(WARRENSBURG, Mo.) – Shelby Winkelmann’s season-high 29 points helped Central Missouri women’s basketball begin the 2016 calendar with a 77-74 win over Southwest Baptist.

The win is the Jennies’ second straight and puts them at 4-7 this season with a 3-3 MIAA mark.

The Jennies shot 50 percent from the floor, connecting on 28-of-56 attempts from the field. They were also 8-for-14 from three, for 57.1 percent, their second time this season hitting more than half their shots from three. Defensively, they held SBU to 43.3 percent from the floor and 31.8 percent from beyond the arc.

Winkelmann, fresh off of her 1,000th career point, led all scorers with 29 points. It’s her second straight game with more than 20 points and the fourth time she’s reached 20. Winkelmann was a blistering 12-of-15 from the floor including hitting both three-point attempts and was three-of-four from the free-throw line. She also chipped in with four assists and three rebounds.

Tayler Weiks was the only other Jennie in double figures as she scored 14, connecting on a pair of three-pointers. Ashley Duffy led the team with seven rebounds and also dished out four assists. Sydney Crockett and Andee Wahlert each scored eight points in the win.

UCM outscored the Bearcats in only one of four periods, but made it count for a three-point win. For the second straight game, the Jennies needed to come from behind to secure the win, this time trailing by seven at the end of the first half.

The Jens adjusted after halftime and outscored SBU 27-13 in the third period, and took their first lead since early in the first period.

With 2:12 remaining in the first half, Winkelmann hit a layup to tie the game at 32-all. From there, the Bearcats went on a 9-2 run to close the half, including a jumper from Dilonna Johnson with two seconds remaining.

Weiks hit her second three-pointer of the game in the opening minute of the third period to cut the lead to four, and another three from Winkelmann at the 6:36 mark brought UCM to within two.

After trading baskets for the next two minutes, Danielle Randle got on the board with a layup to give UCM the lead, 52-51. The Jennies never trailed again from that point, but that doesn’t mean they cruised to victory.

In the final 2:20 of the third, the Jennies outscored SBU 7-0, getting a three-pointer from Wahlert and a pair of buckets from Winkelmann.

The Bearcats stormed out of the gate in the final frame, tying the game at 63-all after just 2:31 of the period. UCM retook the lead on a pair of Winkelmann free throws and Crockett hit a three with five minutes to play, putting UCM up four.

After a three from Ashlee Pitts cut the Jens lead to one, Weiks and Danielle Barry hit layups on back-to-back possessions and Weiks knocked down a pair of free throws to bring the lead back to six with just over two minutes to play.

SBU continued to fight back, and a three from Megan Rosenbohm made it a one-point game, 75-74, with 36 seconds to play.

Southwest Baptist had a chance to take the lead but missed a layup after the Jennies turned it over on the inbounds pass.

Forced to foul, SBU sent Duffy to line where she hit one of two for a 76-74 lead with 29 seconds left.

Johnson missed a go-ahead three-pointer for SBU, but Pitts was able to secure the rebound, giving the Bearcats new life. Following a timeout, Danielle Randle showed off her quick hands, taking the ball away from Rosenbohm. She then hit one of two free throws, and a desperation SBU three fell short, and UCM walked off with a 77-74 win.

The Bearcats had three in double-figures with Rosenbohm’s 17 leading the team. Johnson put up 14 points and had a game-high seven assists. Caylee Richardson added seven points and team-best seven rebounds.

UCM heads to Pittsburg, Kan., to take on the Gorillas at 5:30 p.m. Thursday and then travel to Joplin, Mo., to face the Lions of Missouri Southern Saturday.