Game Preview:
As the MIAA celebrates 100 years as a conference, two of the three charter members of the league will square off on Saturday afternoon as the Truman women's basketball team (8-3; 3-3 MIAA) will travel to defending conference champion and NCAA Final Four participant Northwest Missouri (2-11; 0-6 MIAA) for a 1:30 p.m. start.
The Bulldogs are looking to rebound after dropping consecutive conference games to Emporia State (Kan.) and most recently Fort Hays State (Kan.) on Monday. An 0-for-8 cold spell in the second half doomed the 'Dogs in a 69-63 loss to the Tigers. Breanna Daniels scored 10 of her game-high 14 points in the first half while Allie Norton added 10.
Maggie Marnin scored 11 points but Northwest Missouri shot just 24% from the field in a 62-51 loss at Missouri Western on Wednesday night. The Bearcats trailed by as many as 24 but closed the game on a 17-4 run. It was the eighth straight loss for Northwest.
About The Bulldogs:
Five players have started all 11 games for the Bulldogs this season and have accounted for 72% of all points scored. Junior Jennifer Conway leads the team with 12.2 points per night average and is also the team's leading rebounder at 6.5 per game. Conway played just four minutes against Fort Hays State as she left the game with an injury. Junior Becka McHenry is second at 12.1 points per game and is the team leader in assists with 53.
Breanna Daniels is third at 10.2 points and tied for the rebounding lead with Conway at 6.5 per game. Freshman Allie Norton has averaged 10 points per game and is the leading three-point shooter with 27 makes in 54 attempts (50%) while dishing out 30 assists in her first season.
The Bulldogs are averaging 72.7 points per game, up nearly ten points from last season while shooting 42% from the field, 41% from beyond the arc and 77% from the foul line.
About the Bearcats:
The Bearcats are led by senior guards Abby Henry and Shelly Martin at 12.3 and 10.3 points per game respectively. Maggie Marnin lead the team with 6.8 rebounds per contest.
Northwest is averaging 61 points per game while allowing over 71 and shooting just 35% from the floor and 25% from beyond the arc. The Bearcats have also struggled on the boards as they are a minus-7.8 in rebounding margin and allowing opponents 46.5 rebounds per game.
Of the 229 points scored against the Bulldogs last season in three games by Northwest, the Bearcats return just 64 points or 27%.
The Series:
Overall the series has been dominated by Northwest by a 51-13 advantage, including a 25-6 mark in Maryville. Truman's last win at Northwest was a two-point victory in 2003.
Since 2008, the series is a bit closer with Northwest leading 6-3 with three games needing overtime before being decided.
Last season, the teams met three times with the Bearcats taking the trio. The first game in Kirksville was a 73-72 double-overtime thriller with five Bulldogs in double-figures while Gentry Dietz scored 27 points for the Bearcats. The return game in Maryville was all Northwest as they won 87-69 behind 23 points from Kyla Roehrig while Becka McHenry paced the Bulldogs with 17.
The third game was the opening round of the MIAA postseason tournament as the eighth-seeded Bulldogs put a scare into top seeded Northwest as the Bulldogs trailed by just two points with 3:30 left to play. Gabby Curtis scored eight points in the final minutes to help Northwest move on with a 69-62 win over Truman.
Bulldogs In The Polls:
For the fourth straight week, Truman received votes in the latest WBCA/USA Today Division II Top 25 poll. It is the first time they had garnered some votes since Jan. 15, 2008 when they picked up votes in two consecutive weekly surveys. The team also received votes in the Dec. 14, 2004 poll.
From Dec. 8, 1998 through Feb. 22, 2000, with the exception of one poll, the Bulldogs either received votes or were ranked nationally, a span of 21 polls. The highest ranking achieved was 14th on Jan. 25, 1999.
Six conference schools received votes in the poll with first place Pittsburg State (Kan.) leading the way at 13th in the nation. Emporia State (Kan.) and Washburn (Kan.) are also ranked in the top 25 while Fort Hays State (Kan.), University of Central Missouri and Truman received votes.
The WBCA/USA Today Division II poll is released each Tuesday during the season.
Quick Look Around The MIAA:
The Bulldogs are currently in sixth place in the conference standings with a 3-3 record. Pittsburg State (7-0) and Emporia State (6-0), two of Truman's three losses, are the only undefeated teams in league play. Washburn is 5-1 followed by Fort Hays State and Lincoln at 4-2.
Central Missouri is a half-game behind the Bulldogs at 3-4 but then the remaining four schools have just three wins between them in league play, Missouri Western (1-5), Southwest Baptist (1-6), Missouri Southern (1-6) and Northwest Missouri (0-6).
Surpassing A Grand:
With 13 points against Pittsburg State on Dec. 3rd, senior Breanna Daniels became the 16th Truman women's basketball player to eclipse 1,000 points for a career and first since Georgia Mueller did so in 2009.
Daniels has started 79 of 92 games played during her Bulldog career and is shooting nearly 40% from the field with 124 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. Daniels had 61 double figure scoring nights with one double-double.
Daniels is third all-time in Truman history in made three-pointers (124), third in three-pointers attempted (359), eighth in free throw percentage (.789) and 10th in field goals (404), field goals attempted (1019) and games started (79).
Notable National Rankings:
In the latest set of national rankings released on Jan. 1st Truman leads Division II in three-point field goal percentage (41.6%). They are currently shooting 41.4% following Monday's game against Fort Hays 67-of-162
Truman was fourth in Division II in turnovers per game (12.6) and fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.19). They are 14th in free throw shooting (76.5%), 15th in fouls per game (13.9) and 28th in the country in scoring margin (+14.9).
