Game Notes; Women Close Regular Season With Road Games

Truman Women's Basketball Wednesday, February 27 vs. Central Missouri (Warrensburg, Mo. 5:30 PM) Saturday, March 2 vs. Northwest Missouri (Maryville, Mo. 1:30 PM)
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Game Preview:
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The final two regular season games for the Truman Women's Basketball team are on tap this week as they will play the two other charter members of the MIAA on the road. The trip opens on Wednesday night against nationally ranked Central Missouri and close on Saturday afternoon at Northwest Missouri State University.

The Bulldogs are in their final season of the MIAA and will be switching to the Great Lakes Valley Conference next year. Central, Truman and Northwest are the last three charter members of the MIAA that was founded in 1912.

Truman was ranked fifth in the first NCAA Division II Regional rankings last Wednesday with two more rankings prior to the selection of the field for the national tournament. Central was second in the region but lost 63-52 at Southwest Baptist (Mo.) on Saturday night while Truman won both games last week.

Nicole Gloor scored 14 of her 18 points in the second half and the Bulldogs pulled away from the Lincoln (Mo.) Blue Tigers on Saturday 70-59. The win allowed the team to match the school record of 19 regular season wins set by the 1998-99 squad and tied the record with 12 conference wins set in 1999-00.

Truman and Central are the top two scoring teams in the MIAA and the Bulldogs and Jennies are second and third respectively in three-pointers made per game. Truman handed Central a 73-64 loss in Pershing Arena back on January 19 with Becka McHenry leading the way with 24 points and six assists.

McHenry is nearing another milestone as with her next point she will top 1,100 for her Truman career. She has averaged nearly five assists and eight rebounds per game in her last five outings. For the season, McHenry leads the Bulldogs in scoring at 13.0 points, rebounding at 5.8 and assists with 3.8. She is ranked in six individual categories in the MIAA.

The Bulldogs are averaging 69.8 points per game and leading the NCAA Division II with a .421 three-point shooting percentage. The previous team high in three-pointers was in 1989-90 at 39.0% and the most three-pointers in a season is 199 (176 through 24 games) during the 2007-08 season. Allie Norton leads all of Division II with a 46.2% three-point shooting percentage.

The Jennies had reeled off eight straight wins following the loss to Truman but stumbled on Saturday against the Southwest Baptist Bearcats 63-52. The Bearcats led by 10 at the half and by as many as 19 late in the game while holding the Jennies to just 14% from behind the arc and 33% overall shooting. BreAnna Lewis led the Jennies in scoring with 22 points and Nicole
Caddell added a double-double with 11 points and 11 boards.

The Bulldogs are looking for their third straight win over the Jennies overall and third straight win against Central in the Multipurpose Building. The last two road games played by Truman at Central were both overtime affairs with Truman winning 78-74 in 2011 in double overtime and 80-75 last season.

Vs. Northwest Missouri (Saturday)
The Bulldogs head to Maryville for the final regular season game of the year and it will be their first meeting with the longtime rival Bearcats.

The Bearcats broke a five-game losing streak with a 69-58 win over rival Missouri Western last Wednesday night and will be at Nebraska-Kearney this Wednesday prior to the Bulldogs arrival.

Northwest is averaging 65.2 points per game while leading the league in assists (15.7) second in steals (10.8) and third in field goal percentage (44.0%). Maggie Marnin at 11 points per game and shoots 56.8% from the field. Ashleigh Nelson averages 10.8 with 52 three-pointers and Annie Mathews averages 10.1 points and a team-leading 7.8 rebounds.

The two teams split last year's games with the Bearcats winning 59-58 on January 7 and Truman returning the favor in Kirksville with a 79-52 rout on February 15. Northwest has won nine straight against Truman in Maryville with the Bulldogs last win being a 74-72 victory during the 2003 season.

Coaches:

The Bulldogs are under fifth-year head coach Michael Smith, who has an overall record of 67-65. He is fourth all-time in victories at Truman and is 44-54 in conference games. Smith was previously at Division I, Arkansas-Little Rock is a graduate of Central Methodist (Mo.) and a graduate assistant at Northwest Missouri State.

