WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Jan. 9, 2021) - The two top teams in the MIAA went to battle Saturday afternoon as the 7-0 Jennies squared off against the 7-0 Nebraska-Kearney Lopers at the Multi. The Lopers jumped out early and led for much of the game, handing the Jennies their first loss of the season, 68-56.
How it Happened
• The Jennies led for just 44 seconds in this one, a brief 9-8 lead in the first half. The game saw two ties and two lead changes but the Lopers were on top for the majority.
• UNK went 25-50 from the field and shot 7-16 from three while the Jennies were below 40% from the field and 3-12 from beyond the arc.
• Central Missouri entered as the best rebounding team in the MIAA, but it was Nebraska-Kearney who dominated the glass, 38-26 with 15 offensive rebounds and 14 second chance points.
• Turnovers kept the Jennies in the ball game as they forced 20 with 11 steals and scored 20 points off Loper turnovers.
• Nebraska-Kearney started the game scoring six of the first seven points.
Nija Collier though answered scoring five straight to tie the game at six at the media timeout.
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Charley Bovaird gave the Jennies their only lead, 9-8, with a corner three, but it didn't last long. Kearney answered with a three and lead for the rest of the game.
• In the closing seconds of the first, they pushed their lead to five, 18-13, with a four-point play with under two seconds left. Haley Simental was fouled on a made three-point attempt.
• The Lopers were 5-10 from three in the half and had a 21-12 advantage rebounding the ball with 10 offensive rebounds and a 10-0 lead in second-chance points.
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Graycen Holden went coast-to-coast with a steal and a layup to make it a 20-15 game early in the second quarter.
Morgan VanHyfte cut the lead to two, 27-25, with a layup of her own, but the Lopers scored six straight, taking their largest lead, 33-25 and went into the half up six, 33-27.
• Coming out to start the second half, the Lopers scored four straight to take a 10-point lead, their largest to that point. The Jennies scored just nine points in the third quarter and trailed by 13, 49-36, with 10 minutes left to play.
• The Lopers pushed the lead to a game-high 15 on a Maegan Holt three with 6:48 left. The Jennies came to life though and started to chip away at the lead. A pair of
Brooke Littrell free throws got it down to 10, 56-46.
• A layup from
Morgan VanHyfte and free throws from Littrell and Holden cut it down further to just four with three minutes left to play.
• The Lopers though answered with a three late in the shot clock on their next possession to go back up by seven. Needing to foul, the Jennies sent the Lopers to the line where they went 7-8 in the final 1:38 to hold on for a win.
It Was Over When...
• The Jennies were building momentum cutting a 15-point lead all the way down to four, 56-52 with three minutes left to play. The Lopers though got Elisa Backes open for a three at the top of the key pushing their lead back to seven and stopping the comeback attempt.
Jennies Stat Leaders
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Graycen Holden led UCM scoring 13 points. Seven came at the free throw line.
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Morgan VanHyfte finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.
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Brooke Littrell was also in double-figures scoring 10.
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Makenna Vanzant was 3-4 and added seven points.
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Olivia Nelson scored six with five rebounds and three assists, three steals and two blocks.
For the Lopers
• Brooke Carlson scored a game-high 15 points with eight rebounds.
• Elisa Backes scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
• Haley Simental added 13 points and three assists.
• Kelsey Sanger scored six and dished out seven assists.
News and Notes
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Graycen Holden scored her 100th point of her career and of the season.
• This was the Lopers second all-time win against UCM. The Jennies are now 8-2 in 10 games against UNK.
• The 56 points scored are a season-low for the Jennies.
• The loss snaps the Jennies seven-game winning streak to start the season. It matches the longest winning streak to start a season in the
Dave Slifer era and is tied for the fifth longest in team history.
• It was a short day for
Nija Collier. She was ejected on a questionable call in the third quarter.
• This will not be the only time the Jennies see the Lopers this season. They'll get their chance to get the win back when they travel to Kearney in February.
Up Next
• The Jennies will be back on the road twice next week. They'll take on Central Oklahoma Thursday, Jan. 14 and Newman Saturday, Jan. 16.
