Game Notes: Women Host Pair Of GLVC Charter Members

2013-14 Truman Women's Basketball Game Notes:
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GLVC WBB

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The Truman Women's Basketball team will look to begin a new winning streak as they welcome two founding members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference to Pershing Arena this week. The Bulldogs will host the University of Southern Indiana on Thursday and Bellarmine (Ky.) University on Saturday as the team looks to secure a spot in the GLVC postseason tournament.

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 (14-5; 8-3 GLVC)
Winners of eight of their last nine games, the Truman Women's Basketball team sits in third place in the West Division of the GLVC. The Bulldogs trail Quincy (Ill.) by two games and Drury (Mo.) by one game in the standings.

Junior Allie Norton leads a host of Bulldog players in double-figure scoring with a 13.6 points per game mark that jumps to 15.2 in league games only. Truman is the only team in the GLVC that has five players averaging in double-figures in conference games. Senior guard Amy Briggs is second at 12.5/13.5 per game, Nicole Gloor (12.1/12.5, Bianca Szafarowicz (10.8/10.0) and Courtney Strait (9.6/10.5) are the others in double-figures.

As a team, Truman is averaging 80.5 points per game while allowing 66.5. They are shooting 40.1% from three that leads the GLVC and 43.6% in conference games from outside. Truman also is atop the league ledger in free throw shooting at 78.5% overall and 80.1% in conference.

Norton is shooting 55.9% in conference from beyond the arc and leads the league averaging three treys a game. Amy Briggs is shooting 45% from three in GLVC action and making 2.5 triples a game, good for third in conference-only stats.

Truman closed the month of January with an 8-1 record with a victory on Thursday against Missouri S&T 80-52. February started just like January, with a loss, as the Bulldogs lost 93-86 to Drury (Mo.) University on Saturday afternoon. The loss to the Lady Panthers snapped an eight-game overall winning streak and a 23-game home court streak dating back to February 1, 2012.

Truman vs. Southern Indiana (Thursday 5:30 p.m. – Kirksville, Mo.)
Series History: This is the fourth meeting and first since 2008 between the Bulldogs and Screaming Eagles. USI won 67-50 in Evansville on December 22, 2008 and 82-78 in Kirksville on December 18, 1999. Truman's win came in the first meeting, a 100-87 victory on December 21, 1998 in Evansville.

Of Note: Truman Head Coach Amy Eagan had a memorable, record-setting day on December 21, 1998 against USI. Eagan set a program record by scoring 46 points that day against the Screaming Eagles. The previous record was 39 by Kristy Brown against Pittsburg (Kan.) State set in 1995. Eagan set Truman highs in free throws made (16) and attempted (23). Eagan's stat line that day was 14-18, 2-3 from three, 16-23 free throws with seven boards, six assists and four steals in 37 minutes.

Screaming Eagles Last Time Out: Southern Indiana is on a three-game winning streak following a 100-49 thrashing of McKendree (Ill.) on Saturday. USI held the Bearcats to just 24% shooting on the day while making 14 threes and grabbing 19 more rebounds in the rout. All 14 players scored for the Screaming Eagles with Anna Hackert scoring 11 with 14 rebounds.

Common Opponents: Truman and USI have eight common opponents and each are 6-2 against the eight with the losses coming against Drury and Lewis. Both teams have road wins at Wisconsin-Parkside, Rockhurst (Mo.) and William Jewell (Mo.) and home wins against Missouri S&T, Illinois-Springfield and McKendree (Ill.)…are 14-5 overall but 4-4 away from the home court in Evansville…USI was 17-10 last season with a 9-9 league mark, they fell 79-61 to Indianapolis in the first round of the GLVC tournament…Anna Hackert was a first-team all-GLVC performer last season, averaging 14.7 points and 9.6 rebounds per game…Ariel Barnes earned GLVC Defensive team honors as a junior last season…

About the Screaming Eagles: Junior Anna Hackert leads the GLVC in scoring, averaging 19.9 overall and 20.6 in league-only contests…Hackert is second in conference rebounding at 11.3 per night…USI is second in league games in defense allowing 64.6 per game and first in field goal defense at 37.1%...they are second in three-point field goal defense at 30.9%, however opponents have taken more three-point shots (230) against USI than any other GLVC school…they are second in turnover margin at +2.09 and first in defensive rebounds at 29.2 per game…Rick Stein is in his 15th season in charge of USI Basketball and entered the season with a 231-169 record…he is the all-time wins leader and a graduate of Southern Indiana.

