WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Dec. 5, 2019) - Central Missouri Jennies Basketball turned it on late to win their MIAA opener 62-53 over Missouri Western at the Multi. The Jens trailed by three, 43-40 heading into the fourth quarter, but outscored the Griffons 22-10 in the final period to come away victorious.

How it Happened
• The Jennies shot 48% from the floor and 52% in the second half. Missouri Western shot just 37% for the game.
• The Griffons three-point shooting kept them close as they hit 8-of-19 while the Jennies were 5-15.
• UCM shot good enough at the free throw line, 9-13 with MWSU going 5-11.
• Rebounds and turnovers were close. MWSU outrebounded UCM 33-31 and had one more turnover, 16-15. The Jennies though outscored the Griffons 16-10 in points off turnovers.
• Central Missouri scored the first four points of the game with baskets from Gigi McAtee and Nija Collier. The Griffons went 2-3 from behind the arc in the period and with 3:14 left, led 13-12. The Jennies though scored the final six points of the period, four coming from Kim Crown who beat the buzzer after grabbing an offensive rebound, and led 18-13 after one.
• Missouri Western though put up a big second quarter, outscoring the Jennies 19-10 and hitting four three-pointers. The Jennies got a pair of threes in the period from Sydnee Schovanec to keep them close, but at the break the Griffons led by four, 32-28.
• The two teams traded baskets at the outset of the second half. Trailing by two, 36-34, the Jens scored six straight with all six coming from Collier to take a 40-36 lead. That lead quickly evaporated though as the Griffons scored the final seven points of the third and took a 43-40 lead into the final frame.
• Missouri Western pushed the lead to five, 45-40, their largest of the game scoring on their first possession in the fourth. The Jennies answered with three-pointers from McAtee and Ryann Stearns to take a 46-45 lead. The teams traded baskets and midway though the period, the Griffons were up one, 51-50. That's when UCM put the hammer down. They outscored Missouri Western 12-3 in the final 4:43. UCM scored on five consecutive field goal attempts and an 11-0 run turned a one-point deficit into a ten-point lead, 61-51 as UCM sailed to a 62-53 win.

It Was Over When...
• UCM scored 11 straight points in a span of three minutes. A steal and fast-break layup from Collier broke it open, giving UCM their largest lead to that point, 57-51.

Jennies Stat Leaders
• Collier went 8-14 from the field got a game-high 19 points with seven rebounds.
• Megan Skaggs added 15 points and five rebounds.
• Gigi McAtee scored five with four assists and no turnovers.
• Sydnee Schovanec came off the bench to hit a pair of threes and grab two rebounds.
• Morgan Fleming chipped in eight points and four rebounds.

For the Griffons
• Katrina Roenfeldt led MWSU with 14 points hitting on four three-pointers. She also had a game-high eight rebounds.
• Three Griffons scored seven apiece: Corbyn Cunningham, Mychaell Gray and Simone Walker.
• Kylee Williams and Simone Walker each had six.

News and Notes
• For the seventh time in eight games, UCM has held and opponent to fewer than 60 points. The Griffons entered averaging 74.3 points per game.
• Kim Crown went over 200 career points.
• Megan Skaggs surpassed 1,300 career points.
• Central Missouri has seven straight wins against Missouri Western.
• In the last six years, UCM is 3-3 in conference openers.

Up Next
• The Jennies will remain at home to take on Northwest Missouri Saturday, Dec. 7. The Bearcats also won their MIAA opener 56-32 over Lincoln.