No. 10 Jennies Basketball Set for MIAA Women's Basketball Championship Quarterfinals

Game 27: No. 10 Central Missouri (23-3) vs. Emporia State (14-14) or Central Oklahoma (10-16)
Thursday, March 2 | 8:15 p.m. | Kansas City, Mo. (Municipal Auditorium)
**MIAA Women's Basketball Championship, Presented by Southern Bank, Quarterfinals**
Radio: 1450 KOKO, 107.9 FM, 98.5 The BAR | TV: MIAA Network (PPV)

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Tip-Off

No. 10-ranked Central Missouri Jennies basketball (23-3) is scheduled to face either Emporia State (4-14) or Central Oklahoma (10-16) in a quarterfinal contest of the 2023 MIAA Women's Basketball Championship, presented by Southern Bank, Thursday, March 2, at 8:15 p.m. at Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, Mo.
UCM is the number two seed in the tournament and earned a first-round bye. Emporia State, the No. 7 seed, and Central Oklahoma, the No. 10 seed, are schedule to face each other in a first round contest Wednesday, March 1, at 8:15 p.m.
Through 26 games, the Jennies are paced by redshirt sophomores Brooke Littrell (19.4 ppg., 8.7 rpg., .503 FG%, .366 3FG%, .869 FT%, 59 A, 26 Blk, 40 Stl) and Olivia Nelson (12.9 ppg., 3.1 rpg., .481 FG%, .325 3FG%, .925 FT%, 104 A, 33 Stl), and junior Ashley Tull (9.5 ppg., 5.5 rpg., .565 FG%, 42 Blk, 19 Stl).
As a team, UCM is averaging 75.7 points and 39.9 rebounds per game and shooting 46.5 percent from the field while holding its opponents to 59.4 points and 31.3 rebounds per game and a 38 percent field-goal percentage.
The Jennies are ninth in all of NCAA Division II in field-goal percentage through 26 games at 46.5 percent. Central Missouri is also ranked in the top-50 in assists per game (43rd at 14.9 per game), blocks per game (35th with 3.8 per game), free-throw percentage (36th at 75.7 percent), rebound margin (seventh at +8.5), scoring margin (12th at +16.2), scoring offense (17th at 75.7 points per game), winning percentage (12th at 88.5 percent) and turnovers per game (13th at 12.8 per game).

Two Jennies Earn All-MIAA Women's Basketball Honors, Littrell Voted Player of the Year

Central Missouri Jennies basketball had two student-athletes earn All-MIAA accolades for their performances during the 2022-23 regular season, the conference office announced Tuesday, Feb. 28. Brooke Littrell was named the MIAA Player of the Year and First Team All-MIAA while Olivia Nelson was tabbed an All-Defensive Team selection and Second Team All-MIAA.
Littrell becomes the first Jenny to garner MIAA Player of the Year honors since Megan Skaggs in 2019-20 and the 10th UCM women's basketball student-athlete to earn the honor at least one time.
Littrell led the Jennies and ranked second in the MIAA in both scoring (19.4 points per game) and rebounding (8.7 rebounds per game) in Central Missouri's 26 regular season games. Entering the MIAA Women's Basketball Championship, she is shooting 50.3 percent from the field, fourth in the conference, and 86.9 percent at the free-throw line, second in the MIAA. Littrell also ranks in the top-15 of the MIAA in blocks (11th at one block per game) and steals (15th with 1.5 steals per game) and has a team-best 10 double-doubles in 26 games.
Nelson capped her regular season ranking second on the team with 12.9 points per game in 26 contests. Going into the MIAA tournament, she is second on the team and sixth in the conference with four assists per game. Nelson also leads the Jennies at the free-throw line, making an impressive 62 of 67 attempts for 92.5 percent.

Jennies in the MIAA Postseason Tournament

Central Missouri is 45-30 in the MIAA tournament. UCM is 19-12 in quarterfinal round games, 16-11 in semifinal games and has made the championship game 16 times in program history.
UCM has won eight MIAA Tournament Championships after winning the 2020 title in Kansas City.
Against Emporia State in the MIAA tournament, the Jennies are 3-8 all-time. UCM and ESU last met in the tournament in 2020 with the Jennies posting an 82-75 win.
Against Central Oklahoma in the MIAA tournament, Central Missouri carries a record of 1-0. The lone meeting came during the 2019 season with UCM defeating UCO, 80-47.