Dave Slifer is in his ninth season at Central Missouri and has won over 500 (548-193) games in his career with stints at Missouri Western and Mount Mercy (Iowa) College.

Mark Kellogg was hired last summer to replace longtime coach Gene Steinmeyer at Northwest. He was previously the head coach for seven seasons at Fort Lewis (Colo.) and posted a 173-46 record with trips to the last five NCAA tournaments. The Skyhawks were in the national title games in 2010 falling to Emporia State 65-53 in St. Joseph, Mo.

Senior Spotlight:
Three seniors, Jennifer Conway, Becka McHenry and Megan Sharpe, have been part of the resurgence of Truman Women's Basketball. The trio has won 59 games entering this week over the past four seasons including the most conference wins during that span of any Bulldog team.

Conway has started 76 of the last 102 games played in her Truman career and can finish 12th all-time in rebounding and third in blocked shots. She has averaged over eight points per game while pulling down five rebounds and had a career high 23 points against Pittsburg (Kan.) State on January 25, 2012. Her single-game career high rebounding mark was 14 on two occasions with the last coming on February 12, 2011 against Nebraska-Omaha. Conway was an honorable mention all-conference pick as a sophomore.

McHenry has started the last 75 games and 90 of her 105 overall contests in the Bulldog uniform. She is just the second Truman player to score over 1000 career points, pull down over 400 rebounds and dish out over 300 assists in her career. McHenry recorded the first triple-double since Amy Eagan when she had 14 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds against Pittsburg State in 2012. She has a single-game high of 24 points scored on four separate occasions and was a second team all-conference selection last year.

Sharpe has been a two-sport standout for the Bulldogs Basketball and Volleyball programs. She was the school's first, four-time All-American on the volleyball court and has played in 78 games, making 31 starts for the basketball team. She has averaged five points and four rebounds per game and has a single-game high of 13 points scored on two occasions and pulled down 15 rebounds against Northwest Missouri in 2011.

Battle For Top Four:
Truman clinched one of the 12 spots available for the MIAA postseason conference basketball tournament and can finish no worse than a home game if needed for the first round of the tournament. The Bulldogs are currently fourth in the MIAA standings, a game up on Pittsburg (Kan.) State and Emporia (Kan.) State. The Gorillas hold a tiebreaker on the Bulldogs but Truman has the tie break over Emporia State.

Washburn (Kan.) has clinched a share of the MIAA regular season crown with a 15-1 league record while Central Missouri (13-3) and Northeastern (Okla.) State (13-4) are the other teams within the top four.

The top four teams in the final regular season standings get a “free pass” to Kansas City and the postseason tournament for the Friday, March 8th quarterfinals. Seeds five through eight will host seeds nine through 12 in a first round game on campus sites on Tuesday, March 5th.

Regional Poll:
The Bulldogs were fifth in the first central regional poll for the NCAA tournament that was released last Wednesday. Washburn was at one and Central Missouri at two. Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.) and Minnesota State Mankato were three and four.

The top eight in the region comprised of the MIAA, Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and Great America Conference may be selected to the NCAA Division II National Tournament.

The NSIC and the MIAA tournament winners receive an automatic berth into the field while the GAC does not have an AQ leaving six of the eight berths at-large. Truman last made the NCAA Tournament in 1999.

WBCA/USA Today Poll:
After spending two weeks within the top 25, Truman remained 27th in last week's poll. Six MIAA schools are getting votes in the poll with Washburn (Kan.) in at five and the University of Central Missouri at seven. Pittsburg (Kan.) State, Fort Hays (Kan.) State and Emporia (Kan.) State are also receiving mentions in this week's survey.

This is the ninth poll this season that Truman received votes. The highest ranking for the Bulldogs all-time was 14th on January 25, 1999.

