WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Jan. 15, 2020) - The Central Missouri Jennies shut down the top offensive team in the MIAA Wednesday night. The Jennies smothered Pittsburg State 72-50 to pick up their ninth straight win and improve to 12-3 on the season. The Jens also remain unbeaten in the MIAA at 6-0.
How it Happened
• UCM had their way with the Gorillas in the paint shooting 60% on two-point shot attempts. The Jennies scored 52 of their 72 points in the paint and outscored the Gorillas 52-28 in the post.
• Overall, the Jens shot 48.4% from the floor while Pittsburg State was at 37%.
• Neither team shot well from behind the arc, but the Gorillas doubled up the Jens in made three-pointers, 6-3.
• Pittsburg State turned the ball over 16 times to the Jennies 11. UCM outscored PSU 16-6 in points off of turnovers.
• The Jennies also did a great job on the glass collecting 40 rebounds to the Gorillas 28. The Jens grabbed 10 offensive boards and scored 13 second-chance points.
• The game started out with Tristan Gegg of the Gorillas draining a three on the first possession. Gegg hit a layup to make it 5-2 before the Jennies took over.
• UCM went on a 10-0 run, getting eight of those points from
Nija Collier as they went on top 12-5 and held the lead the rest of the game.
Ellisha Davis gave the Jens a double-digit lead in the closing minutes of the first, but PSU scored four straight to get back to within eight, 21-13, after 10 minutes.
• The teams traded baskets to start the second and midway through the period, UCM still clung to an eight-point lead, 29-21.
Ryann Stearns changed that quickly scoring six points in the final 3:10 of the half. On the final play of the half, Stearns picked off an inbound pass and ran up the floor for a transition layup just before the buzzer, putting UCM on top 37-23 at the break.
• Pittsburg State started the second half on a 9-2 run to cut the Jennies lead down to seven less than three minutes into the half. The Jennies put a stop to any comeback attempt though, closing the quarter on an 18-2 run to lead by 23, 57-34, with one quarter left to play. The Gorillas were held scoreless for the final 4:58 of the period and scored just two points in the final 7:18.
• The Jennies were content to let the clock drain in the fourth.
Morgan VanHyfte gave UCM their largest lead, 67-40, with 3:39 left to play and the Jens were able to cruise to a 72-50 win.
It Was Over When...
• The Jennies went on an 18-2 run to close out the third quarter. The Jennies defense didn't allow a point in the final 4:58 of the period as they turned a seven-point lead into a 23-point lead.
Jennies Stat Leaders
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Nija Collier led all scorers with 21 points. She went 9-13 from the floor and grabbed eight rebounds.
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Morgan Fleming was 5-9 from the field for 15 points. She filled out the box score with three rebounds, five assists and one steal.
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Megan Skaggs finished 6-10 scoring 14 points and pulling down eight rebounds.
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Ryann Stearns scored nine points and came up with three steals.
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Morgan VanHyfte chipped in eight points and swiped five steals.
For the Gorillas
• Tristan Gegg scored 16 points with four three-pointers. She also grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
• Erin Davis came off the bench to score nine points on 4-5 shooting.
• Kaylee DaMitz scored six points and passed out five assists.
• Marina Bauza Rupert scored seven with four rebounds.
News and Notes
• The win is the Jennies ninth straight. It's their longest winning streak since winning 16 straight in 2017-18.
• With a loss this evening from Emporia State, the Jennies are the only unbeaten team remaining in the MIAA.
• The Jennies improve to 7-0 at home this season.
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Nija Collier surpassed 200 points this season and in her UCM career.
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Megan Skaggs is at exactly 1,000 field goal attempts in her career. She is 538-1,000.
• This is the 12th time in 15 games the Jennies have held an opponent to 60 points or less in a game.
• Pittsburg State entered as the highest scoring offense in league games. Their 50 points are the fewest they've scored this season. Their previous low in an MIAA game was 68 in their MIAA opener.
• In her last two games,
Morgan VanHyfte has nine steals.
• This is the sixth time in their last seven games UCM has grabbed at least 40 rebounds and they have won the rebounding battle in all seven games.
Up Next
• Central Missouri remains at home to take on Missouri Southern Saturday, Jan. 18 at 1 p.m.
