Jens Pick Up First Win of the Season at Northern State

ABERDEEN, SD (Nov. 9, 2019) - No. 11 Central Missouri Jennies Basketball earned their first win of the season Saturday evening playing at Northern State. UCM took down the Wolves 62-50, getting a combined 29 points from Morgan Fleming and Megan Skaggs.

How it Happened
• The Jens still had a tough time shooting the ball. They hit 35% of their field goals while the Wolves shot 48%.
• Three-pointers were a difference with the Jennies hitting seven and the Wolves going just 1-11.
• UCM also did a good job of getting to the foul line and hitting 19-24 at the charity stripe.
• The Jennies won the rebounding edge 32-28.
• The Jennies defense forced 16 turnovers and came away with 13 steals.
• UCM outscored the Wolves in three quarters and were even in one, starting in the first when they held NSU to just eight points. The game started off with a Nija Collier block and Gigi McAtee hit a jumper for a 2-0 Jennies lead.
• After two quick NSU buckets, Morgan Fleming buried a three for a 5-4 lead and the Jennies never trailed again. They closed the first with jumpers from Fleming and Sydnee Schovanec for a 15-8 lead after 10 minutes.
• Things looked like they could get out of hand quick as UCM opened the second on an 11-0 run and led by 18, 26-8 three minutes into the period. The Wolves though fought back and UCM scored just seven more points over seven minutes and led at the half by 10, 33-23.
• Both teams struggled in the third and the Jennies were able to keep the Wolves at an arm's length away. A 6-0 Northern State run cut a 12-point UCM lead down to six, 35-29, with 7:15 to play in the period. Collier quickly answered with a three and Fleming hit the and-one as the lead jumped back to 12, 41-29.
• NSU got the lead down to single digits a handful of times in the fourth quarter, including hitting a jumper to get back to within six, 56-50 with 2:10 left. The Wolves though went 0-2 the rest of the way with a turnover on their final three possessions. 
• UCM got a pair of free throws each from McAtee and Fleming in the final 1:07 and left South Dakota with a 12-point win, 62-50.

It Was Over When...
• Megan Skaggs hit a jumper in the paint with 1:25 left to bring the Jennies lead back to eight, 58-50. After that the Wolves went scoreless and the Jens picked up their first win of the season.

Jennies Stat Leaders
• Fleming scored a game-high 16 points going 5-15 with five rebounds.
• Skaggs added 13 points and was 5-6 with four rebounds and four steals.
• McAtee helped out with seven points and two assists.
• Kim Crown came off the bench to provide seven points and six rebounds.
• Nija Collier secured a game-high nine boards and added six points.

For the Wolves
• Jessi Marti scored 12 points on 5-12 shooting.
• Brianna Kusler and Lexi Wadsworth each had 10. Kusler added eight boards.
• Alayna Johnson scored eight points with four rebounds.

News and Notes
• Both Morgan Fleming and Megan Skaggs moved up in the Jennies all-time scoring list. Skaggs is now 19th with 1,211 points and Fleming 23rd with 1,081 points.
• Sydnee Schovanec's six points were the first of her career.
• UCM remains unbeaten against Northern State at 3-0.
• In the last four seasons, the Jennies move to 43-4 in 47 games holding an opponent to below 10 points in a quarter.
• UCM got 16 points from their bench after only scoring six in game one.

Up Next
• The Jennies will be on the road again as they travel to Evansville, Ind. to take on Southern Indiana Wednesday, Nov. 13 with a 7 p.m. tip.