WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Dec. 2, 2020) - Central Missouri Jennies Basketball starts a five-game road trip this week with a pair of games against longstanding in-state rivals. 

Opponents
Northwest Missouri (1-1, 1-1 MIAA)
Missouri Western (1-1, 1-1 MIAA)

Where
Maryville, Mo. - Bearcat Arena
St. Joseph, Mo. - MWSU Fieldhouse

When
Thursday, Dec. 3 - 5:30 p.m. at Northwest Missouri
Saturday, Dec. 5 - 1:30 p.m. at Missouri Western

Fan Information
• There will be no tickets sold for either game this weekend. Fans are limited to immediate family members only and must be on the team's official pass list. 

On the Air
• All games will be broadcast on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar and warrensburgradio.com with Greg Hassler calling the action. 
• All games will also be webcast online through the MIAA's Blue Frame portal at http://www.themiaanetwork.com/ucmmules/. 
• Links to live stats and live video can also be found at ucmathletics.com. 

Tip-Off
• Central Missouri Jennies hits the road for the first time this season as they embark on a season-long five-game road trip. Up this week are trips to Maryville, Mo. and St. Joseph, Mo. to take on Northwest Missouri and Missouri Western.
• The Jennies started their season last week with wins over Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State. The Jennies scored 78 points in each win. 

Storylines
• Central Missouri has undergone a facelift. There are seven freshmen on this year's squad, and all seven have already seen action. 
• Central Missouri has compiled a winning record against both opponents, going 71-26 against Northwest Missouri and 40-30 all time against the Griffons. 
• UCM has won 10 straight games against the Bearcats and 15 of the last 16. The last Northwest Missouri win came in 2016 and the last time the Bearcats defeated the Jennies in Maryville was in 2011. 
• The Griffons were the last MIAA team to defeat the Jennies. They won 67-57 in St. Joseph this past February. That snapped a seven-game Jennies winning streak against MWSU. 

Last Time Out
• The Jennies started their season with back-to-back home wins defeating Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State. The Jennies led for nearly the entirety of both games beating the Lions 78-52 and the Gorillas 78-61. Nija Collier averaged 19 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, Brooke Littrell had a double-double in her first game after missing the MSSU game, Graycen Holden debuted against the Gorillas scoring 22 points, going 9-9 from the floor. 

Previously vs. Northwest Missouri/Missouri Western
• Central Missouri won their 15th straight defeating Northwest Missouri 73-60. Nija Collier had a double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds. 
• The winning streak did not reach 16 games as after defeating NWMSU, the Jennies fell at Missouri Western 67-57. The Jennies got in an early 19-6 hole and couldn't comeback despite 20 points from Nija Collier and 17 from Megan Skaggs. 

Jennies in the Rankings
• There won't be a WBCA poll for the 2020-21 season until January. The Jennies are ranked in a tie for 21st in the D2SIDA preseason poll released this week. It'll be the only poll until Jan.
• The defending MIAA Champion Jennies were picked to finish third this year by the league's coaches. They did receive three first-place votes. 

Individual Milestones
• Nija Collier needs one more block to get to 60.
• Gigi McAtee needs 23 points to get to 200. 
• Morgan VanHyfte is 6 points away from 300 for her career.

Defense First
• The Jennies have been a tough defensive team for years, and have started this season no differently. In two games, the Jennies blocked 15 shots which leads the MIAA and the NCAA. They've also forced 28 turnovers with 19 steals and their 30.2% field goal percentage against is the best in the MIAA and second in Division II. They also lead the nation in assist to turnover ratio at 1.33 assists for every turnover. 

Fab 7
• UCM has seven freshmen for the 2020-21 season, their most since welcoming five in 2015. All seven played during the opening week and scored 53% of the team's total points. Three of the Jennies top-four scorers are freshman with Graycen Holden having scored 22, Brooke Littrell 21 and Olivia Nelson 20. 

Schedule Changes
• The Jennies game at Lincoln, originally scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 21 has been moved to Saturday, Dec. 12 with a 1 p.m. tipoff. 

Scouting the Opposition
Northwest Missouri Bearcats (1-1, 1-1 MIAA)
• The Bearcats are off to a 1-1 start to their season after they opened up on the road in Oklahoma. They dropped game one 64-56 in Tahlequah against Northeastern State before defeating Rogers State 70-62 in Claremore, Okla.
• This will be Northwest's 1st game in 12 days, however they did play an exhibition Monday against UMKC.
• In MIAA games, the Bearcats have played only eight with give girls averaging more than 30 minutes.
• Jaelyn Haggard and Kylie Coleman have hit 12 of the Bearcats 13 three-pointers and taken 23 of 37.
• Northwest this season is shooting 45% from the floor which is second in the MIAA. They are in the middle of the pack allowing opponents to shoot 38.7%. 
• The Bearcats are averaging 15 turnovers per game and their assist to turnover ratio of 0.60 to 1 is near the bottom of the league.
• Molly Hartnett leads the team scoring 19.5 points per game. She's gone 17-30 from the floor, doing most of her work under the basket. She scored 22 in the season opener and had a double-double at RSU. 
Player to Watch
#3 Jaelyn Haggard (5-5, G, Sr., St. Joseph, Mo.) - Leads MIAA with 4 3FGM per game. Went 6-9 at RSU

Missouri Western Griffons (1-1, 1-1 MIAA)
• Missouri Western has started their season 1-1 with a win over Rogers State and a loss at Northeastern State. Like Northwest Missouri, the Griffons haven't played since November 21.
• The Griffons are the only team to average more points than the Jennies in the MIAA so far this season. They are scoring 78.5 points per game. However they are also allowing the most points per game, 81.5, allowing at least 80 points in each game this season.
• Missouri Western is shooting 44% from the field which is fourth in the MIAA. They've done most of that inside though, as they've hit just 29.4% from behind the arc.
• The Griffons are a +3 when it comes to rebounding, fourth in the league.
• Four Griffons are averaging double-figure points led by Camille Evans. She's 13-19 from the floor this season and also averaging eight rebounds and five assists per game.
• MWSU has also been prone to turn the ball over. Their 19 turnovers per game are 2nd-most in the MIAA.
Player to Watch
#1 Camille Evans (5-7, G Fr., Kansas City, Kan.) - 68.4%, 15 points per game