Last Time Out

Olivia Nelson netted 16 points to lead five players in double figures as No. 10-ranked Central Missouri Jennies basketball rolled to an 86-48 victory over the Northeastern State RiverHawks in the final game of the regular season Saturday, Feb. 25, inside the NSU Event Center.
Nelson went 4-of-8 from the field and a perfect 8-of-8 at the free-throw line for her team-best 16 points. Lauren Frost (14), Brooke Littrell (12), Cierra Smith (11) and Ali Vigil (10) also tallied double digit points in the win, with Smith snagging a team and career-best nine rebounds and Frost dishing out a game-best six assists.
Central Missouri shot 49 percent for the game, going 32-for-66 from the floor, and were 17-of-20 at the free-throw line for 85 percent. The Jennies dominated the glass, outrebounding the RiverHawks, 46-23, and outscored Northeastern State in the paint, 50-22, and off turnovers, 24-6.

Last Time Out vs. Emporia State

Brooke Littrell posted a double-double with 25 points and 13 rebounds, and Ashley Tull scored a career-high 22 points leading No. 12-ranked Central Missouri Jennies basketball to a 78-70 win over the Emporia State Lady Hornets Thursday, Feb. 16, inside the UCM Multipurpose Building.
Littrell compiled her team-best ninth double-double of the season, going 8-of-16 from the field and a perfect 9-for-9 at the free-throw line for her 25 points while snagging 10 defensive boards and three offensive rebounds for her 13 rebounds.
Tull went 10-of-12 from the floor and 2-for-2 at the foul line, tallying her career-best 22 points. Olivia Nelson (11 points) and Cierra Smith (11 points) also scored in double figures for the Jennies, and Lauren Frost dished out a game-best eight assists.
For the game, Central Missouri made 29-of-25 shots for 49 percent and were 17-of-19 at the free-throw line for 90 percent.
The Jennies outrebounded Emporia State, 41-34, and outscored the Lady Hornets in the paint, 46-20.

Last Time Out vs. Central Oklahoma

Brooke Littrell scored 25 points, Olivia Nelson added 17 points and tied her career-high with eight assists, and Ashley Tull compiled a career-best five blocks, leading No. 23-ranked Central Missouri Jennies basketball to an 83-65 win over the Central Oklahoma Bronchos in the MIAA opener for both teams Thursday, Dec. 1, inside the Multipurpose Building.
Littrell converted nine out of 14 shots and went a perfect 5-of-5 at the free-throw line on the way to her game-best 25 points. Nelson went 7-of-8 from the floor and 3-of-4 at the free-throw stripe enroute to her 17 points.
Kade Hackerott (13 points) and Tull (10 points) also scored in double figures, with Hackerott snagging a game-high eight rebounds. Tull's five blocks tied for ninth-best in Jennies basketball single-game history.
For the game, UCM shot 53 percent from the field, making 30 of 57 attempts, and went 19-of-24 at the free-throw line for 79 percent.
Central Missouri turned the ball over 21 times, but outscored Central Oklahoma in the paint, 50-22, and outrebounded the Bronchos, 46-25. The Jennies also tallied a 6-1 advantage in blocks for the contest.

Jennies in the Rankings

UCM is ranked No. 10 in the most recent WBCA Division II Coaches' Poll and No. 14 in the latest D2SIDA Division II Media Poll.
In the latest NCAA Division II Central Regional Rankings released Wednesday, March 1, the Jennies are ranked No. 3. The three conference tournament championship winners out of the MIAA, Northern Sun (NSIC) and Great American (GAC) conferences receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, along with the next five at-large teams for a field of eight.
Central Missouri was picked third in the 2022-23 MIAA Preseason Media Poll and fifth in the Preseason Coaches' Poll. UCM received three first-place votes and 218 points in the media poll and 127 points in the coaches' poll.

Individual Milestones

UCM head coach Dave Slifer is two wins away from tallying his 400th victory as head coach of the Jennies. Slifer is an impressive 398-169 in his 19 seasons as the Central Missouri women's basketball head coach. He's already the winningest head coach in both UCM and MIAA women's basketball history, and the second-winningest coach in NCAA Division II history (782 career victories in 33 seasons).

A Streak for the Record Books

UCM's 16 consecutive wins to start the season set a new mark for the best start in program history, surpassing the 15 straight victories in 1995-96.
The streak was snapped when Central Missouri fell at Missouri Western Jan. 21, 66-63.

Up Next

If the Jennies win their quarterfinal round contest Thursday, they'll advance to the MIAA Women's Basketball Championship semifinals scheduled for Saturday, March 4, at 8:15 p.m. in Kansas City, Mo.

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