WARRENSBURG, Mo. (March 11, 2021) - Central Missouri Jennies Basketball will finally get to host their regional. UCM was denied that opportunity last year due to COVID-19, but the regional is back in Warrensburg this year and the Jennies have their chance at retribution.
Opponent
St. Cloud State (12-5, 7-3 NSIC)
When
Friday, March 12 - 6 p.m.
Where
Warrensburg, Mo. - UCM Multipurpose Building
Fan Information:
• The UCM Multipurpose Building is limited to 25% capacity.
• Face masks are required at all times while on the UCM campus.
• Fans are strongly encouraged to socially distance themselves when seated and only sit with the group they entered the facility with.
• Restrooms and east-end concessions will be open, but fans are asked not to congregate in hallways or the lobby.
• There will be no reserved seating for visiting fans behind the visiting bench.
Ticket Information
• $10 - Adult
• $5 - Senior/Student (with valid student-ID - if purchasing a student ticket, must be done in person)
• All tickets are a per-day pass. A single ticket will be valid for both games on the ticketed day. There will not be any all-tournament tickets sold.
• While tickets will be sold at the UCM ticket office throughout the week, fans are strongly encouraged to purchase their tickets online at the link above to either print at home, or download to their mobile phone to scan for entry. Tickets will also be sold at the gate starting one hour prior to game one each day.
On the Air:
• Both games will be broadcasted on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar and now the all new 107.9 fm. You can also stream online at warrensburgradio.com with Greg Hassler calling the action.
• Links to live stats and live video can also be found at ucmathletics.com.
• All games will also be webcast online through the MIAA's Blue Frame portal at http://www.themiaanetwork.com/ucmmules/. All games are a free to view broadcast.
Tip-Off
• Central Missouri is back in the NCAA Central Region Tournament for the fifth straight season. The Jennies will take on St. Cloud State in a first round matchup.
• Should UCM advance, they'll play top seed Fort Hays State Saturday at 5 p.m.. The Tigers earned a bye into the semifinals.
• Central Missouri has also been chosen as a predetermined host site for the entirety of the tournament.
• The six team tournament will see two games on Friday and Saturday with the top-two seeds receiving a first round bye. Winners on Saturday advance to the regional championship game Monday, March 15.
Storylines
• Central Missouri was set to host the NCAA Regional last season as the No. 1 seed. The tournament was canceled due to COVID-19 the day before it was set to begin.
• This is the Jennies first time hosting the regional since 1990.
Last Time Out
• The Jennies were upset in the first round of the MIAA Tournament, suffering an early exit in their title defense. Washburn defeated UCM 63-55. The Jennies had season-lows in points and field goal percentage.
Previously vs. St. Cloud State/Fort Hays State
• None of the current players for the Jennies or Huskies were alive the last time these two teams met. They played in the NCAA Division II Quarterfinals back on March 17, 1989 with the Jennies coming out on top 87-71 to advance to the Final Four.
• The Tigers snapped the Jennies season-long 10 game winning streak less than one month ago, Feb. 20. The two teams split the season series with the home team taking each game.
Jennies in the Rankings
• Central Missouri is ranked 20th in the final WBCA poll of the regular season. In the latestD2CCA poll, the Jennies sit 22nd.
• The defending MIAA Champion Jennies were picked to finish third this year by the league's coaches. They did receive three first-place votes.
• The Jennies were picked to be in third place in the NCAA Central Region rankings. They slid down a spot following a first-round exit in the MIAA Quarterfinal round against Washburn.
Individual Milestones
•
Gigi McAtee is two rebounds away from 200 for her career. With 10 more minutes played, she will also get to 2,000 for her career.
•
Nija Collier has entered the all-time UCM top-10 for blocks and is seventh with 91. She needs one more to get to sixth and two more to get to the top-five. She is also five rebounds away from her second straight 200 rebound season.
•
Graycen Holden is three field goals away from hitting 100 her freshman season.
• One more three-point field goal will give
Morgan VanHyfte 50 for her career. She's also 13 rebounds away from 300 and 14 shy of 100 for the season.
