Jennies basketball lost just one MIAA game in the 2017-2018 regular season when they won the National Championship. The Jennies have dropped three games in the first six contests of the conference slate this season, setting up a more difficult road to the postseason.
At 10-4 overall and 3-3 in conference play, the Jennies are in fifth place in the MIAA. Their in-conference losses came to Fort Hays State, Washburn and most recently Pittsburg State on Saturday. Each of those teams sits above the Jennies in the conference standings — both Fort Hays and Washburn are undefeated.
“I think we’ve got probably four teams that are really good right now,” said Jennies head coach Dave Slifer in a phone interview. “You’ll see one of those teams Saturday in Lindenwood. They only have one loss, but they have a point guard and a post that are all conference type kids.
In the three losses, the Jennies have struggled to get more than two or three of their starters going in the point column with the majority of the scoring coming from senior guard Paige Redmond and junior forwards Megan Skaggs and Morgan Fleming.
Slifer said the Jennies struggled to spread the offense out and score in their loss Saturday to the Gorillas and had to adjust accordingly.
“We got into an issue with Pitt (on Saturday) where we had all kinds of trouble scoring,” Slifer said. “We went ahead and let Paige (Redmond) catch a bunch of ball screens and try to make plays. It got us back in the game but it certainly wasn’t winning us the game. We don’t particularly like playing that way because we had four assists in the game and you’re not going to beat a lot of teams that way.”
Redmond is averaging 17 points while Fleming and Skaggs average 13 points per game.
“We kind of call them the ‘Big 3,’ and they are,” Slifer said. “They have been through the rigors of the MIAA and understand that it’s not easy.”
The Jennies had only one loss on their record at this point last season and having four in January has created new challenges for the team.
“I think it has been tough on everybody. You kind of start doubting yourself,” Slifer said. “Right now we have the second highest strength-of-schedule in the country and so we haven’t given ourselves any easy games to feel good about ourselves.”
Slifer said the weight of defending a national championship has been felt by everyone, but they knew it would be something that hangs around.
“A lot of teams we talked to that have won national titles told us that it (defending the national championship) is a grind,” he said. “You have to reinvent what you’re doing because you probably don’t have the same personnel. Even if you do, it’s different the next year. It has certainly been different this year.”
Junior forward Kim Crown joined the Jennies as a transfer in the offseason and was tabbed by Slifer as a player who could improve the team’s size, rebounding and post play.
“Kim has fit in so well with this club,” Slifer said. “She has been outstanding some games and others, she’s just trying to be more consistent. I thought against Southern (17 points and eight rebounds), she was super strong in the post and did a lot of great things. The more she plays, the better she will become.”
Crown said joining the Jennies was an easy adjustment despite having to help fill a large gap in the roster.
“It’s really hard coming into this with the history they have,” she said. “It’s big shoes to fill, but this team has made it super easy for me and they make sure I can take care of business.”
Crown said the bond the Jennies have as a team is unlike anything she’s experienced before.
“I’ve never been on a team that’s this close,” she said. “I feel like no one has what we have. It’s crazy, it’s not like this anywhere, not even in high school. I’ve never been on a team that is so close, competitive and is full of winning hearts.”
The Jennies will have their hands full over the weekend as No. 24 Lindenwood will come to town. The Lions are 11-1 overall and 5-0 in MIAA under new head coach Katie Falco.
“They’ve got a new coach and their offense is wide open right now,” Slifer said. “I like their approach and the way they play. They’ve been able to string together seven wins in a row, so they’re good.”
Tip between the Jennies and Lions is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the Multipurpose Building. Follow ucmathletics.com and Jennies basketball on Twitter at @UCMWBB for updates concerning the weather conditions.
