9.8 and their 11.73 turnover margin is second in the country.
• Fort Hays has made a habit of going to the free throw line. They've made the third most in the NCAA and are shooting 73.5% from the charity stripe.
• Three Tigers are in double-figures led by Lanie Page with 12.5 and Tatyana Legette with 12.1. Kacey Kennett is scoring 11 points per game. 
Player to Watch
#24 Tatyana Legette (5-10, F, Sr., Topeka, Kan.) - 12.1 ppg, 7.9 rebounds per game, 24 assists, 17 blocks

Nebraska-Kearney Lopers (7-4, 0-2 MIAA)
• Nebraska-Kearney enters Warrensburg winners of two straight. They've got a 7-4 record, but just two of those wins are against Division II opponents.
• While the Lopers came to Warrensburg last year, it's a new cast of characters this time around. Even though UNK played 14 in last year's game, only three are back for this season and zero starters. Ten of the 13 on the roster are freshmen or sophomores.
• One of those who played last year was Kelsey Sanger, the Loper leader with 10.5 points per game. She also leads the team with 36 assists.
• On average, UNK is forcing more than 20 turnovers per game. They are outscoring their opponents 74.2 to 55.4, though in their four losses have reached 60 points just once.
• As a team, UNK is shooting 43.9% from the floor, but just 31.7% from three. They are also struggling at the free throw shooting 67.1%, next to last in the MIAA.
• Behind Sanger is freshman Shiloh McCool who's scoring 9.6 points per game. She also leads the team pulling down 6.5 rebounds per game with 25 of her 71 on the offensive glass and nine blocked shots. 
Player to Watch
#25 Shiloh McCool (5-11, G/F, Fr., Pleasant Hill, Iowa) - 9.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg (not related to Michelle McCool)