Bulldogs Dispatch Lady Hawks To Reach Title Game

BOX SCORE
Deaconess Great Lakes Valley Conference Women's Basketball Tournament Semifinals

Truman (Mo.) State University 68 (21-8)
                Leading scorer: Nicole Gloor, 24 points, matches career high

#21 Quincy (Ill.) University 54 (22-6)
                Leading scorer: Lucy Cramsey 16 points, 11 rebounds

Highlight: Truman goes 24-of-29 from the foul line, including 20-of-22 in the second half while forcing 22 turnovers to advance to their first conference championship game in school history.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Nicole Gloor matched her career-high with 24 points and the Truman Bulldogs wore down No. 21 Quincy (Ill.) University 68-54 to advance to the title game of the Deaconess Great Lakes Valley Conference postseason tournament. The Bulldogs will face ninth-seeded Maryville (Mo.) at 1:00 p.m. after the two squads split the games during the regular season.

Gloor scored 16 points in the second half and connected on 10-of-13 from the line as Truman pulled away down the stretch. The Bulldogs held a 26-24 halftime lead and following Hannah Weedman's bucket at the 17:20 mark to tie the game at 32, Gloor scored four straight to give the 'Dogs a lead they would not surrender.

Truman would score 12 of the next 17 points during a three-minute span with Amy Briggs knocking down a pair of three-pointers to tie the Bulldog single-season record for triples with 76. Briggs finished with nine points while adding a career-high nine boards and four assists.

The Bulldogs maintained a 10-point lead midway through the final period with Gloor scoring consecutive baskets.

A pair of free throws by Lucy Cramsey with 1:33 left brought the margin down to six and Tori Kuhn picked up a steal to give the Lady Hawks possession. However, Kuhn turned the ball over, which was the 22nd turnover in the game for Quincy and Allie Norton made them pay by finishing the game with six-straight free throws. Kasey Gassensmith put the final touches on the semifinal victory with two more as Truman went 20-of-22 in the second half at the line and 24-of-29 (82.8%) overall.

Gloor was 7-of-10 from the field, matching her career-high of 24 points set back on January 14, 2012 against the Lincoln (Mo.) Blue Tigers. Norton finished with 13 points and Bianca Szafarowicz stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, seven rebounds and four steals.

Cramsey paced the Lady Hawks with 16 points and 11 rebounds while also going over 1,000 points for her career. Kara Gerbus and Kuhn each added 11.

It will be the first conference title game appearance, regardless of league affiliation, for the Bulldogs in the program history. They did win the 1979 and 1982 MAIAW state tournament and were runners up in 1980 and 1981.

The Maryville (Mo.) Saints will be making their second straight GLVC title game after dispatching No. 4 seed Indianapolis 80-70 in the first game of the day. The Saints are on a roll with wins in six of their last seven games including a 90-84 win over Truman in Pershing Arena on February 20.   The championship game will tip-off at 1:00 p.m. with the winner receiving the automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Tournament.

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