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Game Preview:
After a tough opening weekend in the Sunshine State, the Truman Women's Basketball team plays in front of the home crowd for the first time this season as they host Maryville University (Mo.) on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. Admission is free for all Truman basketball games while the Pershing Building is under construction.
Truman is coming off a pair of losses at the Nova Southeastern/Marriott Tip-Off Classic last weekend. The Bulldogs were defeated 63-44 to Barry University in the opener while dropping a 73-67 decision to host Nova Southeastern.
In the opener, the Bulldogs and Bucanneers were tied at 29 at half but Barry scored the first 14 points in the second half to run away. The following night, Nova raced out to a 16 point second half lead but Truman fought back to pull within three on three separate occasions only to fall short.
Maryville is 1-0 to start the season but will play on Tuesday night against Division I, Southeast Missouri State before coming to Kirksville on Saturday. The Saints defeated Principia 98-36 in their opener on Saturday. Erica Lorton and Abby Duethman each had 19 points and 11 rebounds while as a team, the Saints had 31 assists.
Junior Breanna Daniels picked up where she left off from last season as she averaged 18 points and 4.5 rebounds while being named to the Nova Southeastern/Marriott Tip-Off Classic last weekend. Daniels led the Bulldogs in scoring in both games but really shined with 26 points in a tough loss to the host Sharks on Saturday.
Daniels, along with fellow senior Amy Galey, saw the bulk of the action in both games as they were on the court 36 out of the 40 minutes. Galey dished out eight assists, one off her career high, against Nova as well.
Sophomore Jennifer Conway had five blocks and averaged five points per game in two starts while two freshmen, Kayla Klopfenstein and Bianca Szafarowicz cracked the starting line-up with each averaging eight points per game.
Senior Cassie Hunt scored a career high 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting against the Sharks on Saturday.
Bulldog Coaching Staff:
Head Coach Michael Smith enters his third year at the helm of the Truman Women's Basketball program. Smith was 8-19 in his first season and improved by three game last year to 11-16. The Bulldogs won six of their first 10 games and four of their last five games last season.
Smith took over the program in April of 2008 and was previously the assistant coach at Division I University of Arkansas-Little Rock.
Joining Smith in her first year on the Truman bench is Lora Westling as the new assistant coach. Westling was a two-time all-MIAA performer and helped Washburn University to the 2005 Division II National Title. She served the previous three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Bulldogs In the Non-Conference:
Truman has played 16 non-conference games under Coach Michael Smith and are 8-8. All but two games have been against Division II opponents. Seven of the games have had final margins of five points or less and 10 of them have been decided by 10 points or less.
The largest margin of victory in non-conference games was a 56-31 (+25) win over Maryville University last season while the largest deficit was 63-44 (-19) to Barry University last Friday.
The Bulldogs are 4-1 in non-conference home games under Smith with the only loss coming in the first home game back in 2008 to Quincy 76-58.
Key Stats for 09-10:
· Truman averaged 61.6 points per game last season with their highest point total being 99 against Northwest Missouri State in overtime on Feb. 17th.
· Breanna Daniels had three of the top four individual scoring performances for the Bulldogs last year. Daniels scored 27 in a victory over Northwest Missouri and 23 in a win over Pittsburg State. Both games went into overtime. Daniels also led the team with four three-pointers made in four different games.
· Daniels led the team in scoring at a 13.1 ppg mark while she is also the team's top returning rebounder at 4.3 rpg.
· The Bulldogs shot 40.3% from beyond the arc and averaged 4.2 three-point makes.
· Truman shot 77.9% from the free throw line with Becka McHenry being the top returning free throw shooter at 81%.
· Truman averaged 15.1 turnovers per game and were a -1.6 in turnover margin last season.
Scouting The Opponent:
Prior to their game with Southeast Missouri on Tuesday night, the Maryville Saints won their regular season opener but lost both of their exhibition games.
Eleven Saints scored in their 98-36 season opener against Principia College on Saturday night with five players in double-figures. Abby Duethman and Erica Lorton each had 19 points and 11 rebounds apiece.
In their final exhibition game, Maryville was defeated by Northern Iowa 74-45 with Angela Pepowski leading the Saints with 12 points.
Maryville, playing in their second season in the Division Great Lakes Valley Conference, have no seniors and just two juniors on their roster of 14 players. The Saints were picked fifth out of five teams in the GLVC West Division.
Up Next:
The Bulldogs will begin MIAA play next Wednesday night when they host Missouri Southern at 5:30 p.m. The Lions were picked sixth in the conference coaches' preseason poll while garnering a fifth place nod in the league's media poll.
Due to the current construction project going on in the Pershing Building, no admission will be charged for either game.
