Warrensburg, Mo. (Feb. 7, 2000) -- With only one-third of their conference schedule remaining, the basketball Jennies of Central Missouri State University will look to their upcoming two-game homestand to help them start building some momentum for the post-season playoffs, which are just around the corner.

The Jennies host Northwest Missouri State University on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. and the University of Missouri-Rolla on Saturday at 1 p.m. It will be Hall of Fame Day at the CMSU Multipurpose Building on Saturday as this year's class of inductees into CMSU's Athletic Hall of Fame will be recognized at halftime of the Mules' game. Both contests 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 game with a 16-4 overall record and a 9-3 conference mark, which ties them for second place in the MIAA standings with Southwest Baptist University. They are off to their best overall start since the 1995-96 squad began the season with an 18-2 record and their best league start since the 1996-97 team also started 9-3. They have won eight of their last 10 games, 15 of their last 18 and 24 of their last 30 overall dating back to the final month of the 1998-99 campaign. They were third in the latest NCAA Division II South Central Region ratings released on Feb. 2, up from sixth the previous week.

However, the Jennies have split their last four outings, sandwiching an 85-83 overtime loss at home to ninth-ranked Emporia State University on Jan. 29 and a 73-65 setback at Missouri Western State College on Feb. 5 around an 82-76 overtime win at home over Pittsburg State University on Jan. 31 and a 72-68 road victory over Truman State University on Feb. 2. The two overtime games marked the first time in school history that the Jennies played such contests back-to-back, while three of the four games were against regionally ranked teams as ESU was first, MWSC was sixth and PSU was 10th in last week's ratings.

Northwest Missouri State will enter Wednesday's contest with a 4-16 overall record and an 0-12 league mark that leaves them in the cellar of the conference standings. The Bearcats, despite boasting four of the MIAA's top 17 individual scorers, have lost their last 13 outings, including home verdicts to league-leader Emporia State on Feb. 2, 74-66, and Pittsburg State on Feb. 5, 86-87.

Missouri-Rolla will put a 5-15 overall record and a 3-9 league mark on the line Wednesday when it hosts Pittsburg State. The Lady Miners, who are eighth in the MIAA, have lost their last three outings, including a 61-59 home decision to No. 23 Southwest Baptist on Feb. 2 and a 95-47 verdict at Emporia State on Feb. 5.

The Jennies lead the all-time series with both foes. CMSU is 43-14 all-time against Northwest Missouri State after beating the Bearcats 85-61 in Maryville on Jan. 12 and 25-4 versus Missouri-Rolla after edging

the Lady Miners 67-56 in Rolla on Jan. 15.

The Jennies are coming off a stretch of four games in eight days. They trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half against Emporia State before rallying to send the game into overtime on a three-point field goal by guard Carlonda Pettiford (Fr., Indianapolis, Ind., Lawrence Central H.S.) with 5.5 seconds to play. She also sank two free throws with 36 seconds remaining in OT to again tie the score, but CMSU was unable to pull it out in the waning seconds. Guard Molly Knobbe (So., Cimarron, Kan., CHS) led the Jennies with a then-career-high 20 points, while guard Lori Nichols (So., Nevada, Mo., NHS) and center Katie Vaske [So., Bancroft, Iowa, Bishop Garrigan H.S. (Algona, Iowa)] scored 14 points each and Pettiford had 10.

Against Pittsburg State, CMSU overcame a late four-point deficit to go up by three with 14 seconds to play in regulation, only to have the Gorillas knot the score on a trey with 8.3 seconds remaining. The Jennies then used an 11-2 run in the extra period to take control. Knobbe, who scored 29 points in the second half (seven in overtime), led all scorers with a career-high 35 points, which ties her for the 11th-best single-game effort in school history, while center Nicole Cassmeyer (So., Jefferson City, Mo., Blair Oaks H.S.) had 11.

The Truman game was tied 59-59 with 6:02 to play, but the Jennies used a 10-2 run to go up 69-61 at the 3:32 mark and kept at least a three-point lead the rest of the way. Cassmeyer came off the bench to lead CMSU with 14 points, while Nichols had 14 and guard Marlies Ozias (Jr., Centerview, Mo., Crest Ridge H.S.) and forward Kelly Sutton (Jr., St. Louis, Mo., Parkway South H.S./Univ. of Evansville) had 11 each.

The Jennies could never get untracked against Missouri Western. The game was tied 57-57 with 5:04 to play, but CMSU was outscored 14-3 over the next four minutes and could not recover. Nichols led the attack with 17 points, while Ozias scored 16 and was the only other Jennies' player in double-figures.

For her efforts in the Jennies' last three encounters, Knobbe was named player of the week in the MIAA. She averaged 16.7 points, 4.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals per outing, while shooting 63.6% from the field (14 of 22), including 58.3% from three-point land (7 of 12) and 78.9% at the free-throw line (15 of 19).