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Game Preview:
The Truman Bulldogs will look to bounce back after a tough home loss by hosting conference newcomer Lincoln University on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. The Bulldogs will be looking to break a three-game winless streak while the Blue Tigers are looking for their first conference win in nine games.
Missouri Western used an 18-0 run late in the first half to break the Bulldogs back in 63-52 victory on Wednesday night in Pershing Arena. Truman trailed by a season-high 23 points and allowed a second-most 41 points in the first half only to attempt to rally in the second 20 minutes and limit the Griffons to just 21 points, the second lowest total in a half this season.
Breanna Daniels continued her consecutive games streak in double figures with 15 points, pushing her streak to 18 games. Daniels averages 15.6 points per game and 14.2 in MIAA games. The junior is eighth in overall scoring while shooting 40.2% from the field and 38.5% from beyond the arc.
Amy Galey scored 13 points while making three of six three-point attempts for the game. Galey is tied for third in the MIAA in assists per game at 4.5 and is fourth in the conference in minutes played at 34.6.
The Bulldogs are the top defensive scoring team in the conference allowing 61 points in league games and 61.2 points overall. However, Truman's offense has struggled to a 61.7 scoring mark in games played while shooting 40.3% from the field.
Despite averaging just 4.3 three-pointers per game, the team is third in the conference in three-point field goal percentage. Truman is shooting 33.7% from beyond the arc with Daniels' 25 and Galey's 12 leading the way.
The Lincoln Blue Tigers are playing in the MIAA for the first time since the 1998-99 season and have been greeted coldly by their fellow conference mates. Lincoln is winless in their first nine league games and just 1-12 overall.
The Blue Tigers score a conference-low 56.8 points per game while shooting just 35.7% from the floor and 19.7% from outside.
Vivian Essuon has been a bright spot for the Blue Tigers as she averages 16 points per game, which is fifth best in the conference and has pulled down 9.1 rebounds per game, good for third in the MIAA. Essuon is tops in the conference in field goal percentage at 55.6% and averages 4.2 offensive rebounds per game.
Essuon scored 23 points in Wednesday night's home loss to Emporia State by an 86-63 tally. This came after Essoun scored 19 in a two-point loss to Missouri Western last Saturday. The Blue Tigers lone win on the season came in the season opener against Rockhurst in overtime 59-57.
Last Season vs. Lincoln:
The two teams met last season in a non-conference game in Pershing Arena with the Bulldogs winning 70-62. Laura Joya scored 21 points with Amy Galey scoring a Truman career-high 15 and Breanna Daniels adding 10. Stacy Smith paced the Blue Tigers with 19 points.
Truman and Lincoln have played each other every year in non-conference play since the 1998-99 season with the Bulldogs winning all 16 contests.
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 games last year to 11-16. The Bulldogs won six of their first 10 games and four of their last five in 2009-10.
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.
Road Warriors:
Truman is 4-2 on the road this season and is one win away from matching the highest win total since the 2000-01 season. The most road wins in a season is eight set on three different occasions (1978-79, 1990-91 and 1998-99. The Bulldogs matched a program best four-game road winning streak from Dec. 4 through Jan. 3 this season. The Bulldogs three conference road wins is the most since the 2002-03 season.
The Bulldogs are shooting 44% from the field in road games and 33% from beyond the arc. Breanna Daniels averages 16.5 points per road game while Amy Galey leads in rebounds (6.2/g) and assists (4.6/g). Truman has outscored their opponents on the road 385-357 including a 31-point advantage in the second half.
Bulldogs At Home:
The women are 2-4 in games played in Pershing Arena this season. Breanna Daniels leads the team with 15.7 points per game and Nicole Gloor adding 11.7 a contest. Jennifer Conway averages 7.5 rebounds a game and as a team, Truman is a plus 5.8 in rebounding margin.
Shooting, the Bulldogs shoot only 36% from the field in home games but shoot 35% beyond the arc.
Around the MIAA:
Through nine of the 22 conference games played by most teams, the Bulldogs are currently in sixth place holding the tie-breaker over Pittsburg State with 4-5 league records. Washburn and Emporia State lead the conference with 8-1 records and will face each other for the first time on Saturday night.
Northwest Missouri is alone in third place with a 7-2 record, with both losses coming to Emporia and Washburn. Missouri Southern and Missouri Western are tied with 6-3 league records with the Lions holding a home win over the Griffons earlier this season.
Central Missouri currently holds the eighth spot with a 3-6 record and tie breaking wins over Fort Hays State and Southwest Baptist.
Bulldog Tip-Ins:
- In conference only statistics, the Bulldogs are first in scoring defense (61.0), third in three-point field goal percentage (34.5%), first in defensive three-point field goal percentage (26.3%), third in rebounding defense (34.8/g), second in rebounding margin (+5.6) and second in offensive rebounds per game (14.3/g).
- Breanna Daniels is ranked in five overall MIAA stat categories. She is eighth in scoring (15.6/g), ninth in field goal percentage (40.2%), sixth in three-point field goal percentage (38.5%), tied for eighth in three-pointers made (1.9/g) and fifth in minutes played at 34.0/g. In conference only stats, Daniels is 11th in scoring (14.2/g), tenth in field goal percentage (37.5%), tied for tenth in three-point field goal percentage (34.8%) and seventh in minutes played per game (34.1/g).
- Nicole Gloor is 20th in conference only scoring (11.2/g). She is second in freshman scoring in the MIAA trailing Emporia State's Kelsey Balcom by two points. She is eighth overall in free throw shooting (75.6%).
- Amy Galey is tied for third in assists per game at 4.5/g, seventh in assist/turnover ratio (1.4), tied for eighth in defensive rebounds (4.8/g) and fourth in minutes played at 34.6. In conference only contests, she is tied for second in assists (4.8/g), fourth in the assist/turnover ratio (1.7), tied for fifth in defensive rebounds (5.5/g) and third in minutes played (36.1/g).
- Jennifer Conway is seventh in blocks per game at 1.4/g and seventh in conference stats also at 1.3/g. Conway is 11th in conference only rebounding at 6.6 per game and tied for eighth in offensive rebounds at 2.3/g.
- The Bulldogs have the highest single-game field goal percentage so far this season. Truman shot 60.9% (28-of-26) against Southwest Baptist on Dec. 7th. Truman also registered the best three-point shooting by percentage that game with a five of eight performance for 62.5%.
- Truman has posted the most field goal attempts than any team in the MIAA in a single game with 87 against Northwest Missouri and also the most rebounds by a conference team this season with 60 against the Bearcats, 27 on the offensive end.
· Truman is averaging 61.7 points per game, last season the Bulldogs averaged 61.6.
· Other key stat comparisons from this year to last year include:
o FG% .403 from .403
o 3FG% .381 from .356
o FT% .730 from .779
· Breanna Daniels leads the team with 13, 10-point plus games this season and has 45 for her career. She is the active leading scorer with 789 points.
Up Next:
Truman will wrap up the first round of conference play on Wednesday night at the University of Central Missouri. The Jennies are 3-6 and will be at Missouri Western on Saturday night. Central was picked to finish third in both conference preseason and coaches poll and even garnered some first place votes before struggling out of the gate this season.
Following Wednesday's game round two of conference play will commence with the 'Dogs heading to Missouri Southern.
