Game Preview:
Two undefeated teams will clash on Tuesday night as the Truman women will host Quincy University in Pershing Arena. Both the Bulldogs and Hawks enter with identical 3-0 records and both are averaging over 85 points offensively.
Truman is coming off a 108-55 victory over Central Methodist on Saturday in which they broke the school record for three-point field goal percentage and tied the school mark for triples in a game with 15. The Bulldog starters were able to build up a 59-19 advantage over the Lady Eagles at the half. Freshman Allie Norton notched a double-double with 10 assists and 15 points while senior Jenny Dorman set a career-high with 19 points on six made three-pointers. The Bulldos were 15-of-24 (62.5%) from outside to eclipse the previous school record of 61% against Washburn in 2003.
The Bulldogs went over the 100-point mark for the first time since a 102-20 thrashing of Central Christian College to open the 2007-08 season.
Junior Jennifer Conway continued her strong start as she is averging 15.3 points and 8.3 rebounds. Conway is shooting 74% from the field and has also been nearly perfect at the line going 6-of-7. Senior Breanna Daniels and Norton are also averaging in double-figures scoring, each at 10 points apiece while junior Becka McHenry and Dorman are averaging 9.7 and 9.3 points respectively.
Truman has averaged 86.3 points in their first three games but will face a Quincy team that is averaging 93.7 points. The Hawks have blistered the nets from long range with a 46% three-point shooting clip and are making 13 triples per game.
Kassidy Shuman leads the Hawks with 10 three's and a 58% shooting percentage while Daryle Goldie had made 8-of-17 triple attempts. Ali Schwagmeyer was the Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Year last season and leads Quincy in scoring at 15.3 points per game.
The Hawks have wins over Missouri Western (91-68), Arkansas Fort-Smith (98-74) and Culver-Stockton (92-76). They were 26-4 last season while advancing to the NCAA Division II tournament before bowing out to fellow conference member Wisconsin-Parkside in the second round. Jeni Garber is in her first season on the bench for the Hawks.
Bulldogs In the Non-Conference:
Truman has played 21 non-conference games under Coach Michael Smith and are 13-8. All but five 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 set this past Saturday when Truman downed Central Methodist 108-55 (+53) while the largest deficit was 63-44 (-19) to Barry University in 2010.
The Bulldogs are 7-1 in non-conference home games under Smith with the only loss coming in the first home game back in 2008 to Quincy 76-58.
MIAA Coaches/Media Poll:
In the annual conference coaches' and media polls that were released on Oct. 25th, the Bulldogs were picked seventh in the coaches and 9th in the media out of 11 teams. Washburn (Kan.) and Emporia St. (Kan.) were the unanimous top two choices in both polls.
The seventh selection of the Bulldogs is the highest for the program since the 2000 season.
Chasing 1,000
Senior Breanna Daniels is 36 points away from 1,000 for her career. She would be the 16th Truman women's basketball player to eclipse 1,000 for a career and first since Georgia Mueller did so in 2009.
Daniels has started 71 of 84 games played during her Bulldog career and is shooting nearly 40% from the field with 112 made three pointers. Her single-game high in points is 27 against Northwest Missouri on Feb. 17, 2010. She is averaging 11.5 points per game.
Carol Jarrard (1978-82) is the Bulldogs all-time leading scorer with 2,066 points in 112 games played.
Bulldogs Among Nations' Best Programs:
The Truman women's basketball team topped the MIAA and ranked sixth throughout Division II in team grade-point average logging a cumulative squad GPA of 3.571 last season. The Women's Basketball Coaches Association named the Bulldogs to their Academic top-25 this past summer.
All 13 team members posted a cumulative GPA of 2.95 or higher through the 2010-2011 academic year with nine players surpassing the 3.30 mark.
The WBCA Academic top-25 annually recognizes NCAA Divisions I, II, and III; NAIA; and junior college teams across the nation that carry the highest combined GPAs inclusive of all student-athletes on their rosters for the entire season.
Bulldog Tip-Ins:
· Truman is averaging 86.3 points and shooting 48% from the field and 44% from the arc. Last season the team averaged 62.7 points shooting 39% from the field, 33% from beyond the arc and 66% from the free throw line.
· The Bulldogs are winning the battle of the board. Truman is grabbing 45 per night while giving up just 30.7.
· In the first three games, Truman is outscoring opponents 138-54 in the first half.
· Truman was involved in two overtime games last season, winning 78-74 at the University of Central Missouri and falling in double OT to Northwest Missouri, the MIAA champion, 73-72 at home.
· Jennifer Conway has the single-game high in points with 20 this season against William Penn. Breanna Daniels had the single-game high in points scored last season with 26 in a non-conference game against Nova-Southeastern (Fla.).
· Daniels led the team with 24, 10-point plus games last season and has 56 for her career. She is the active leading scorer with 964 points and was the team's leading scorer in 15 of the 27 games.
· Eight different Bulldogs were single-game leaders in rebounding last year with Jennifer Conway leading the way with 11 games with the most boards.
· Three Bulldogs recorded double-doubles last season with five coming from Jennifer Conway and one apiece from Amy Galey and Megan Sharpe. Galey's was the only one that was for 10 assists and not rebounds.
Up Next:
Truman will wrap-up this portion of the non-conference season with a date with Rockhurst (Mo.) on Saturday evening in Kansas City. The Bulldogs will begin conference play next week but will play one more non-conference game in February against McKendree (Ill.). Tip off from Rockhurst on Saturday is slated for 6:00 p.m.
