Jennies Pick Up Road Win at Northwest

MARYVILLE, Mo. (Dec. 3, 2020) - Central Missouri Jennies Basketball went on the road for the first time in 2020 and came away with a win at Northwest Missouri. The Jennies played a swarming defense, holding the Bearcats off for a 58-49 win.

How it Happened
• The Jennies shot 50% going 20-40 from the floor and were 5-12 from three. The Bearcats shot just 39% and were 5-20 from behind the arc.
• UCM had a big rebounding advantage, especially in the second half. The Jennies pulled down 37 to NWMSU 19.
• Turnovers played a factor as UCM coughed it up a season-high 16 times. That led to 10 Bearcat points.
• In the paint the Jennies scored 30 after putting up 41 in the paint against Pittsburg State.
• Olivia Nelson scored the first seven points of the game with two layups and a three. The Jennies led 10-1 after three minutes and never trailed in the game. Northwest scored just seven points in the opening period going 3-13 and 0-4 from three and after 10 minutes, the Jennies led 14-7.
• The Bearcats got things going in the second and cut the lead down to four several times. Jennies led by eight with just over a minute to play in the half. NWMSU cut it to three after a Jaelyn Haggard three. On the final possession though, Brooke Littrell banked in a three to put the Jennies back up six going into the half.
• Once again, the Jennies came out hot to start the third. They started the half on a 10-3 run to push their lead to a game-high 13, 39-26. Nija Collier hit a three and Littrell went coast-to-coast for a layup and a foul. UCM closed the third on a 7-3 run. They led by as much as 20, 48-28 after a jumper from Kade Hackerott. The Bearcats hit a half court buzzer beater and trailed 48-31 with 10 minutes to play.
• UCM turned the ball over six times in the fourth quarter and that kept them from putting the game away. The Bearcats were able to bring the Jennies lead under 10, but it was too little, too late. Littrell and Nelson hit some free throws down the stretch and the Jennies held on by nine 58-49.

It Was Over When...
• The Bearcats were on a run cutting a 17-point lead down to 11. Nija Collier though stopped the spurt with an old fashioned three-point play with 4:11 left and put UCM back on top 55-41.

Jennies Stat Leaders
• Olivia Nelson scored a game-high 14 points going 5-5 and 3-4 at the free throw line. She also picked up a pair of steals.
• Nija Collier scored 13 and grabbed five boards. She was 6-9 at the free throw line.
• Graycen Holden added 11 points and six rebounds. She was 5-6 from the floor.
• Brooke Littrell had a game-high 12 rebounds and scored eight points.
• Morgan VanHyfte chopped in seven points.

For the Bearcats
• Molly Hartnett led the Bearcats scoring 12 points with four rebounds.
• Emma Atwood scored 11 going 5-7 from the floor.
• Jayna Green scored nine.
• Jaelyn Haggard added eight.

News and Notes
• This was the Jennies 11th straight win over the Bearcats. NWMSU hasn't beaten the Jennies in Maryville since 2011.
• Nija Collier recorded her 60th career block.
• Morgan VanHyfte surpassed 300 career points.
• Graycen Holden made her first 11 field goal attempts of her career.
• The Jennies held the Bearcats below 10 points in two different quarters. UCM has now done that 60 times since 2016-17 and are 55-5 in those games. It's their first time holding an opponent below 10 points in a quarter this season.
• The 49 points allowed are the fewest this season for UCM. They held opponents below 60 points 19 times in 2019-20 and now twice in 2020-21. 

Up Next
• The Jennies remain on the road at St. Joseph to take on Missouri Western Saturday, Dec. 5 with a 1:30 p.m. tip.