On the Road Again: Jennies Roll to Oklahoma for Contests at Northeastern State, Rogers State

Women's Basketball | 1/19/2022 5:18:00 PM

Game 19: Central Missouri (12-6, 8-3 MIAA) at Northeastern State (3-11, 1-7 MIAA)
Thursday, Jan. 20 | 5:30 p.m. | Tahlequah, Okla. (NSU Event Center)
Radio: 1450 KOKO, 107.9 FM, 98.5 The BAR
Live Stats

Game 20: Central Missouri at Rogers State (6-11, 2-9 MIAA)
Saturday, Jan. 22 | 1:30 p.m. | Claremore, Okla. (Claremore Expo Center)
Radio: 1450 KOKO, 107.9 FM, 98.5 The BAR
Live Stats

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Tip-Off
• Central Missouri Jennies basketball is scheduled to return to action Thursday, Jan. 20, and Saturday, Jan. 22, with a pair of MIAA road games at Northeastern State and Rogers State. The Jennies are slated to play at Northeastern State in Tahlequah, Okla., Thursday at 5:30 p.m. before heading to Claremore, Okla., for a 1:30 p.m. showdown at Rogers State Saturday.
• UCM has won four of its last five games, including its last three contests.

Storylines
• The Jennies are 12-6 overall and 8-3 in the MIAA going into Thursday's game at Northeastern State. Central Missouri won a pair of home games last week, defeating Central Oklahoma Jan. 13, 88-80, before taking down Newman Jan. 15, 55-40.
• Through 18 games, the Jennies are led by redshirt senior forward Nija Collier (19.4 ppg., 11.4 RPG, 1.6 BPG, .538 FG%), redshirt freshman forward Brooke Littrell (18.7 ppg., 9.2 RPG, 1.4 APG, .852 FT%) and redshirt freshman guard Olivia Nelson (14.6 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 4.9 APG, 1.7 SPG, .525 3FG%).
• Collier (second), Littrell (fourth) and Nelson (10th) rank in the top-10 in scoring in the MIAA through 18 games.
• Collier leads the conference on the glass with her 11.4 rebounds per game while Littrell is fourth in rebounding at 9.2 rebounds per game.
• Collier is third in the MIAA in field-goal percentage (126-234, .538) while Littrell is sixth (122-256, .477).
• Collier leads NCAA-II in total rebounds after 18 games with 206. She is 12th in NCAA-II and first in the conference with 11.4 rebounds per game. In addition, she is 21st in NCAA-II with her 19.3 points per game.
• Collier's 11 double-doubles leads the MIAA and is second in NCAA-II.
• Nelson is third in the MIAA in assists per game at 4.9, while Collier is third in blocks with 1.6 per game.
• Nelson ranks sixth in total assists in NCAA-II with 88 in 18 games.
• Charley Bovaird leads the MIAA and NCAA-II in minutes played at 655:44 through 18 games. She is second in the NCAA, regardless of division, in minutes played, trailing only LSU's Khayla Pointer, who has logged 677:04 minutes this season.

Individual Milestones
 • Nija Collier is tied for second in career blocks at Central Missouri with 126. She is tied with former Jenny Barb Sorenson, who had 126 blocks from 1986-90. Collier is 94 blocks away from tying former UCM standout Kendra Banzet for most career blocks. Banzet had 220 from 1991-95.

Last Time Out for the Jennies
• Olivia Nelson, Brooke Littrell and Nija Collier each scored in double figures to help the Central Missouri Jennies basketball team turn back the Newman Jets, 55-40, on a snowy Saturday afternoon, Jan. 15, inside the Multipurpose Building.
• For the second consecutive game, Nelson paced Central Missouri in scoring with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including a 2-for-3 performance at the three-point line, and a 2-of-3 showing at the free-throw line, and added three assists and a pair of steals.
• Littrell scored 12 points while tallying nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks, and Collier netted 10 points with 11 boards for her team-best 11th double-double of the season. She also had a game-best three blocks.
• The Jennies shot 38 percent from the floor, going 20-for-53, and were 8-of-29 from three-point range for 28 percent. Central Missouri had a commanding advantage on the glass for the game, outrebounding Newman (2-14, 0-10 MIAA), 41-27. UCM compiled 10 steals and five blocks, and outscored the Jets off turnovers, 19-15. Both teams had 20 points in the paint.

Jennies in the Rankings
• The defending NCAA Division II Central Region Champion Jennies were picked to finish second this year in the MIAA preseason coaches' poll. UCM received three first-place votes in the poll.
• Central Missouri was voted to tie for first with Fort Hays State in the MIAA preseason media poll. The Jennies tallied 118 points and five first-place votes in the poll.

Up Next
• The Jennies return home to the Multipurpose Building Wednesday, Jan. 26, for a 5:30 p.m. MIAA tussle against Missouri Western.