COLUMBUS, Ohio (March 24, 2021) - There's no rest this time of year. Twenty-four hours after playing in the quarterfinal round game, Central Missouri Jennies Basketball turns right back around to compete in their second Final 4 in the last four years.
Opponent
#1 Lubbock Christian (21-0, 13-0 Lone Star)
Where
Columbus, Ohio - Great Columbus Convention Center
When
Wednesday, March 24 - 7:45 p.m. (CT)
Fan Information
• Tickets will not be sold for this event. The only spectators allowed must be on a player pass list.
On the Air
• The semifinal round game will air live on CBS Sports Network. That's channel 207 or 821 on Charter Spectrum, channel 221 on DirecTV and channel 158 on Dish Network. There is no online stream of the game.
• Greg Hassler will have the radio call of the game on 98.5 The Bar, 1450 KOKO and 107.9 fm.
Tip-Off
• Central Missouri is back in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight season. The Jennies won their eighth Central Region Championship and second in the last four years (three tournaments).
• UCM will now play in the Elite Eight with a quarterfinal round game as the No. 5 seed going against No. 4 Belmont Abbey.
• The eight-team tournament will take place in Columbus, Ohio at the Greater Columbus Convention Center Tuesday-Friday, March 23-26.
Storylines
• The Jennies were the number six seed in the Elite Eight in 2018 when they won the National Championship.
• All-time in NCAA Tournament games, the Jennies are 31-21 and 10-1 going back to 2018.
• The Jennies have made five straight NCAA Tournaments the first time they've done that since making nine straight 1982-91.
• Central Missouri is the only team in the Elite Eight that had to play in and win three regional games to advance.
• Lubbock Christian is the 2019 defending National Champions and have won 33 straight games.
• The only NCAA postseason loss the Chaps have suffered has come at the hands of the Jennies in 2018.
Last Time Out
• The Jennies defense shined in a 65-42 win over No. 5 seed Belmont Abbey. Freshmen
Olivia Nelson and
Brooke Littrell each scored 17 points in the win.
Graycen Holden was 5-5 with seven rebounds.
Previously vs. Lubbock Christian
• The Jennies bounced back from a double-overtime loss to defeat Lubbock Christian in San Antonio, Texas in November of 2018. The Jennies won by five, 67-62 a few months after defeating LCU in the Elite 8 quarterfinals in March of 2018. The Jennies hit 11 three-pointers and
Megan Skaggs scored 23 in the win.
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 field goals away from 100 for her career.
•
Nija Collier has entered the all-time UCM top-10 for blocks and is sixth with 96. She needs four more to get to 100 and 10 more for fourth all-time.
•
Charley Bovaird needs three more three-pointers to get to 50 this season.
•
Morgan VanHyfte is two rebounds away from 100 for the season and one away from 300 for her career.
Who's Hot?
•
Morgan VanHyfte averaged more than nine points per game in the regional tournament and was 4-10 from three with 12 rebounds.
•
Brooke Littrell was the Central Region MVP scoring 17 points in each of the last two games with a double-double against Nebraska-Kearney.
•
Olivia Nelson averaged 17 points per game in the regional with 8 assists and 7 steals.
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.
Jennies in the 2021 NCAA Tournament
• In the three NCAA games so far, UCM is shooting 48% overall and 40% from three. The Jennies are averaging seven three-pointers per game while holding opponents to just 23% from three and 4.3 made three's per game.
•
Olivia Nelson is scoring 17 points per game and averaging 36 minutes played. She's 21-31 from the floor and 8-11 at the free throw line.
•
Brooke Littrell is 7-9 from three in NCAA games averaging 13.3 points/game and 9 boards.
• UCM is outrebounding opponents by more than four rebounds per game.
Scouting the Opposition
No. 1 Lubbock Christian Chaparrals (21-0, 13-0 Lone Star)
• Lubbock Christian is undefeated this season having gone 20-0 and 13-0 to win the Lone Star Conference. The Chaps ripped through the regional winning their two games by an average of 21.5 points per game.
• LCU won the D2 National Championship in 2019 and is the No. 1 ranked team in the country according to the WBCA and D2SIDA polls.
• The Chaps lead the country in scoring margin at +26.4 points per game scoring 75.4 and allowing 49.0.
• Lubbock is also the country's top free throw shooting team making 82.7% at the line.
• The Chaps are also in the top-10 shooting 47.3% overall and hit on 36.2% from behind the arc.
• LCU is not a great rebounding team, coming down with 34.5 per game and just 8.8 offensive rebounds per game which is near the bottom of the NCAA.
• Lubbock is ninth nationally in turnover margin at +7.60.
Player to Watch
#21 Allie Schulte (5-10, G, Sr., Nazareth, Texas) - 14.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.6 apg, 60% FG%, 50% 3FG%