Individually, Allie Norton was 10th in three-point field goal percentage (48.1%) while Becka McHenry was 27th in the country in assists per game at 4.8 and 24th in assist/turnover ratio with a 1.92.
Notable Conference Rankings:
Truman is ranked in the top five in 10 categories tracked by the MIAA. The team's highest ranking is first in three categories; three-point field goal percentage (41.6%) assist/turnover ratio (1.2) and turnover margin (+5.7). The Bulldogs are second in free throw percentage (77.4%).
Becka McHenry
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15th Scoring (12.1/g)
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2nd Assists (4.8/g)
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7th FT Pct. (75.9%)
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4th Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.9)
Jennifer Conway
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9th Scoring (12.4/g)
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7th FG Pct. (50.5%)
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8th Rebounds (6.5/g)
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5th FT Pct. (81.3%)
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15th Blocks (0.9/g)
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T8th Off. Reb. (2.5/g)
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T10th Def. Reb. (4.6/g)
Allie Norton
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12th Assists (2.9/g)
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6th 3pt Pct. (48.1%)
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3rd 3pt Made (2.5/g)
Breanna Daniels
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10th Rebounds (6.8/g)
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12th 3pt Pct. (39.4%)
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6th Def. Reb. (5.4/g)
Nicole Gloor
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15th FT Pct. (68.0%)
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10th Steals (1.6/g)
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T13th Off. Reb. (2.3/g)
Bulldog Tip-Ins:
· Truman is averaging 72.7 points and shooting 42% from the field, 41% from the arc and 77% from the line. 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 5-2 in Pershing Arena this season and 11-8 over the past two years at home.
· Over the past two years, Truman has a .500 record (7-7) on the road in conference play. From 2000-2010, the Bulldogs were just 15 and 75 (.200) in league road tilts.
· Truman has led at the half in six games this year and has won all six. They have trailed the other five games and won two of them.
· The Bulldogs have won the battle of the boards in seven games this season with the largest margin of 18 against Central Methodist. They have had a double-digit advantage in rebounds in five games.
· Three Bulldogs have topped 20 points this season. Becka McHenry and Nicole Gloor had single-game highs of 22 with McHenry's coming against Missouri Southern and Gloor's against Pittsburg State. McHenry also had 20 against Pittsburg State and Jennifer Conway scored 20 against William Penn.
· Truman has had five different players through 11 games lead them in scoring. McHenry has four games while Conway (2), Gloor (2), Daniels (2) and Jenny Dorman have one game.
· Four Bulldogs have each recorded double-doubles through 11 games. Jennifer Conway has two while Breanna Daniels, Allie Norton and Becka McHenry have one apiece. Three Bulldogs recorded double-doubles last season with five coming from Jennifer Conway and one apiece from Amy Galey and Megan Sharpe.
Up Next:
Truman will play the middle game of the three-game road trip at Missouri Western on Wednesday night. The Griffons are 3-8 overall and 1-5 in the MIAA and will host Lincoln on Saturday.
Player Notes:
#5 Allison Wiese – Has appeared in seven games, two in the MIAA thus far…scored a season-high six points against Central Methodist while playing 13 minutes and adding two steals.
#10 Kaitlin Stump – Has missed the past 10 games with an injury…only action of the season was in the opener against Lindenwood-Belleville where she played eight minutes and had one assist.
#12 Allie Norton – Started all 11 games and leads the team with 27 three-pointers and a 50% three-point shooting percentage…has scored in double-figures seven times this season with a season-high 16 points against Quincy and Missouri Southern…is second on the team with assists with 30 and dished out 10 for a double-double against Central Methodist.
#13 Jenny Dorman – Came off the bench in all 11 games this season…scored in double figures twice with a season-high 19 points against Central Methodist…averaging just under 15 minutes per game and is shooting about 39% from the field and 36% from beyond the arc.
#15 Jennifer Conway – Started all 11 games and leads the team in rebounding (6.5 rpg) and in scoring at 12.2 points per game…has been in double-figures 10 times this season with a high of 20 points against William Penn…shooting 49% from the floor and has two double-doubles.
#21 Megan Sharpe – Joined the team on Dec. 3rd after earning all-America honors for the third straight year on the volleyball court…has come off the bench in five games and had the game-winning basket against #15 Washburn as time expired while also playing a season-high 25 minutes.
#22 Becka McHenry – Team leader in minutes played at 29.7 per game while also second in scoring 12.1 and first in assists with 53…has scored over 20 points on two occasions with a high of 22 against Missouri Southern…been in double-figures six times and had a double-double with 10 assists against Southwest Baptist.
#24 Sarah Gaeddert – Had played in nine games this years and averaging 7.8 minutes…scored a season-high four points against both Lindenwood-Belleville and Central Methodist and added three assists with six rebounds in a win over Rockhurst.
#25 Bianca Szafarowicz – Has come off the bench in all 11 games and is the leading reserve with 16.7 minutes per game…scored a season-high 11 points in a win over William Penn and pulled down nine rebounds with six offensive in a win against Lindenwood-Belleville.
#32 Nicole Gloor – Started all 11 games and is the team's top defensive player…has scored in double-figures five times this season with a high of 22 against Pittsburg State…leads the team in steals with 18 and second with five blocked shots…averaging over 23 minutes per game.
#41 Rachel Remick – Played in all 11 games and scored in 10…season-high is eight points against Emporia State on Dec. 17th…posted a season-high nine rebounds against Lindenwood-Belleville.
#42 Breanna Daniels – Has started all 11 games and is averaging 27.2 minutes in each…has been in double-figures seven times with a season-high 14 points coming against Rockhurst and again against Fort Hays St.…has one-double-double on the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds against Lindenwood-Belleville…went over the 1,000 career point total with 13 against Pittsburg State on Dec. 3.
