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Truman State University Athletics

Women's Basketball

Game Notes: Big Homestand Begins Thursday For Bulldog Basketball

2013-14 Truman Women's Basketball Game Notes:
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GLVC WBB
 
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Riding a conference-best seven-game winning streak and putting their 22-game home winning streak on the line, the Truman Women's Basketball team will square off against Missouri S&T and Drury (Mo.) this week in two important Great Lakes Valley Conference games.
 
Game Coverage
Both games will be on the Bulldogs flagship station, 104.7 FM KRES and available free online through CentralMOInfo.com. Brad Boyer and Hank Janssen will call the action with a pregame show beginning 15 minutes prior to tip and will have Coach Amy Eagan's postgame comments during halftime of the men's game.
 
Live stats and live video links, if available from the host site, will be available on the women's basketball schedule page on TrumanBulldogs.com
 
About the Bulldogs (13-4; 7-2 GLVC)
Truman is the only GLVC team that has five players averaging in double-figure scoring. Allie Norton (12.9), Amy Briggs (12.6) and Nicole Gloor (12.1) are leading rebounder Bianca Szafarowicz (10.8/6.9) and leading free throw shooter Courtney Strait (10.2/91.5%).
 
The Bulldogs are on the verge of the best winning percentage ever in the month of January after winning seven straight games out of the eight played this month.  The seven-game winning streak matches the longest in Truman history with the pervious streaks occurring during the 1990-91, 1998-99 and 2001-02 seasons and is the first seven-game conference winning streak. The last loss was January 3 at East Division leading Lewis (Ill.) University.
 
Truman will also be looking to defend a 22-game Pershing Arena winning streak that dates back to February 1, 2011, a 67-59 loss at the hands of Washburn (Kan.) University. The streak is the fourth longest in Division II behind Colorado Mesa (30), Western Washington (26) and Gannon (24). Lewis is fifth with 20 straight home wins, while the longest overall active streak belongs to Amherst (Mass.) at 94 games.
 
In national rankings, Truman is second in Division II in three-point field goal percentage at 39.8%, fourth in turnovers per game (12.5/g) and fourth in free throw shooting (78.8%). Overall field goal percentage is at 42.4% while the team is 23rd in the nation in rebounding margin (+7.6) and 17th in scoring margin.
 
Individually, Courtney Strait is seventh in Division II and first in the GLVC in free-throw percentage at 91.5% while Amy Briggs is seventh in three-point percentage at 45.6%. Briggs and Allie Norton are ranked in assist/turnover ratio, assists per game, free throw percentage, three-pointers per game and three-point percentage.
 
The Bulldogs are coming off of two comeback victories last week in Kansas City.  Truman shot a woeful 23% in the first half at Rockhurst on Thursday but rallied from five down for a 63-52 victory over the Hawks. The Bulldogs took the lead with about 10 minutes left and were a perfect 16-of-16 at the foul line over the final five minutes to earn the win.
 
On Saturday, Truman trailed for 80% of the game and by 10 points twice but in the final five minutes, the Bulldogs outscored William Jewell 14-5 to win 83-75. Truman turned the ball over just nine times and got a double-double from Bianca Szafarowicz with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Truman received a vote in this week's USA Today/WBCA Division II Coaches' Poll.  They were in 11 weekly polls last season, peaking at number 19.
 
Truman vs. Missouri S&T (Thursday 5:30 p.m. – Kirksville, Mo.)
Series History: This will be the first meeting between former Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association members since a 57-55 overtime victory by the Miners in Pershing Arena on December 19, 2006. Missouri S&T has won the last two games played in Kirksville with Truman's last win coming with a 78-58 victory in 2004. Truman leads the overall series record 28-24 and had an eight-game winning streak from 1997-2000. First meeting between the two programs was the season opener in 1977 with the Bulldogs winning 69-58.
 
Miners Last Time Out: Missouri S&T lost 80-67 to Missouri-St. Louis to wrap-up a four-game homestand. Senait McLeod led the Miners with 15 points. The Miners have dropped their last three games and five of the last six.
 
