Washburn defeats Jennies 4th time this season, 72-61, in NCAA regional
Mar 12, 2010, 10:07 PM
CANYON, Texas- – After being down by 14 points heading into halftime, the Central Missouri Jennies basketball team outscored Washburn, 45-39 in the second half.
Even with that great effort, the Jennies fell 72-61 in the NCAA-II South Central Regional here Friday.
This was UCM’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since the 2005-06 season when the Jennies fell in the second round. This is also the fourth loss to Washburn for the Jennies this season.
Central (19-12) started the game by going out to a 5-0 lead before Washburn tied the game at seven with 15:57 on the clock. The Lady Blues went on an 11-0 run before the Jennies could score on a pair of free throws by junior Kara Fleming.
Washburn ended the half by going on a 15-8 run and headed into the intermission with a 33-19 lead. The Lady Blues had one player in double figures, as Dayna Rodriguez recorded 10 points. They shot 50 percent from the floor and 75 percent from the free throw line.
The Jennies were led by senior Meghan Waggoner in the first half, as she scored five points. Fleming tallied four and junior Rebecca Roberts and sophomore Renae Shippy each recorded three. As a team, Central was shooting 28 percent from the floor and 57 percent from the free-throw line. Both teams were 20 percent from beyond the arc.
The second half started with junior Danielle Shows nailing a three-point bucket to pull to within 13 points of the Lady Blues. Washburn added to its lead by going on a 9-2 run to put it up 44-24 with 13:49 left of the game.
Central followed that up with a 13-6 run of its own to get to within 13 points, with 8:49 left to play. The Jennies came to within eight points of Washburn with 1:37 left on the clock and the score at 63-55.
The Jennies came to within eight points two more times in the final minute, but could not recover from their big halftime deficit.
Fleming led the Jennies with 15 points in the game, going a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line. Waggoner, Roberts and Shows all tallied 11 points as Shows and Roberts grabbed six rebounds.
Washburn was led by Rodriguez with 20 points in the game, as Brette Ulsaker had 18 and Hope Gregory tallied 11.
Central finished the 2009-10 season with a 19-12 overall record and a 13-7 mark in the MIAA.