Truman vs. Bellarmine (Saturday 1:00 p.m. – Kirksville, Mo.)

Series History: The two teams have met once prior to the Bulldogs joining the GLVC this season. Bellarmine defeated then-Northeast Missouri State, 98-96 in the 1994 season opener played on November 19 in Louisville, Ky. Kristy Brown finished the day for the Bulldogs two points shy of the then school record 37 points with 35 on the day. Brown tied Carol Jarrard's school record with 15 made field goals against the Knights.

Bellarmine Last Time Out: The Knights enter the week winners of five of their last six games played with a 73-70 thriller against Illinois Springfield last Saturday. Bellarmine overcame a 14-point halftime deficit and took the lead with 36 seconds left on a three-pointer by Jessica Hardin. The Knights open the week by facing West Division leader Quincy (Ill.) on Thursday night.

Common Opponents: Truman is 6-2 while Bellarmine is 5-3 against the eight common opponents between the two schools entering the week. The Knights have wins against Rockhurst (away), Wisconsin-Parkside (away), Missouri S&T, McKendree and Illinois Springfield, all at home. Their losses are to William Jewell (70-62), Drury and Lewis. The Knights defeated Southern Indiana 73-62 in their first meeting while Truman lost to Quincy 79-75, Bellarmine's Thursday opponent.

About the Knights: Bellarmine enters the week with an 11-8 overall record and a 7-4 league mark…average 77.7 points in conference games but allow 76.2 points…are first in the GLVC in turnover margin at +2.9 and offensive rebounds per game at 15.3 but near the bottom in three-point field goal percentage at 31% and defensive field goal percentage at 48.3%...the Knights are second in steals per game at 9.5…sophomore Mackenzie Martinez leads the GLVC in steals per game at 2.8…sophomore Sarah Galvin leads team in scoring at 13.1 points per game, shooting 52% from the field…Bellarmine finished 19-11 and 9-9 last season and lost 84-73 to William Jewell in the first round of the GLVC Tournament…Chancellor Dugan is in her second season on the bench at Bellarmine and earned her 350th career win last time out against McKendree…she spent the previous 13 seasons at Florida Atlantic University and eight years at GLVC member Southern Indiana.

Bulldog Notebook:

GLVC Tourney Update:
The race for March Madness begins in earnest with the calendar turn to February. Truman is 8-3 in the conference and in sole possession of third place in the GLVC West Division.

If season ended today, Truman would be either the five or six seed in the GLVC tournament as they are tied with Southern Indiana with identical 8-3 (5-2 divisional records).

The champion of each division followed by the next two at-large teams with the best record get the first-round bye in the postseason tournament, while seeds five through eight host seeds nine through 12 on campus sites for first round games.

NCAA Regional Rankings:
The first set of NCAA Regional rankings will be published on Wednesday, February 19. The top eight teams in the region, comprised of the GLVC, Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Association (GLIAC) and the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) are eligible for the NCAA championship tournament.

The GLVC and GLIAC have automatic qualifiers for their postseason tournament champion, while the six other berths are considered 'at-large'.

According to "Massey Ratings", Truman is the sixth ranked team in the region behind Drury, Indianapolis, Wayne (Mich.) State, Quincy, Lewis and Michigan Tech.

Clinch Winning Season:
The program has clinched their third straight winning season with a 14-5 record with seven regular season games remaining. It is the third straight year that women's basketball will finish above .500. It is only the second time in program history that the team has had three straight winning seasons as the team strung together five from 1977-1982.