Who's Hot?
•
Graycen Holden has scored in double-figures in five straight games.
•
Brooke Littrell finished the regular season strong with back-to-back double-doubles and picked up another against Washburn in the MIAA Tournament.
All-MIAA
• The Jennies put five on the All-MIAA team: First Team
Nija Collier, Second Team,
Olivia Nelson, Third Team
Graycen Holden, Honorable Mention
Gigi McAtee and Defensive Player of the Year
Morgan VanHyfte!
• The Jennies have had back-to-back MIAA Defensive Players of the Year with Collier winning it last season.
• Nelson, Holden, McAtee and VanHyfte are all first-time All-MIAA award recipients.
UCM in the NCAA Tournament
• In the last three seasons, UCM has gone 8-2 in the NCAA Tournament games. They are 28-21 all-time in postseason games.
• Central Missouri has hosted the NCAA Regional six times previously, last doing so in the 1989-90 season.
• The last time UCM made five straight NCAA appearances was 1982-1991 when they made it nine straight years.
Scouting the Opposition
St. Cloud State (12-5, 7-3 NSIC)
• The Northern Sun conference played considerably fewer games than the MIAA as their season got underway in January, 2021. St. Cloud has just 17 games under their belt going 12-5 and 7-3 in conference play.
• The Huskies advanced to the Northern Sun Tournament finals where they were eliminated by champions Minnesota Duluth 67-55. Prior to that, they played two tough games, coming out with a 70-68 win over Minnesota State and a 72-68 win over Augustana. Both games saw the Huskies down by 10 in the fourth quarter before coming back to win.
• St. Cloud boasts plenty of size on their roster with four girls standing six feet or taller.
• Like other Northern Sun teams, they play in tight around the basket. They shoot 40.8% overall from the field and just 31% of the field goal attempts have been from three. By comparison, 35% of the Jennies field goal attempts have been from behind the arc.
• The Huskies put two on the All-NSIC North Division First Team. Brehna Evans made the first team and was the North Division Defensive Player of the Year. Evans was joined on the First Team by leading scoring Tori Wortz who averages 15.2 points per game.
• The Huskies lead the Northern Sun defensively allowing 57 points per game. They're also tops in rebounding margin at +7.1
• SCSU is still +0.71 in turnover margin, but the Huskies do turn the ball over nearly 14 times per game.
Player to Watch
#10 Brehna Evans (5-8, G, Jr., De Pere, Wisc.) - 14.5 points per game, 3.9 rebounds, 34 steals
Fort Hays State (22-3, 20-2 MIAA)
• Despite losing in the MIAA Tournament finals, the Tigers may still be the hottest team entering the regional. The top seed had won 17 straight games before losing to Nebraska-Kearney, 57-51 in the MIAA Tournament Finals.
• The Tigers are loaded with four All-MIAA selections. They were the only team to put two players on the First Team in Jaden Hobbs and Whitney Randall. Cydney Bergmann and Olivia Hollenbeck also made the All-MIAA team and Bergmann was also on the All-Defensive Team. Head Coach Tony Hobson was named the MIAA Coach of the Year.
• Fort Hays State has one of the top offenses in the MIAA averaging 71.8 points per game while their defense is third allowing 58.1 points per contest.
• Hays might be the top overall shooting team in the league. They are second in the MIAA converting on 43.9% of their field goal attempts. They are also second in the league from three shooting 33.5% behind the arc.
• Two Tigers are in double-figure scoring led by Whitney Randall at 15.3 points per game
• Jaden Hobbs is their deep threat hitting 45.1% from three. She also has an MIAA leading 3.5:1 assist to
turnover ratio with 152 assists to just 43 turnovers.
• Katie Wagner and Olivia Hollenbeck each score more than nine points per game right around the rim.
• Fort Hays also leads the MIAA in turnover margin losing it 11.6 times per game and forcing 15.
Player to Watch
#11 Jaden Hobbs (5-8, G, Sr., Alva, Okla.) - leads the MIAA in 3FG% - 45.1%
