(WARRENSBURG, Mo.) — The eighth-ranked Jennies protected their home court against Fort Hays State Thursday night, defeating the Tigers, 72-51 at the Multipurpose Building.

Central Missouri (7-1, 1-0 MIAA) and Fort Hays State (5-1, 0-1 MIAA) traded baskets through the first 6:39, tied at 10-10. The Jennies opened a five-point lead at 16-11 on a layup by Danielle Barry with 9:54 left in the opening half. Fort Hays State evened the score at 17-17 with 7:48 remaining, marking the final tie of the game.

The Jennies pulled away in the final 7:24 of the opening half, outscoring the Tigers 15-5 to take a 32-22 lead at the half. Central Missouri bested Fort Hays State in the paint at a 22-8 tally, while limiting the Tigers to 20.8 percent shooting from the floor (5-of-24) in the first half.

Through the first 5:51 of the game’s second half, the Jennies built their lead to 19 at 45-26, led by Revonnia Howard who scored six points during that span.

Fort Hays State trimmed the deficit to 13 with 11:50 left but were unable to close the gap any further as the Jennies rattled off a 12-2 run, increasing their lead to 23 at 58-35. Central Missouri’s largest lead stood at 26 points with 1:45 left after BreAnna Lewis hit a jumper, giving her nine points on the evening and her team a 72-46 lead.

The Jennies shot 41.5 percent from the floor (27-of-65), while holding Fort Hays State to 28.1 percent shooting (16-of-57) and outscoring the Tigers 40-20 in the paint.

Keuna Flax finished as the team’s leading scorer for the seventh time in eight games with 18 points and added 12 rebounds and two blocks for her first double-double of the season. Howard and Shelby Winkelmann each added 14.

The win marks the Jennies third-straight 7-1 start and fourth under head coach Dave Slifer. Central Missouri has defeated Fort Hays State three-consecutive times at the Mutlipurpose Building.

The Jennies will travel to Edmond, Okla., on Dec. 19 to face Central Oklahoma for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.