The Bulldogs are 63-38 (.623) over the past four seasons, 41-29 (.585) in league games and 36-11 (.765) in games played in Pershing Arena during that span.

Slow Starting 'Dogs:
In the last four games, Truman is a combine 3-of-24 (.125) from the field in the first five minutes of games and 88-of-192 (.458) the rest of the time. In seven of the 11 conference games played, Truman has two or fewer field goals during the opening five minutes of play.

Season of Records:
Truman set a school record with eight straight wins, all in conference, and most recently had a school-long 23-game winning streak, which was the fourth longest active streak in Division II.

The team has two games ranked in the top 10 in field goals attempted with (88 vs. Stephens; 75 vs. Grand Valley St.) three in three-pointers made (15 vs. Illinois Springfield; 13 vs. McKendree and 12 vs. Stephens) and seven of the top 10 in free throws made.

Allie Norton and Nicole Gloor added their names to the single-game record book in free throw percentage. Norton was 10-of-10 against Rockhurst and Gloor was 8-of-8 against Illinois Springfield to tie the school record.

The 80.5 scoring offense is currently the fourth best in single-season history.
Truman has made 152 three-pointers, already good for ninth most in a season.
The 40.1% three-point shooting percentage is second-best all-time behind last year's 41.6%.
The 423 free throws made is already fifth most in single-season history.
The current 78.5% free throw shooting mark is tops with the 2009-10 total of 77.9% second.
The Bulldogs currently have the best scoring margin in school history at +14.0, last year's high was 11.4.
Truman has the second best rebounding margin in school history at +6.7, the top mark is +7.3 set in 1999-2000.

Being Charitable:
The Bulldogs have shot over 30 free throws in five of the last six games and 10 total games this season. Last year, Truman had 11 games over 20 and just one over 30 free throws attempted.

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 28.3 attempts per game this year and 22.2 makes.

All five Bulldogs with over 40 free throw attempts are shooting at nearly 80%. Nicole Gloor as the most attempts at 122 and shoots 77.9%. Courtney Strait is second in the GLVC at 90.2% from the line and Allie Norton is fourth at 88.1%. Amy Briggs' 79.4% and Bianca Szafarowicz's 79.2% round out the group.

As a conference, the GLVC is second in the nation in free throw shooting at 73.5% while the national Division II average is 69.6%.

Notable National Rankings:
Truman is first in Division II in three-point field goal percentage at 40.1%

The Bulldogs are third in Division II in turnovers per game at 12.4

Truman is fifth in Division II in free throw percentage at 78.5%.

Allie Norton is eighth is three-point field goal percentage at 44.9% and second in Division II and seventh all-divisions in career percentage at 43.3%.

Amy Briggs is 12th in Division II in three-point field goal percentage at 44% and 12th in assist/turnover ratio at 2.18.

Courtney Strait is 11th nationally in free throw percentage at 90.2% and five Bulldogs are ranked in the top 200 in free throw shooting percentage (Allie Norton – 26, Amy Briggs – 161, Bianca Szafarowicz – 166 and Nicole Gloor – 201).

Career Milestones:
Nicole Gloor s Truman's active leading scorer with 937. She is sixth on Truman's career lists in free throws made (291) and attempted (399). She is also the active leader in steals with 112 and blocks with 27.

Allie Norton has 206 assists for her career and has started and played in all 74 games. Norton is first in career three-point percentage (43%), third in three-pointers made (178) and fourth in attempts (411).

Bianca Szafarowicz is the active career leading in rebounds with 425 and in games played at 96.

Trending:

Truman is averaging 80.5 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.
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.
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 against GLVC East Division and charter members by taking to the road to face the University of Indianapolis and Saint Joseph's (Ind.) College next week. Truman will play the Greyhounds on Thursday and the Pumas on Saturday afternoon.

Those two schools are playing at Missouri-St. Louis and Maryville (Mo.) this weekend.

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