(WARRENSBURG, Mo.) — Down by 16 in the first half, the No. 16 Central Missouri Jennies used a 24-4 run to come from behind and defeat the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats 60-52 Saturday.
Junior BreAnna Lewis fueled the run, knocking down five three-pointers during that nine-minute stretch to put the Jens on top.
The Jennies (15-2, 7-2 MIAA) fell behind early, as Northwest Missouri jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the opening minutes. UCM missed its first eight shots from the field before Keuna Flax‘s layup put the Jens on the board at the 14:07 mark of the first half.
Back-to-back three-pointers from the Bearcats (10-7, 4-5 MIAA) stretched their lead to 24-8 with 8:31 in the first half, as NWMSU’s Ashley Theyer connected from deep on two straight possessions. Erin Redmond responded with a trey of her own to close back to within 13.
Once Bearcat forward Annie Mathews hit a layup with 6:44 in the first half, the Jennies started the climb back into the game. Down by 14, Central Missouri closed the half on a 14-4 run, and went into the break trailing just by two, 28-26.
The Jens continued their run in the second half, as BreAnna Lewis hit the first of her five treys just 30 seconds into the half, giving the Jens their first lead at 29-28. Lewis scored UCM’s first 11 points after the half, pushing the Jennies to a six-point lead at the 17:26 mark.
Northwest Missouri made a run midway through the second half, outscoring the Jennies 8-0 over two and a half minutes to reclaim the lead, 48-46, with 10:41 to play. Nicole Caddell briefly put the Jens back on top with a pair of free throws, as UCM took a 49-48 advantage with 8:23 remaining.
Following a Jennies turnover, Northwest Missouri’s Tember Schechinger put her team ahead 50-49 at the 7:26 mark, but that would be the last time the Bearcats were in front, as five Jens teamed up to finish on an 11-2 run over the last 7:13.
Lewis led the way with 23 points for the Jennies, with 21 points coming in the second half. After struggling from long range after her last four games, Lewis broke out for a 5-for-7 performance, recording her best shooting percentage since the game against Evangel in November.
Flax finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, earning her second double-double in as many games. Caddell recorded 11 points in the win, bringing her career total to 987, just 13 shy of the 1,000-point mark.