Common Opponents:  Truman and Missouri S&T have four common opponents thus far, all within the GLVC West Division (Missouri-St. Louis, Maryville, Rockhurst and William Jewell). The Miners are 1-3 with a win over William Jewell (69-67) while Truman is 4-0 against that same group.
 
About the Miners: Enter the week with a 6-11 overall record and 2-7 GLVC mark…have three players averaging in double-figures behind Mia Wesley (15.8), Toni Knar (12.2) and Karli Sample (10.5)…as a team, average 67.8 points and allow 72.7 per night…shoot 43% from field, 34.8% from three and 69.8% from the foul line…Knar leads team with a 43.5% three-point shooting percentage with 40 makes in 92 attempts…was 16-12 last season and 11-7 in the GLVC…lost 50-42 to eventual champion Lewis in the quarterfinal round of the GLVC Tournament…lost seniors Hailee Parks, a first-team all-GLVC team and Kyesha Hall, GLVC Defensive team from last year's squad…under the direction of Alan Eads, who is the school's all-time winningest coach at 150-144 in his 11th season at Missouri S&T.
 
Truman vs. #7 Drury (Saturday 1:00 p.m. – Kirksville, Mo. Mo.)
 
Series History: The Panthers own a 6-0 record over the Bulldogs when the two teams played from 2002-2006 with an average scoring margin of 18.6. The last meeting was a 77-55 Drury win in Springfield in 2006 (November 18) and the last game played in Kirksville was a 76-52 result in 2005 (December 19). Of the six games, they have been split evenly with three in Springfield and three in Kirksville.   
 
Drury Last Time Out: Drury defeated Maryville 89-83 to win their sixth straight game on Saturday. Kylie Williamson led the Panthers with 24 points but the Panthers were pushed in both games last week. They edged out a 74-71 win at home against Missouri-St. Louis on Thursday.
 
Common Opponents:  Both teams enter the week 4-0 against fellow Western division opponents while Drury owns a 76-59 win over Missouri S&T (Truman's Thursday opponent). The Panthers play at Quincy (Ill.) on Thursday in a game between the two teams tied atop the division standings.  
 
About the Panthers: After being picked fifth in the GLVC West Division in the preseason coaches' poll, the Panthers have surged into the Division II Top 10 under first year coach Steve Huber…Huber was a seven-year assistant at Creighton (Neb.) of the Missouri Valley Conference…Drury enters the week 16-1 with only loss coming at home to Indianapolis (85-68) on January 5…of their 16 wins, six have been decided by three-points or less…have three players, led by Amber Dvorak (14.9) averaging in double figures and four (Dvorak-17.9/g) in conference-only games…average 79.2 points and allow 70.4 per game while shooting 44% overall, 33% from three and 75% from the line…hold opponents to 31% from three…Bethanie Funderburk is a two-time GLVC Player of the Week this season and was a second-team All-GLVC player last year…Panthers were 14-13 overall and 8-10 in the GLVC and lost 65-39 to Wisconsin-Parkside in the first round of the postseason tournament.  
 
Bulldog Notebook:
 
We're Goin' Streaking…
The Bulldogs have won their last seven games, tying the longest consecutive winning streak in school history (1990-91, 1998-99 & 2001-02).
 
Truman is averaging 78.9 points and allowing 64.9 during the streak, shooting 44% from the field, 46% from three and 82.9% from the foul line. Allie Norton has led the team with a 15.4 points per game followed by Amy Briggs' 14.7.
 
The Bulldogs are 6-0 in Kirksville this season and have won the past 22 games played in Pershing Arena which is the fourth longest streak in Division II women's basketball. Colorado Mesa has the longest home court winning streak at 30 games followed by Western Washington (26) and Gannon (24).  Amherst College (Mass.) of Division III has the longest overall winning streak at 94 straight games
 
During the streak, the Bulldogs have outscored the opposing teams 78.6 to 54.3 (+24.3), have averaged 8.2 triples per game to 3.5 and forced 103 more turnovers than their opponents. Truman has shot 46% from the field, 44% from three and 75% from the line while opponents in Pershing have shot 36.8% overall, 26.7% from three and 70.6% from the foul line.
 
