The No. 2 Jennies basketball team took on the No. 10 Central Oklahoma Broncos. Jennies defeated the Broncos 82-60 to advance to the semifinals.

  Before the tip-off, the MIAA took a moment of silence for Jerry Hughes, the former athletic director who played a big part in the division. Hughes died on Jan. 21. 

The MIAA also recognized awards given to two Jennies players. Guard Olivia Nelson was recognized for MIAA Women’s Basketball “A Game” Scholar-Athlete and All-Defensive Team. Forward Brooke Littrell was recognized as the MIAA Player of the Year and was selected for MIAA’s First-Team. 

  The Jennies started slowly but quickly found their rhythm toward the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Jennies took a chance by upping their defense to take the lead before the half. They went on a 15-4 run as they out-scored the Broncos by 20 points in the second quarter. Jennies scored more inside the paint in the first half by 24 points.

  Littrell scored 16 points, had eight rebounds, and had four assists. Nelson scored 11 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Both Littrell and Nelson left at the end of the third quarter due to injuries and did not return for the remainder of the game.  

  “Feels great. Like if somebody had a bad taste in their mouth from last year and we all came in as a team mentally and physically prepared to play our hardest because we were just really hungry for that first game and now we’ve got tomorrow off so we’re just gonna get ready for whoever we got next,” Littrell said. “I think we’re gonna come out and we’re gonna still play our toughest.”

  Jennies had the biggest lead with 31 points, committed nine turnovers, and the bench scored 31 points. Jennies had a shooting percentage of 49.2, 25% for three-pointers, and 73.1% on free throws. 

  Jennies will play against either Fort Hays State University Tigers on Saturday at 8:15 pm. The Tigers record is 20-11. The past two matches ended with Jennies winning both games.