KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Top-seeded University of Central Missouri Jennies Basketball outscored the fourth-seeded Missouri Southern Lions in the second half, 33-21, to turn a three-point halftime lead into a 60-45 victory in the MIAA Women's Basketball Tournament Semifinals on Saturday, March 7, inside historic Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, Mo.
The Jennies (25-5), who have now won 13 straight games, advance to the MIAA Tournament Championship game for the first time since 2023 and the 18th time in program history, and will face either third-seeded Washburn or seventh-seeded Missouri Western State University on Sunday, March 8, at 1 p.m. Â
UCM and Missouri Southern (20-10) were tied, 31-31, after a MSSU three with 7:01 to go in the third quarter before Â
Taylor Weishaar scored 10 consecutive points on two layups and a pair of three-pointers to ignite a 12-2 run, capped off by a layup from
Rylee Vierthaler as the horn sounded at the end of the quarter, giving Central Missouri the 43-33 lead.
The Jennies kept rolling in the fourth quarter, upping their lead to 20 points, 53-33, after
Reese Schaaf connected on a layup at the 8:14 mark. The Lions couldn't get any closer than 15 points the remainder of the game, securing the triumph for UCM.
Weishaar scored 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field, including a 3-of-6 performance from three-point range, and dished out three assists, Schaaf netted 14 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for her team and MIAA-high 17th double-double of the season, and
Makenzie Farmer tallied 11 points on 2-of-4 shooting from the floor and a career-best 7-of-8 performance at the free-throw line, leading Central Missouri in the contest.
For the game, UCM shot 41 percent from the field (24-of-59), 22 percent from three-point range (5-of-23), and were 7-of-8 at the free-throw line for 88 percent. All eight of the Jennies' free throws were from Farmer. Central Missouri outrebounded Missouri Southern, 41-37, and outscored MSSU in the paint, 36-26, and off turnovers, 19-15.
Lilly Thomas (16 points) and Grace Frazier (13 points) led Missouri Southern, respectively.Â
Â
