WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Feb. 27, 2021) - Central Missouri Jennies Basketball closed the regular season in style. They used a big second quarter to take care of the Blue Tigers 79-45. The win means the Jennies finish the regular season at 19-3.

How it Happened
• Central Missouri shot nearly 50% for the game, 28-58 and held Lincoln to just 29% from the floor. 
• Neither team could get going from behind the arc with the Jennies just 1-11 and Lincoln 3-10.
• UCM pulled down 46 rebounds with 11 on the offensive glass to the Blue Tigers 35 boards.
• Lincoln hurt themselves committing 21 turnovers and 21 fouls. The Jennies were 22-29 at the free throw line and scored 20 points off turnovers.
• The Jennies really won this game down low, outscoring Lincoln 52-28 in the paint.
• Lincoln got the board scoring the first four points of the game. Gigi McAtee splashed a three and Brooke Littrell picked up a three the hard way for a 6-4 Jennies lead.
• The two teams went back-and-forth for the entire first quarter, playing within a couple of possessions. After 10 minutes UCM was up just two, 18-16.
• The second quarter was a different story. The Jennies opened the quarter on a 7-0 run, pushing the lead to 25-18 before Lincoln made their first basket at the 6:18 mark.
• Central Missouri outscored the Blue Tigers by 18 in the second, 22-4. The Blue Tigers turned the ball over 14 times in the first 20 minutes. 
• A three-point play from Nija Collier put the Jennies up 34-20 with 2:30 left to play. That started a 9-0 Jennies run to close out the half and the Jennies were doubling up the Blue Tigers 40-20 at the break.
• Things didn't change much in the third quarter. For the second straight quarter, it took almost four minutes for the Blue Tigers to score their first points. 
• Near the end of the third, Madison Cook put in a layup and got the foul for a three point play, putting the Jennies up 29, 61-32.
• Nija Collier got to 20 points at the start of the fourth with a three-point play and the rest was academic as the Jennies emptied their bench en route to a 79-45 win.

It Was Over When...
• The Jennies took charge in the second quarter, outscoring Lincoln 22-4 in the frame. UCM never looked back after that leading the rest of the way.

Jennies Stat Leaders
• Nija Collier scored a game-high 20 points on 8-15 shooting. She also came up with nine rebounds, two assists, four steals and three blocks.
• Brooke Littrell recorded a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. She was 6-8 from the floor and 6-7 at the free throw line.
• Graycen Holden didn't miss from the field going 4-4 and scoring 11 points.
• Morgan VanHyfte chipped in nine points and six rebounds with two steals and an assist.
• Olivia Nelson scored seven points with three assists.
• Madison Cook came off the bench and was 2-2 for seven points.

For the Blue Tigers
• Niyah Jackson led the way scoring 17 points and was 2-4 from three.
• AJ Bradley added 10 with four rebounds.
• Ashtin Ingram hit a three and grabbed six rebounds.
• Aliyah Bello scored two points, dished out three assists and grabbed five rebounds.

News and Notes
• The win locks up the number two seed in the MIAA Tournament for the Jennies.
• The Jennies 19 conference wins are a new single-season record. They had won 18 games on two occasions in 2018 and 2020.
• Brooke Littrell recorded her fifth double-double of the season and second straight.
• All-time, the Jennies are now 61-3 against the Blue Tigers.
• Lincoln scored just four points in the second quarter and the Jennies have held an opponent below 10 points in a quarter for the 10th time this season, moving to 9-1 when doing so.
• The 45 points allowed match the fewest UCM has allowed in a game this season. The Jennies held opponents below 60 points in half their games during the regular season, 11. 

Up Next
• The Jennies will host the MIAA Tournament quarterfinal round game Wednesday, March 3 against seventh-seeded Washburn.