Warrensburg, Mo. (Jan. 10, 2000) -- Off to their best conference start in three years, the Central Missouri State University basketball Jennies will hit the road for a pair of Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association encounters this week.

They first visit Northwest Missouri State University on Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. contest, then travel to the opposite corner of the state on Saturday to face the University of Missouri-Rolla at 5:45 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on KLRQ Radio of Clinton, Mo. (96.1 FM), with air time slated for 15 minutes prior to tipoff. The broadcasts can also be heard via the Internet on KLRQ's web site at http://www.klrq.com or TEAMLINE (dial 1-800-846-4700, use access code 3946 and a credit card).

The Jennies will enter Wednesday's encounter with a 9-2 overall record and a 2-1 league mark and have won 17 of their last 21 outings dating back to the final month of the '98-99 campaign. They closed out the non-conference portion of their schedule on a successful note on Dec. 30 with an 83-56 win over Lincoln University, then got MIAA play off to a rousing start with an 78-53 victory at Pittsburg State University on Jan. 3, defeating the Gorillas for only the second-time ever on their own home floor.

CMSU then split a pair of home games later in the week, dropping a 72-70 verdict to 24th-rated Truman State University on Jan. 5, but beating Missouri Western State College 84-49 on Jan. 8. The loss to Truman was the Jennies' first at home to the Bulldogs in school history, while the victory against Western halted a six-game losing streak for CMSU in its series with the Lady Griffons.

Northwest Missouri State will enter Wednesday's contest with a 4-6 overall record and an 0-3 league mark. The Bearcats lost their conference opener 102-63 at home to Southwest Baptist University on Jan. 3, then fell 118-64 at Emporia State University on Jan. 5 and 77-74 at Pittsburg State University on Jan. 8.

Missouri-Rolla will take a 3-8 overall record and a 1-2 MIAA mark into Wednesday's game at Pittsburg State. The Lady Miners beat Missouri Southern State College 84-68 in their league opener at home on Jan. 3, but lost 90-76 at Southwest Baptist on Jan. 5 and 103-68 at home to Emporia State University on Jan. 8.

CMSU leads the all-time series with both opponents. The Jennies are 42-14 against Northwest Missouri State and 24-4 versus Missouri-Rolla.

The Jennies have three players scoring in double-figures. Guard Lori Nichols (So., Nevada, Mo., NHS) leads the way with a 15.3 points-per-game average, while guard-forward Marlies Ozias (Jr., Centerview, Mo., Crest Ridge H.S.) is next at 11.1 and center Katie Vaske [So., Bancroft, Iowa, Bishop Garrigan H.S. (Algona, Iowa)] is close behind at 11.0. Vaske tops the squad in rebounding with a 6.2 average and in blocked shots with eight, while Ozias leads in assists with 39 and in steals with 22.