WARRENSBURG, Mo. (March 15, 2021) - Central Missouri Jennies Basketball is headed back to the Elite Eight! The Jennies pulled away late from Nebraska-Kearney to win their eighth NCAA Regional Championship, 67-58.
How it Happened
• Both team shot better than 40% from the floor with UCM holding an edge at 46%-41%. The Jennies also made seven three-pointers while the Lopers hit on just four of 18 from deep.
• Free throw shooting played a role as the Jennies were 18-23 at the line. The Lopers meanwhile, who entered the game shooting 63% from the line, were just 9-16.
• The Jennies held one of the top rebounding teams to just 26 while grabbing 37 themselves. The Lopers did manage to grab seven offensive rebounds and score seven second-chance points.
• Central Missouri turned the ball over 13 times, but only four times in the second half.
• The Jennies led for nearly 28 minutes in the game which featured eight ties and six lead changes.
• It was UCM who got out to an early lead as
Brooke Littrell splashed a triple on UCM's first possession. That was the first of four for Littrell from downtown. Central Missouri got their lead out to four, 13-9, but UNK closed the first on an 8-2 run and led 17-15 after 10 minutes.
• The Jennies offense continued to struggle to start the second, turning the ball over on their first three possessions. A
Morgan VanHyfte three gave UCM some life and scored the first Jennies points of the quarter at the 6:25 mark. That took a seven-point Kearney lead down to four, 22-18.
• VanHyfte's three started an 8-0 Jennie run as UCM took the lead getting another three from Littrell and then a Littrell layup to retake the lead, 26-25. With the Jennies leading by three, 30-27, UNK scored five straight to take a 32-30 lead, but in the closing seconds of the half,
Nija Collier put in a layup to tie the game at 32.
• The Jennies shot 54.5% in the half, but nine turnovers kept the game tied as the Lopers scored eight points off UCM giveaways.
• The third quarter started on the defensive end and was a theme for the rest of the half. UCM allowed just 25 second half points. On the first possession of the half,
Gigi McAtee blocked a layup attempt and possession went to UCM where the Jennies retook the lead, getting a pair of free throws from VanHyfte.
• Nebraska-Kearney scored four straight to take a 36-34 lead, but another VanHyfte three made it a 37-36 game and the Jennies never trailed again. VanHyfte scored the first seven points of the second half for the Jennies.
•
Brooke Littrell then banked in a three and an
Olivia Nelson layup capped a 10-0 UCM run as their took their largest lead, 44-36, with six minutes left to play in the quarter.
• The Lopers fought right back with a 9-2 run of their own to cut the lead back down to one, 46-45. Nelson with a jumper pushed the lead back to three and then both teams went scoreless for more than three minutes.
Charley Bovaird ended the scoring drought swishing a three-pointer to beat the buzzer on the third quarter and UCM led by six, 51-45 going to the fourth.
• The teams traded baskets early in the fourth and UCM still led by six, 59-53, after two
Graycen Holden free throws with just under four minutes left to play.
• UNK had one last run in them, scoring four straight and getting down to two, 59-57. After a UCM timeout,
Olivia Nelson found space in the defense and knifed her way in for a layup putting the Jens back up two possessions with 1:25 left.
• UCM's defense did the rest. The Lopers missed three shots, turned the ball over and had a fourth shot blocked all in the final 1:09 as UCM went 6-8 at the line to put the game away.
It Was Over When...
• Leading by five, the Jennies defense held their ground in the final minute. On back-to-back possessions,
Morgan VanHyfte came up with a big steal and
Nija Collier blocked a shot. That two possession swing turned a five-point lead into an eight-point lead with 33 seconds left after UCM hit three of four at the line.
Jennies Stat Leaders
• The Jennies had four in double-figures led by
Brooke Littrell's 17. She also pulled down 16 rebounds. She shot 6-10 overall and 4-5 from three.
•
Morgan VanHyfte was 2-2 from three and 8-8 at the free throw line scoring 14 points with five rebounds, three steals and one block.
•
Olivia Nelson was 6-9 overall and scored 15 points wih two assists.
•
Nija Collier scored 10 with seven rebounds and four assists.
•
Graycen Holden chipped in eight points.
For the Lopers
• Brooke Carlson scored a game-high 19 points on 8-12 shooting with four rebounds.
• Trinity Law came off the bench to score 11 going 3-7 from three with four assists.
• Klaire Kirsch chipped in 10 with three rebounds.
News and Notes
• This is the Jennies eighth NCAA Regional Championship, first since 2018.
• UCM is now 8-2 all-time in NCAA Regional Championship games.
•
Brooke Littrell was the MVP of the Tournament with
Olivia Nelson also making the All-Tournament team.
•
Morgan VanHyfte's 14 points match a career-high and are a season-best.
•
Brooke Littrell's 16 rebounds are a career-best.
•
Nija Collier blocked three shots and moved into sole possession of fifth place all-time at UCM in blocks.
• Central Missouri has made two of the last three NCAA Elite Eight's.
• UCM won the season series with Nebraska-Kearney 2-1. This was the first win by the team playing on their home court in the three games.
• The Lopers 26 rebounds were a season-low.
• UCM held the Lopers to 58 points, the 13th time in 26 games the Jennies have kept their opponent below 60 and the second time in this tournament.
Up Next
• The NCAA will reseed the Elite Eight bracket. The Jennies will find out their seed and opponent Tuesday, March 16.
• The Elite Eight will be held in Columbus, Ohio at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. General Admission tickets will not be sold to the public.