Free Throw Shooting:
In 13 of the 17 games played, Truman has shot over 20 free throws and in ten games shot 30 or more free throws. Last year, Truman had 11 games over 20 and just one over 30.
 
Truman is shooting 78.8% from the line with the bench mark of the program for a season being 77.9% in 2009-10. That season, Truman had the third lowest free throw attempts with 412.
 
The record for free throws attempts and makes for a season came in the 1998-99 season with 787 attempts and 567 makes in 31 games. The Bulldogs are averaging 28.0 attempts per game this year and 22.1 makes.
 
All five Bulldogs with over 30 free throw attempts are shooting at nearly 80%. Nicole Gloor as the most attempts at 113 and shoots 78.8%.  Courtney Strait is second in the GLVC at 91.5% from the line and Allie Norton is fourth at 87.3%.
 
As a conference, the GLVC is second in the nation in free throw shooting at 73.2% while the national Division II average is 69.5%.
 
Behind the Arc:
Junior Allie Norton is second in Division II and eighth among all Divisions active career three-point shooting percentage. Norton's career mark is 42.9% and she had made 170 three-pointers, good for third in Bulldog history behind Wendi Sobaski (269) and Candace McGee (230).
 
Amy Briggs is seventh nationally and second in the GLVC in season three-point shooting percentage at 45.6% making 41-of-90 attempts.
 
Norton and Briggs are first and second respectively in Truman's career three-point shooting percentage with Briggs bringing a 41.2% mark. Courtney Strait ranks fourth all-time at 40.6% (52-of-128).
 
Truman makes 7.8 three-pointers per game while opponents make 4.0 per outing against the Bulldogs.
 
More Shooting:
Truman is ranked second in Division II in three-point shooting (39.8%) and fourth in the nation in free throw shooting (78.8%).
 
Tough Road Ahead:
According to the NCAA, Truman's past 17 opponents have a .461 winning percentage while the next 10 games, the opponents have a .633 winning percentage. It is the 17th toughest schedule remaining in Division II Women's Basketball.
 
The Bulldogs have games coming up against #7 Drury and #15 Quincy, along with East Division leaders #16 Indianapolis.  
 
Career Milestones:
Nicole Gloor eclipsed 900 points for her career last week and is Truman's active leading scorer with 913. She is sixth on Truman's career lists in free throws made (285) and attempted (390). She is also the active leader in steals with 108 and blocks with 27.
 
Allie Norton one assist from 200 for her career and has started and played in all 72 games. Norton is first in career three-point percentage (43%), third in three-pointers made (170) and fourth in attempts (390).
 
Bianca Szafarowicz went over 400 rebounds last week and has 412 for her career. Szafarowicz averages 4.4 boards per game and has played in 94 games during her career and has 168 offensive rebounds and 244 defensive boards.
 
Trending:
  • Truman is averaging 80.2 points per game. The Bulldogs have averaged over 80 points for a season three other times, 1998-99 (81.0), 1990-91 (81.9) and 1989-90 (84.4). Last season, Truman averaged 68.5 points per game.
  • Truman has had six games this season rank in the top-10 single-game free throws made category. Truman made 31 (second all-time) against Trevecca Nzarene (Tenn.), 29 against Wisconsin-Parkside (fourth all-time), 28 (T-5th) against Grand View (Iowa) and 27 (T-7th) against Illinois Springfield, Rockhurst and Missouri-St. Louis.
  • The bench is averaging 27.1 points per game while Truman is also averaging 16.2 points per game off of turnovers and 14.4 points per game in second chance points. Opponents are averaging 7.2 second chance points.
  • The largest deficit overcome this season by the Bulldogs is 10 points against both Wisconsin-Parkside and William Jewell while the largest lead lost was six to Quincy.
  • The Bulldogs are fourth in Division II in turnovers per game at 12.5.
  • Senior Bianca Szafarowicz has four of the Bulldogs' five double-doubles this season. The last came on January 25 against William Jewell when she tallied 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Up Next:
Truman continues the four-game stretch by hosting Southern Indiana on Thursday night and Bellarmine (Ky.) on Saturday, both from the East Division.
 
The Screaming Eagles and Knights are hosting games this weekend against Illinois Springfield and McKendree (Ill.).
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