Box Score Kearney, Neb. – Senior forward Keuna Flax scored 27 points as the 8th-ranked Central Missouri Jennies hung on to beat Nebraska-Kearney, 73-66, Saturday afternoon in Warrensburg.
 
UCM improves to 10-1 (4-0), including a 5-0 mark at home. The Lopers, meanwhile, drop to 5-6 (2-3).
 
In a contest that featured eight ties and eight lead changes, each team held a lead of eight points. UNK committed a season-low 13 turnovers and trailed by just one, 37-36, at the break.
 
The Lopers grabbed the lead back at the 14:33 mark of the second half, 53-50, when senior guard Sarah Hix (Broomfield, Colo.) nailed one of her five three pointers.
 
However, UCM responded with a 14-3 run over the next seven minutes to never trail again. Six different Jennies scored during this key stretch, including a three by Flax.

The Lopers did get the deficit down to three, 69-66, with under 3:00 minutes to play but the Jennies scored the final four points thanks to two buckets in the paint.
 
Averaging 20.3 points per game on the season, Flax reached her point total by going 9 of 14 from the field (1 of 1 threes) and 8 of 9 at the line. She also had 12 rebounds (eight defensive), two assists, a block and a steal in 34 minutes.
 
Winning the battle on the glass by three, 46-43, UCM had three others score in double digits, including sophomore guard Shelby Winkelmann (13).
 
Tying her career high in triples, Hix ended with 15 points on of 5 of 8 shooting from the arc. Freshman wing Kelsey Fitzgerald (Yankton, S.D.) paced UNK with a season-best 18 points thanks to an 8 of 15 effort from the floor. This pair combined to score 24 of UNK's 30 second half points.
 
Also for the Lopers, senior guard Nicole Arp (Kearney) had nine points, a career-best 10 assists and just one turnover. Finally, Beatrice senior Shelby Zimmerman returned to action after missing the past four game due to injury. She supplied six points and three rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.
 
Kearney is at Missouri Western State Monday night.