BOX SCORE (PDF)

WARRENSBURG, Missouri – The No. 17-ranked University of Central Missouri Jennies picked up a 55-51 victory over the Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats Saturday at the UCM Multipurpose Building.
 
The Jennies won the fifth straight game and moved to 12-2 on the season, while the Bearcats fell to 4-9 overall.
 
Northwest led 6-5 after Jayna Green's layup with 8:18 to play in the first quarter. However, the Bearcats were held scoreless the rest of the quarter and the Jennies took a 16-6 lead after one quarter of play. Northwest made its first two shots of the game, but ended the quarter shooting 2-of-14 from the field. The Jennies shot 6-of-12 from the field, including 2-of-3 from three-point range, in the opening 10 minutes.
 
The Bearcats shot 4-of-10 from the field in the second quarter as the Jennies built a 28-17 lead at the half. The Bearcats shot 6-of-24 in the first half and only trailed by 11 at the break.
 
Northwest's Jayna Green blocked four shots, grabbed three rebounds and added two points in the first half.
 
The Jennies opened up a 14-point bulge in the third quarter at 35-21. However, Northwest countered with a 9-0 spurt to pull within five on back-to-back triples from Jaelyn Haggard and Molly Hartnett. After Hartnett's three slashed through the net, Northwest was within 35-30 with 3:33 to play in the quarter. The Jennies answered with a 5-0 run to push the lead back to double digits at 40-30. UCM held a 42-32 edge at the end of the third quarter. Northwest shot 6-of-12 from the field in the third, including 2-of-5 from three-point range.
 
Jillian Fleming hit a twisting layup in the lane with 9:29 to play to cut the UCM lead to 42-35. After a stop on the defensive end, Hartnett drained her first three-pointer of the game to pull the 'Cats to within five at 42-37 with 8:44 to play. UCM's Gigi McAtee put in a missed shot on the offensive end to stop an 0-for-7 shooting skid and give the Jennies a 44-37 lead with 5:40 left to go in the contest.
 
Hartnett completed an old fashioned three-point play with 4:49 left that trimmed the UCM lead to 45-40. UCM's Makenna Vanzant drained a triple to answer Hartnett's three-point play and pushed the margin back to eight at 48-40 with 4:27 left. But just as quickly, Northwest's Caely Kesten drilled a triple of her own with 4:03 to cut it back to five.
 
After a pair of free throws from the Jennies, the Bearcats continued to claw back. Mallory McConkey drained a jumper in the lane with 3:14 left and Hartnett hit Green for a wide-open layup with 2:30 remaining to make it a three-point game at 50-47 in favor of the Jennies.

UCM's Nija Collier buried a triple for her 21st point of the game with 2:01 to give the home squad a six-point lead. Hartnett answered with a pair of free throws with 1:44 to go cut the UCM lead to 53-49.
 
After a Bearcat timeout, Hartnett drove the lane and buried a left-handed layup to cut the UCM lead to two at 53-51 with :25.4 left to give her a team-high 22 points. UCM's Olivia Nelson sank two free throws to push the lead back to four with :21.3 remaining. Following Northwest's final timeout, Fleming's three-pointer was blocked by Collier and the Jennies ran out the clock for the four-point win, 55-51.
 
Northwest returns to action Tuesday with a matchup against the Missouri Southern Lions in Joplin. Tip is set for 5:30 p.m.
 
NOTES: UCM holds a 72-26 lead in the all-time series … UCM has scored 10 straight wins over Northwest … the Bearcats have lost six in a row in Warrensburg since their last win Jan. 17, 2015 … Hartnett recorded her third consecutive 20-point game and the fourth of her career with a team-high 22 points ... Hartnett added seven rebounds and two assists ... McConkey narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds ... Green tallied four points, four blocks, three rebounds and a steal ... Northwest shot 13-of-26 in the second half ... the Bearcats limited the Jennies to only 3-of-12 shooting in the fourth quarter.