Jennies drop heartbreaker to St. Mary’s, 53-52

               The Jennies had a tough night shooting the ball as they lost a hard fought battle to the St. Mary’s Rattlers 53-52, in the Lady Rattler Classic in San Antonio, Texas on Friday evening.
            The Jens (1-1) struggled from the floor for most of the first half as they were held to 32 percent shooting (8-of-25) and were 0-for-9 from behind the three-point line. UCM had the same number of free throws made with eight as they did field goals. STMU (1-0) started the game by scoring the first nine points before senior Kim Battle stole the ball and laid it in for Central Missouri’s first basket of the night at the 13:24 mark. The Rattlers grabbed their biggest lead of the half at 28-17 on a Juanita Merchant lay-up with just over two minutes remaining before the Jennies closed out the frame with a 7-0 run to head into the locker room down 28-24. Battle and Lindsey Maple were the leading scorers for the Jennies with 6 apiece. Natalie Gamez paced St. Mary’s with nine points.
            The Jens opened the second half extending their run by scoring the first twelve points of the frame and took their first lead of the night on a pair of Maple free throws at 29-28. UCM turned up the defensive intensity as they held the Rattlers scoreless for the first five plus minutes and were able to grab their largest lead of the night at 36-28. The Rattlers responded with a 12-0 run of their own to retake the lead at 40-36. Meagan Fromm gave Central Missouri the lead back with back-to-back treys, 42-40 with just under 10 minutes remaining. The final nine minutes went back and forth with neither team having more than a three point lead. UCM held a 52-51 lead but St. Mary’s scored the game winner with 3.5 seconds on a driving lay-up by Dawn Killian. The Jennies had a final chance but were unable to get a shot off in time.
            The Jennies finished the game shooting 32.7 percent from the floor (16-of-49) Battle and Maple were the leading scorers for the Jens with 13 points apiece, Fromm added 11 more. Charlena Rodez led three Rattlers in double figures with 18 points, Ashton Benford contributed 12, and Gamez dropped in 11.