Season Milestone Watch:

The Bulldogs 19 regular season wins are the most since the 1998-99 season. That team would finish 22-9 with three postseason victories (one in the MIAA tournament and two in the NCAA regional).
The mark for the fewest losses in a season is nine set in 1978-79, 1998-99 and 1999-00. Truman has five losses entering the week.
Truman's 44.5% shooting percentage is third all-time trailing the 45.4% in 1998-99 and 45% in 1979-80.
The team is third in three-pointers made with 176 through 24 games while the 2007-08 team hit 199 triples in 29 games and the 2005-06 squad made 185 in 28 contests.
The overall three-point shooting percentage is tops right now all-time at 42.1% with the next closest being 39% set during the 1989-90 campaign.
The 75.8% free throw shooting is third all-time trailing the 2009-10 team's 77.9% and the 2006-07 team's 76.4%.
The 56.3 points allowed is the fewest since last year's 60.6 and the 13.5 scoring margin is also tops from last year's 10.4 points.
Allie Norton has the top three-point shooting percentage in a season at 46.2% ahead of Kathy Patterson's 1990-91 total of 44.9%. Norton's 61 triples is ninth in a season with Susan Theroff holding the record with 76 during the 1990-91 campaign.
Norton also holds a slim advantage in free throw shooting percentage at 91.7%. She has made 33 of 36 and is in front of Laura Joya's 91.5% (43 of 47) set in 2009-10.

#Trending:

In the last five games, Truman (3-2) have made more free throws (69) than the opposing teams have been at the foul line (64).
After being held to under 50 points in two losses, the Bulldogs have scored 70 or more in their last three games.
Truman remained first in the national statistics in three-point field goal percentage (42.1%). They are ninth in overall field goal percentage (44.5%) and 13th in free throw shooting (75.8%.)
The Bulldogs are second among all NCAA schools in three-point shooting trailing Duke (N.C.) at 43.2%. Just three schools nationally are shooting above 40% from three with the Bulldogs followed by Division II's Winona (Minn.) St. at 40.2%
Truman is 19th in the national rankings in scoring margin (+13.5) and 18th in three-pointers per game (7.5/g).
The Bulldogs have won a school-record 14 straight games in Pershing Arena dating back to February 1, 2012. The previous record for consecutive home wins was nine set during the 2007-08 season.
Truman has won four MIAA games by a scoring margin of 20 or more points. They have seven games of a margin of 20 or more points in conference over the last two years and 26 in the 30 years of MIAA Women's Basketball (since 1982-83).
Becka McHenry joined Amy Eagan as only the second Truman player to score over 1000 points (1099), have more than 400 rebounds (482) and dish out 300 assists (354). Eagan registered 1527 points, 643 boards and 529 assists from 1995-99.
Jennifer Conway is one rebound away from moving to 12th Bulldog in career rebounds. She is four blocks away from 100 for her career, which she is already third in Truman history.
Allie Norton leads the team with 61 three-pointers made while Amy Briggs is second with 51. Norton's 120 threes are seventh all-time in Bulldog career as a sophomore and her 43.0% from outside is currently the best all-time among Truman players with at least 50 made.
Becka McHenry has made 75 straight starts and Allie Norton has started 51 consecutive games. Jennifer Conway has started in 66 straight games she has been available for (missing three due to injury in the past two years). Bianca Szafarowicz has started 23 this year and 46 for her career and Nicole Gloor all 22 she has been available for and 35 for her career.
McHenry is listed in six conference statistical categories this week. She is third in assists (3.9/g), first in assist/turnover ratio (1.9) and among the leaders in scoring, rebounding, free throw percentage and defensive rebounds.
Allie Norton is first in the league in three-point shooting percentage and her 46.2% is good for first overall in Division II. She is eighth among all Divisions with five Division I players, highlighted by Duke's Tricia Liston (50.4%) and two Division III players ahead of her.
Courtney Strait's 28 points against Mount Mercy was the most by a Bulldog since Georgia Mueller scored 29 against Missouri Western on Feb. 21, 2009 and the second most by a freshman since Mueller scored 29 against Upper Iowa in January 2006.
Amy Briggs has two of the team's three double-doubles this season. She had 14 points and 10 assists against Mount Mercy. McHenry had the other with 10 points and 11 rebounds against Pittsburg State.

Up Next:
The Bulldogs will either host a first round game of the MIAA tournament on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. against an opponent to be determined or advance directly to Kansas City for the quarterfinals on Friday. If Truman finishes in the top four, its straight to KC, if they do not they will host in Pershing Arena.

Check with TrumanBulldogs.com for tournament information when it becomes available.

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